Interesting thread.

Maybe I'm a walking jinx but of the 39 flights I've taken since last August, 38 were fully full in First. The resulting math shows only 1 flight had empty seats in First and it was a red-eye out of LAX into TPA. Mostly on UA with a sprinkling of Alaska, Continental and Virgin.

Given the airlines seem to go crazy this time of year offering ridiculously cheap flights to London, Paris and just about everywhere else (except Hawaii and Mexico), logic would seem to indicate February and March would be positive for upgrade success. Go figure.

I have a question about upgrading a couple flying together. I'm PremEx with UA; hubby has no elite status (with the UA that is, he's pretty elite with me!). When flying solo I almost always upgrade in advance with miles. This means I don't have much experience upgrading with coupons or certs. But the several times I've tried to use certs it never panned out because I was traveling with Jim so we needed TWO seats in First rather than one. Can anyone enlighten me as to UA forces and protocols deployed in upgrading a couple when one is elite and one is not?

Anything I can do in increase my chances? My last unsuccessful attempt to use certs was really discouraging: it was emergency travel so Jim and I were paying $1100 EACH to fly SFO/Orlando in steerage on a 757. I was told by the UA agent in the RCC that we were first on the upgrade list and it was looking good. At the gate, we were asked to delay boarding while other upgrade hopefuls were told to board since there would be no seats available in first. About 10 minutes before closing the door, a young couple showed up looking anxious. I thought they were standbys hoping to get on the flight; Jim thought they were hoping to get upgrades and he wanted to nag the agent. I discouraged him because I know gate agents loathe being nagged about upgrades (besides, tact isn't one of Jim's strongest attributes). Well, the young couple got the last two seats in First as an ugrade . . . and we landed in steerage.

Comments, advice???

Time to get out your voodoo kit...

ONE partner flying the same itinerary gets the SAME UPGRADE PRIORITY AS YOU DO (with UA). Make sure, that your flight-bookings are connected. I never had a problem to have Gisela ("simple" Premier - not simple with/to me) upgraded with the same priority as me (1K) - 100 hours in advance.

If you did your bookings before reaching today's Status with UA, make sure an UA agent deletes and reenters your PremEx number, otherwise the priority for upgrades is not updated (to your new Statuslevel).

Thanks, Rudi, appreciate the info.

bb -- You know, I tried the voodoo approach as well, to no avail. I'm thinking now the chicken must have been jinxed, too.

Still batting 1000. Got 5 more upgrades this last week including a last minute one to a way overbooked flight after my flight was cancelled (it actually left the terminal and was taxiing when it was called back due to weather at the destination) and they rerouted us to a different city.

The agent in the lounge said a lot of last minute upgrades were not happening as this was at the expiry date for most upgrades and people were trying to use them. Combined with seat sales out of the busier airports this was causing a problem. She had a wad of expiring upgrades that passengers had given her to give to others. Unfortunately, there were very few flights she could use them on.

Met "megamiles" briefly in Toronto before I took off on the weekend. He had been fortunate to get his upgrade for his transcontinental AC flight. Flights were pretty heavily booked.

There were a lot of irate people for that last flight and some other guys who had been sitting with me in the business cabin got shunted back to economy for the next flight.

I am hoping to have a perfect score (on my principal carrier -- AC) this year including overseas flights but we will have to wait and see.

I know it's not March anymore but just thought I would report.

I am still batting 1000 for free upgrades on domestic and international AC flights (38/38 segments upgraded in 1999), now using those international/anywhere any fare confirmable at time of reservation Super Elite upgrades.

What a treat--used on full fare and super discount tickets, all done with no waiting on hold, 1 minute phone calls to the Super Elite desk.

All but TWO of my upgrades cleared from February to early April. (the only two were on ORD-EWR flights because there were Many buying first class tickets and many 1k's in the bunch.) I was in the first row of coach so I did not mind so much.

SO I'm about 88 percent with upgrades (PLEASE don't ask to do the math!)