Advice for Enhancing EUA possibilities
 

I'm booked for MHT-EWR-MCO for 3/26 with a B-fare (Gold Elite). My outbound flights were booked as follows:
MHT-EWR 6:15AM-8:00AM
EWR-MCO 9:25AM-12:30AM

Looking at seat availabilty (via seatcounter.com) for EWR-MCO on a 757-200 with 16 FC seats. There is currently 6's on FC section and Y9/H9/K9/M6/N3. I'm thinking my EUA possibilities may be limited for flight.

Continental also has a 8:30AM-11:24AM on a 757-300
This flight is 9's on FC with 24 FC seats available for seating. Coach is only Y4 at this time.

Continental didn't originally book me on the 8:30AM connection I believe due to tight connecting times.

Question:
1) Should I call TA and request bookiing change to EWR-MCO 8:30am with Standby on the 9:25am flight (in case I do miss the connection) looks like I will probably miss any EUA/Battlefield anyway for the 9:25am flight?

Any other ideas?

take your original flights and check in early to get on the SB list. dont check bags. get to EWR and book it to the earlier flight. ask how it looks to get on, and that if you could get on, what the FC list looks like.

they will have to clear you in coach and then upgrade you if seats are available and there isnt already a list that your cant trump being gold on a B fare.

id say you have a decnet chance on your original flight though.

you could also ask the agent at MHT about the earler flight. tell them you want to get mco ASAP. they may rebook, but again, be sure you'd good to go for FC or forget about it. your 752 may have AVOD in Y so it may not be that bad.

I agree with dlen111s suggestion, especially if you have already purchased said tkt , unless a B fare allows free changes. Even if it wouldnt cost to change it, Id rather be sure Im on the 9:25 in case the connection can not be made, then to find out I missed the earlier flight and now either cant get onto the 9:25 or that only middle seats are left.

If it was Me Id leave it with the 9:25 and before leaving MHT either ask there or call and find out from which Gate the earlier flight will be leaving from so that I wont have to waste any time once@ EWR.

Ive done a number of these things in the past, the 1st station never was willing to confirm FC for me but were willing to confirm Coach. If I was already UPed on my original flight I waited till I got to the Gate before switching anything, if I had the exit row the samething. The only time I allowed the CSR at my 1st city to confirm me was if I didnt have a really good seat on my tkted connection and my original flight was wide open.

Sure the FC on a 753 is better then Y, but I get alot more leg room in the exit row in Y, then in FC. The 752 is a completely different animal and FC wins out in all respects

craz & dlen111s,

Some good points!

Bird in the Hand -
1) 9:25 seating - I am seated 16C on the 752 (which I wouldn't want to lose if any delays occurred).
2) Even if I EUA on the 8:30am - MHT-EWR is only 70% on-time - which means a late arrival and I'm back to 9:25am with no confirmed seating or flight class (possibly causing me to miss this flight)
3) Doing the run and check at the gate in EWR would allow me to weigh the option of 9:25am confirmed seating vs battlefield upgrade on the spot (if any is left to be had).

Looks like the OP Lucked out by listening to us

The MHT-EWR flight today on time @ 6:40am but got into EWR 4 mins late @ 8:04am @ Gate 104A and the 8;30am 1592 was leaving from Gate 90, long way to go but had the OP changed to that flight they would have had no problem making it, why you ask, well it was delayed to 2;39pm (6 hrs) while the flight the OP originally booked @ 9:25am left on time and got in a few mins early @ MCO. So Im sure CO put the people from the 8:30 flight onto the 9:25 flight and at least they still had 16C :)

Stayed the course
 

Craz - Actually I EUA'd :pat the 3-day calendar run so I stayed on the 9:25am flight. Most of the flights to MCO seem to be very full and first was booked/EUA'd up before the T-24 mark. Anyway given the circumstances for the 1592 - I luckily stayed the course and spent hour in the C-gate PC. Also for this aircraft 4B had an out-of-service sign on it and someone was bumped back out of FC because of it - Too Bad-wonder when that gets fixed?

On a slightly unrelated note the 757-200 (Tail #106) had the AVOD system. Very very nice especially in FC. My only problem was I couldn't figure out how to get the system to play a complete CD in the Music section. When you touched the CD label it brought up the song list. If you pressed the play icon it would play the first (sometimes the second) track and stop there. Everytime I had to hit the next icon to push the system down a song. It always displayed "Now Playing" but never jumped to the next song.

Anyway does anyone know how to get AVOD to play the complete CD?

Thanks all.