EUA Dilemma
 

I will try to lay this out at clearly as possible, but please ask if there is an other information I could provide:

My fiance and I were on a flight Sunday, but I purchased as two separate intineraries. We are both Silver and bought the same fare class. I checked her in just after the 24 hour mark to be as high up on the upgrade list as possible. Then I logged her out and I checked myself in. She was sequence #3 and I was sequence #4. I wasn't at a computer with a printer at the time so I printed our boarding passes out the next day.

Three hours before the flight, I get my EUA notification text message and assume we both received upgrades because she was ahead of my in sequence. When we get to check in our bags, there is no indication that she has been upgraded, so we check with the check-in agent and first is checked in full.

We get to the gate and try to find out more there. The gate agent confirms that she is above me on the list for upgrades and cannot tell us why she did not get the upgrade and I did. She recommends that we call Onepass because she doesn't understand how upgrades work anymore. We call the Silver Elite Line and after a lot of holding and waiting and transfering there are two answers given:

I got the upgrade because I printed my boarding pass out before hers or because I purchased my ticket before her. I do not understand how either of these could be possible because her sequence was above mine.

Could I ask if this sounds logical or if there is an issue that needs to be looked at with the EUA program? How could a sequence #4 get the upgrade over sequence #3 with the exact same status and fare class?

WINNER

You hit the nail right on the head!

You've gotta be kidding me - they factor in when you buy the ticket for EUA???

Yup. Noted right on the upgrade web page.

You guys are all wrong. :D

Ticketing date is a factor, but in my experience, time is not. I don't care what they have posted online, date does, but time doesn't matter. I fly with another Plat all the time, and I can vouch for this.

Presuming you both bought the same ticket (same fare class, etc.) on the same date, the tie-breaker for EUA is the last name, alphabetically.

While you did place your fiancee on the list before you, that list is only valid for airport-cleared upgrades. EUA runs separately, and checkin status doesn't matter for EUA purposes.

As for the printer "explanation," file that in the bulging file labeled, "Continental, Bullsh*t Answers Given By Agents of" (see also "Telephone, Making Sh*t Up to Get Customer off the"). :D

So, is your last name before your fiancee's, alphabetically? ;)

It sure is. So when we get married and have the same last name, then what do you think will happen?

Thanks everyone for your help.

Would you share when your ticket was bought, and when your fiancee's ticket was bought? Thanks in advance.

As long as it's the same date, it doesn't matter. I've been doing this for several years, and I can confirm that even if I issue my ticket hours before my companion's, she will always beat me EUA-wise, based on the last-name rule.

And given how tight F has been lately, we get split up a lot as a result, as 2 F seats can be hard to come by.

The answer to that does not involve technical aspects of EUA. You will always ensure she sits in First. :)

Changing my name to

Joe Aaba

If you want a happy marriage ...
 

Do as Warrenlm suggests :D

EmailKid

For a time, I haven’t checked lately, it seemed there were competitions to be the 1st and the last person listed in the Manhattan (NYC) phone book. Every year, it seemed someone new was adding an “A” to there names. Too busy to look what’s up now, but I remember the last person for a number of years was someone on the order of Archimedes I. Zzzzzyandottie. (I think I have the # of “Z’s” right as of the last listing I checked. Of course, he’d be last in the EUA circle.

LOL!

I'm not sure of the likelihood of this coming into play, as the ranking is done by Status, Fare Class, Ticketing Date, then Last Name.

The only time it seems to make a difference is if two people bought the same fare class ticket on the same date. Either that would be couples/companions, or FTers (i.e., a bunch of people got in on a killer fare that was only available for one day).

But in normal circumstances, I don't tihnk this comes into play much.

But who sat in FC??? Were you a real man?