UAGuy2

Unforunately UACO likes to fill up the cabin with upgraders. I do fly a fair bit of paid F travel. I would fly more if UACO would expel upgraders from F back down to Y to make room for me. I wonder if you are a low tier elite who books months in advance on the cheapest lesiure fares and does mileage runs to squeak to 25k, costing the company far more than you are worth. Otherwise hard to understand why you don't comprehend why more important travelers should be treated better.

love_to_travel

What makes one traveler more important than another?

UAGuy2

One makes more money for the company than the other.

Surely you don't suggest that a general member who flies once a decade is equally important to a Global Services member who generates 6 figures of revenue year in and year out.

UA-NYC

So assuming you're 1K or GS (not sure, not in your profile), when you're not flying paid F, you'll be okay then with lower/non elites on higher fares than you getting upgraded while you sit in Y? By your logic, on those specific flights, you're not an important traveler, thus you don't deserve the benefits.

UAGuy2

Nothing in my post suggests that importance is measured off a single flight. So you are incorrect about my logic.

FlyerChrisK

You seem to be forgetting that the 2Ps "squeak[ing] to 25k" aren't flying that often. For instance, I'm NYC-based (but 1P+/PLT for now), but suppose my flying patterns were such that I was only going to fly 25k on UA this year. As a subset of trips I've taken, that's three trips to California and one trip to say, Hawaii; assuming sane choices in routes (i.e., nonstop for JFK/EWR-SFO/LAX, a layover somewhere like ORD/DEN/LAX/SFO for NYC-HNL/OGG/LIH), we're talking about a total of about 10 segments. UA/CO fly tens of thousands (on the lowish side of five figures) of J/F seats a day domestically or a few million seats a year. That 2P squeaking by is a proverbial drop in the bucket.

Worse for your case is that the 2P might also be a DYKWHI buying Y/B fares as well. Maybe that Hawaii trip was on a cheap fare, but that's precisely why airlines created loyalty programs in the first place. Sure, it's going to qualify that 2P for another year (to get UDU'd a few times without many other perks), but in terms of helping UA by driving marginal spend, it works exactly as intended.

Often1

As one who generally flies in paid F, I would much prefer to see the soft product improved and the cost of that dealt with by charging some reasonable fee for an UG. Perhaps at the gate, UG's could be provided for a fee of $100-300 depending on distance and perhaps that fee could be waived for GS (presuming that the new GS will have a greater spend requirement than it does now).

azepine00

For that you need to create a premium product people would be willing to consistently buy and this isn't happening because of a) labor laws and unions and b) market demand for cheap and tolerable rather than higher end but expensive product

ORDnHKG

+1

UA don't have a good or inconsistent inflight product anyway (744 still have no PTV in Y, and the investment plan did not have any plans to add PTV either, only something thru handheld device)


Don't be so sure about that, UA make the most money on int'l routes. When int'l flyer jumpship then I will see what can they do about that ? When it is int'l flying, you have those who offer a much much better product comparing the domestic market every airlines offering the same thing. Many int'l carriers may or may not have E+, but they do allow even the lowest status to get bulkhead or exit row for free.

There are not much left if UA decide to take away these benefits for lower elites, I certainly wouldn't fly UA because of UA's inflight product in all 3 classes or customer service. I can drop the loyalty and enjoy the miles ahead products and services from other int'l carriers.

azepine00

Not sure about your definition of "last moment" but most waitlists go to the gate IME so you should be right at the top as a 1K on last minute fare.

FriendlySkies

It seems clear that you don't see how these changes would destroy the lower lever tier. When I was a 2P, and e500s were still around, I was upgraded pretty often. When UDU rolled in, I was 1/15 for upgrades. I got that, and worked to hit 1P and then 1K, but E+ was really appreciated.

As a 1K, I don't want 2P decimated. What's the point of being loyal to the airline if they screw you? No UDU and not getting the chance to select E+ and time of booking is a bad idea. For those that don't check a bag, and there are many of us, why would a 2P even stay with UA??

Would this work?

UAGuy2

Seems reasonable to me. I would prefer the following upgrade structure -- General member 2000, 2P - 1000, 1P - 500, 1K - 250. No upgrades on international routes.

FriendlySkies

$2000 for a GM to upgrade? What kind of route? SFO-LAX? SFO-DEN?

dinoscool3

No, on CRJ200 flights, charge 2000 for GMs to sit at the front so they can quickly run out to escape the barbie jet.

Critic

Now THAT's a Swiftian "Modest Proposal".