qukslvr619

Massive upgrade list on a hub to hub flt? I highly doubt paying customers weren't accommodated in lieu of nonrevs. Perhaps you aren't taking into account there are a lot of commuters on this route and any nonrevs listed for first will appear on the upgrade list.

So unless you have concrete proof that elites were left in the back, why bother speculating? Just so tired of these nonrevs in First threads. It is possible they are legitimately there and what makes everyone the seat police if they didn't necessarily lose an upgrade to a nonrev?

GBadger

If you're referring to my post -- I watched the upgrade list on the GIDS all the way to the point that I boarded the aircraft. At that point, it was showing about 45 names on the J upgrade list, and showed it booked full. Elites were definitely left in the back.

It's certainly possible that the employee was legitimately there (that was the "not saying he wasn't supposed to be in J" part of my post). I just find it odd that an employee flying on a pass would be automatically accommodated in J while in training.

jacroweORD

there were in excess of 45 on the upgrade list on my flt...a hub/hub nor ANY flt should have 4 flt attendants taking up space on a route they are not working.

you can "highly doubt" whatever you want, i "highly doubt" that elites were provided the oppty for an upgrade vs the flt attendants being given the seats.

There was also a pilot at the desk checking in who was put in first...not deadheading, just traveling, not in uniform. seems its more a club, rather than a business.

not much of a guessing game, its pretty obvious.

CALMSP

whats the flight number................I'll try to settle this

jacroweORD

906..er NINE OH SIX (has to satisfy the min length)

I am not really too concerned with a pilot deadheading or if it is a contractual issue...i get that. it is what it is..but IF 4 or 5 seats were taken up by flt attendants and no one was in uniform or there as a real work issue, it seems a bit over-the -top that that many seats would be taken up by them.

btw..like the handle "Calmsp"..made me giggle.

for the record, this time the gate attendants were very good...those seem few and far between these days!

CALMSP

I'm guessing this was for 906/18? 906/19 was downgraded to a 757. As for the 18th, there were no NRSA in first or business.

jacroweORD

no, it wasn't downgraded, it was a 767, nice lay flat seats...great crew, good flt. yes, it was on the 18th if that is what you were referring to.

if there were no NRSA, they had crew bags. odd choice for the casual traveler.

CALMSP

please note, i said NRSA..........which would mean not on company business.

jacroweORD

got it..didn't know that. figured as much as they were not in uniform, BUT they were there!

Jetsurfer

If that pilot was on a company pass and upgraded then he had priority over anyone else below him on the upgrade list. Agents don't upgrade crew members arbitrarily. Crews don't have any leeway to "abuse the company pass" as you stated.

There is no "club" on the Continental side of the house. The upgrade list is comprised of different groups of people, some could be mileage members, some could be crew members commuting to or from work. Was the pilot that you saw a United or Continental pilot? It's possible that he worked for a fractional carrier. In that case his company could have bought him a seat in First.

It was likely a legacy United aircraft and crew. The Business cabin seats may be in their contract.

qukslvr619

um it is a guessing game. you can speculate all you want but all that you know was they were "Not wearing uniforms, but had their crew bags." and based on the fact you saw them on a flight before you assume they must have somehow jumped the list and elites were in the back. im not saying it doesnt ever happen but i just dont get what the issue is? were you or your traveling companions forced to sit in Y because your upgrade was given to someone else? were you able to see an agent giving upgrades to nonrevs or somehow manipulate the system? did you confront said F/As and ask why they were in first class and what pass classification they were on?

in my opinion, unless you are aware of some rampant shennigans (like Delta seems to have) or you know of an exact situation where either you or someone you know wasn't upgraded per the correct procedures, then it shouldnt really concern you why they were there. maybe its in their contract, maybe they were legitimately upgraded. im in no way defending abuse of the system, but there are far more important issues to worry about...like why the heck aren't upgrades clearing in advance...oh that's right because there is probably a conspiracy to give them all to nonrevs.

fastair

And netjet, FedEx, and other airlines that need to relocate crews for operational needs buy tickets. Get elite status, and have crew bags/tags. Their elite status often gets the upgrades.

jacroweORD

ah...the good ol' "proof argument...it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, has a duck name tag on...duck baggage, a beak and i saw it in a duck pond a day prior..BUT...u need more proof...ya ya..move along please..

fastair

A crew tag (can be bought online just about anywhere) somehow guarantees you a job flying for UA? http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=...at=0&_from=R40

If that was all there was to it, I work with thousands of RJ crews that will be buying one today! Sometimes, a duck is a goose, sometimes, it is a decoy or a duck call. When a duck assumes it is another duck, the real duck gets shot and becomes a trophy. Heck, sometimes, you don't even need to look or sound like a duck to get treated like a duck, just go on a hunting trip with Dick Cheney and he will treat you like one.

Don't be like Dick and assume that everything is a duck or you may end up like Harry Whittington. (it was a Quayle hunt, but for a Bush VP to shoot something named the same as another Bush VP would be to crazy.)

Hundreds of thousands of pilots worldwide have crew tage. Many carriers in the US have them, and many carriers fly thei pilots on commercia airlines to get to their home/work. Many carriers pay $$ t do so, and many oter airline crews have frequent flyer numebrs. Many of these people fly more than many FT members on UA, and these people get upgrades as being more elite than some FT members. Heck, some even (believe it or not) pay for F and don't even need to upgrade.

I remember back in the late 90's, just about every foreign carrier that bought 777s got trained at UA's DENTK training facility. As part of their HUGE contracts, they also flew on UA at the hihest possible priority. I used to check in Saudi Pilots every day, and they accrued status very fast, with their airline picking up the tab.

Since when did FT members somehow inherit the right to determin without any evidence, who is a UA crew and who has a crew tag on a bag, especially when not in a uniform, withou any evidence except very limited cicumstantial evidence that can just as likely as not, be shown to be a paying crew of any number of airlines?

JFKSFOLAX_friend

Condescending tone on Flyertalk? Impossible.