Richym99

I'm getting worried about similar changes with flights that I booked pre-merger in E+. Two flights have now had equipment changes and I've been rebooked back into E-. UA are declining to reinstate me to E+. Worried more for a LHR-HNL trip with a friend in Sept, the first leg of which is on an old config 777. If they change that then it's likely that we will both end up back in E- and unlikely to be able to get back into E+ without spending a couple of hundred pounds to ensure we can sit together.

megalab

Flew with my family of 4 children for Spring Break, ages marked during booking. For each leg (PMUA 752 ORD-BUF, LGA-ORD) two children were moved from 9D,E to some random E- seats in back. CSR was able to put us close enough together that we could swap with someone else to get us all together. Still, very annoying to move minors away from their parents.

One CSR told me those seats are reserved for handicapped, which is why the kids were moved. She claimed there is some marking on the seat maps to warn people, but I've never seen any such notice when booking those seats on any PMUA flight.

zombietooth

That sounds like BS to me! I have never seen such a thing in my entire flying career. If seats were reserved for handicapped, then they would be blocked-out like the seats that they hold on every long-haul flight for crew rest, which sometimes even open-up later for assignment.

Also, I really think that you were significantly wronged by them moving your children like that. Depending on their ages, it could have caused you a real problem, and certainly would have made it hard to keep a watchful eye on them.

One of the reasons that I book and pay for travel far in advance is so that I can get the seats I want. I assume (correct me if I am wrong) that you probably booked your flight far in advance, and for the same reason, i.e. to keep your family together. If one cannot count on having the seats you selected at booking, barring an equipment swap, after they have taken your money far in advance of travel, then there is absolutely no reason to even allow seat assignment. They might as well do away with the whole charade and just do a zone boarding, "grab any seat you want as you board", type protocol.

Rodstuff

DEN - LGA on 4/9. Booked 9D and e ticket itinerary still shows 9D, but .bomb shows I am moved to 25D and all other seats are blocked. Called and got the same "possible equipment change", nope.... same equipment. And "9D reserved for handicapped". Nope..., doesnt show anywhere when booking.

bldr1k

Just happened to me on 4/1 LGA - DEN. I had 4 seats together until they emailed me the boarding passes for the return which had all the seats changed. There was no airplane change and United had no clue why the seats were changed.

I hope they fix this. Being able to reserve good seats in advance, especially when traveling with family, is a big benefit. In 30 years of flying United I never had my family vacation seats messed up. Shares is a complete POS in my opinion and I have no idea how Continental even survived with that system.

CThomp79

This seems a fairly common occurrence since 3/3, and not necessarily related to equipment changes. On two of my last four flights, my seats changed after checkin. Two agents with whom I spoke, one with whom I spoke face-to-face while getting placed back in my original seat, opined that it was purely a system glitch.

megalab

I also agree it was BS, and told the CSR I'd never anything like that, and said she could see it on her seat map then patronizingly said she "didn't want to argue with me." I just put it out there because it was the same two seats on the same type of plane, so it didn't seem implausible. The CSR on the first leg said it was a glitch.

Yes, I booked 2 months in advanced to get E+ seats together, which is not easy with so many exit row seats.

I also agree it was a wrong but did not follow up more due to time and acceptable resolution. However, I plan to fly AA for summer vacation, that's for sure.

UAL4life

Yup couldn't have said it better. What a failure of a system- so many issues it's a miracle it works at all.

Random seat-changes, You're In!!

fadeforward

I'm 2 days out, and my seat switched from 1B to 6E on a 757. Called the agent, and she tells me that the seat is now blocked for passengers meeting special criteria.

I asked her to put me back, but then she says it's actually in preparation for a possible aircraft swap.

I'll call back later and see if I meet the criteria this next time.

Ridiculous.

bordeauxboy

On my flight a week ago from Seoul through SFO to IAH, seats were as assigned every time I checked the reservation; on arrival in Seoul, checked reservation and seats were still the same, then go to check in one minute later and presto! new seat assignments. And no way to get the originals back...not that it was a disaster since I was in front, but not exactly an experience that inspires faith in UA. Often times I have to sit further back and it would be an issue if I were bumped out of E+ or an exit row - or to a middle seat.

No, there were no equipment changes; not even the aircraft number changed. I was checking because on the way out I got stuck on a bulkhead window that I did not want and was told then that it was because I had not kept track of my reservation .

At some point the glitch excuse is over and it is time to call it incompetence.

zombietooth

On our return 9 APR flight, CLD-LAX-MCO, seat assignments were randomly changed 24 hours prior to departure. Good exit row seats that were next to each other were converted into totally random seats, one of which was in E-! Shares can't even keep the logic straight that a 1K should be in E+ if seats are available??? I called the 1K line and was assured that my original seats were still assigned to me, notwithstanding what .bomb was showing me simultaneous to my conversation with the 1K desk. They even emailed us boarding passes with the correct original seats, but when we got to the airport, our seats were gone. How is that possible?? We got to the airport desk 2 1/2 hours early because I was worried about losing my exit row seats for the transcon, and our boarding passes were no longer any good--What?

Shares is a totally unacceptable system!

gene2632

TPA to EWR on 3/1 boarded to find a handicapped pax in my window seat and the seat had no window, just a wall. It would have been nice if a GA or FA had told me ...but why expect nice anymore. The other day doing my regular check of remaining trip from LAS to EWR I found that I was no longer in 8E and my wife was no longer in 8F. I was in 23D and she was in 22D. Tons of empty seats since the trip is still 2+months away but being a lowly Silver Scum everything in front of row 22 was showing BLUE. A day later I was able to move us back to 10 E&F....makes no sense at all. Oh, the outbound flight? "Seat Map unvailable" for the past two days. Wonder what is going to happen now to the FC seats it said we had last week???? Maybe Martin Hand will send another voucher?

luv2ctheworld

I've had this on 3 out of 8 flights in the past 3 weeks. It is pretty annoying having my chosen, preferred seat (window, bulk head, exit, etc.) be moved to some random seat.

This should not be an issue but somehow with the integration it is.

eagle007

This happened a lot post 3/3 with me. A bunch of seats would open up where I was previously in E-, I was able to move to E+ because seats had opened up (I assume because accounts were not linked for others)

Also just happened to me on SFO-LHR when they changed equipment to an older, more lousy plane.

OnePass Since 87

Based on my years of pmCO experience, I dont think this is an intrinsic SHARES issue, but rather an integration issue (although I cant imagine why). Prior to 3/3 on CO I have only had one involuntary seat assigment change not due to an equipment/gauge swap. And I am fairly confident that instance was a FAM stealing my seat.

However since 3/3 it has happened a couple of times, as recently as my last flight.

Everyone seems to be quick to indict SHARES as the source of all woes. Whether it was a good system or bad, given a trained and agent, it seemed to work just fine on the CO side prior to integration. (I am not going to enter into the argument of which was the better system or who had the better policies. It is what it is, and continuing to flog it after death is futile)

However, before I get completely flamed to a crisp, I will say that throwing it out there with out apparent complete testing and training has to be, retrospectively, one of the stupidest decision seen in this merger/takeover/whatever so far.