youreadyfreddie

Welcome to FT, Sunnyflyer!

Sunnyflyer

Thanks! I'm already looking around and I can see this is a great place to get information.

aragno

I have had family who worked for airlines and were in very senior management. As part of the perks for the position, they had guaranteed, same day, first class availability on any flight- even if it meant bumping someone from the flight or somehow compensating them. This was open to their family as well....

lakers6902

To my understanding, when a united employee non-revs their family members or friends are put on their priority level as well, basically giving them all an upgrade over others.

Compare this with other airlines who don't put friends/family on the same priority level

kenn0223

This is in no way true. Sometimes a GA breaks the rules and gives out non-rev upgrades when a elite member should have gotten one, but most of the time paying pax get upgrades (and standby seats) before non-rev pax do.

bsmnsr

Generally, non revs are always at the end of the queue for upgrades. I don't even think there's a non rev positive space upgrade that works with families.

What most likely happened, is the GA broke the rules.

Also, was the MM sure he was automatically on the UG list? I've had to manually have myself added to the UG list on just about every segment I've flown. The auto-upgrade queue doesn't seem to be working at 100% yet.

fragment54

I am guessing this was a GA bending the rules for one of his or her friends/coworkers. This may be a PMUA policy (not sure), but definitely was not a PMCO policy. There are agents from both PMUA and PMCO who are far less than satisfied with this merger and take it out on the customers.

UnitedFlyGuy

Not a UA thing either. NRSA is always bottom of the list. However, employees, family, etc. have access to how many "upgrades" are on a flight so a lot of the time they choose accordingly. Why choose to non rev on a flight with 82 upgrade elites when the next flight has 2?

It's also possibly that certain people aren't on the list. (Like the OPs MM.- was he sure we was on? The system has been a crapshoot lately. )

That being said - their are dishonest people that cheat the system. :/

mherdeg

If you think that you were on a flight where employees were upgraded and paying passengers ("revenue passengers") who were on the upgrade list were stuck in coach, send a private message to UA Insider or post the flight details here (origin, destination, flight number, date of travel). It's against policy to do that and these reports are taken seriously because they contribute to a poor customer experience.

This is not standard operating procedure. Nonrevenue passengers are ranked below all passengers who paid for a ticket and then used their miles/cash/upgrade certificates/complimentary elite-member benefit to waitlist an upgrade.

Employees who are flying "positive space" (on company business or as an occasional job perquisite) can get confirmed premium-cabin seats as though they had bought a ticket in the front cabin, which puts them on the same footing (or ahead of) other paying passengers.

It's much more common to fly "nonrevenue space available" (prioritized behind paying passengers) rather than "nonrevenue positive space" (prioritized ahead of paying passengers). However, you will occasionally see someone flying NRPS who indeed gets a high priority for upgrades on that flight as an uncommon job perk.

Neither airline had a policy of prioritizing nonrevenue space available passengers ahead of other passengers for premium-cabin space. At every US airline with a first-class cabin there is a chance that a gate agent will not follow the rules; look in the Delta forum for the word "shenanigans" or check out this hilarious old CO thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/conti...ty-ensues.html for occasional examples.

For a gate agent, getting caught prioritizing nonrevenue space available passengers ahead of other passengers for premium-cabin upgrades can be a career-limiting move.

Notwithstanding the name of the merged airline, the policies, computer systems, and executive officers which are in place at United have almost exclusively come from Continental.

Of course, the actual human beings come from two different corporate cultures. (There actually seem to be some very distinct cultures in a few different places -- at CLE, EWR, IAH, LAX, and SFO in particular it was very clear which hub you were at).

Madone59

Correct ^

I put a very close friend on a Buddy Pass (given to me by a UA Friend) two day's ago and he sat until every UG cleared, every standy cleared and the door was about to close until he got his seat. He then did not get his connection and had to sit in the airport because there were no seats to his destination - that is what it is like to travel as a non-rev.

bmvaughn

Possible they were on revenue tix.

StingWest

Although we all like to complain about "big government" (myself included), stopping these mega-mergers is one of their truly legitimate roles. Does the public ever benefit when these are permitted? I'm glad the AT&T - T-Mobile buyout was stopped for example, but miffed that UA-CO was allowed to happen.

jackk

I'm sure that there is one set of rules for FAs/GAs/pilots and other UA employees and then another rule for more senior corporate staff. I'm sure they will downgrade or IDB folks to get a UA VP and family members on a flight in first whenever they want.

golfingboy

Doubt it.

They all have the funds and most of them would just pay to fly in F rather than dealing with all of the hassles of trying to get the family in the F cabin.

UA executive team members probably will get the priority to fly in F on a work trip [highly likely already confirmed well in advance on NRPS itinerary].

I have seen plenty of reports where customers have seen Mr. Smisek commuting from IAH-ORD and he sat in Y.

fastair

I assure you they (execs) can fly in confrmed F for businss or pleasure. As to "paying for it" thy indirectly are. It is part of their employment contract that in most cases, continues after employment is over. art of your compensation isn't just the cash and stock, but the additional perks that are in the contract. Most, if not all of these can be found on Edgar (SEC database.)