TheFlyGuy2

Hello,

I'm not sure if anyone can help me out with my upcoming trip, but I'll give it a try.

I am booked in Business on a 777 between ORD-DEN on May 25, 2012 - Flight 605 (fare code P). I requested an upgrade using 15,000 miles and a $75 co-pay. At this point I am waitlisted for an upgrade to First. From what I can see, there are only two seats booked in first, with the rest open. My question is, what are my chances of being upgraded and when do upgrades from C to F typically clear?

Also, what can I expect service-wise? It appears that UA is miles behing AA when it comes to domestic first.

SEA1K4EVR

If this was one of those (usually impossible to answer) "is it worth it to upgrade" threads..this would be an easy one. No, it's not worth 15,000 miles + $75 to upgrade this short flight. That is unless you've never been in 3 class first and are just dying to try it out. Food service will likely be no different from biz class (slight possibility it will). Really the only real difference here will be the F seat. This flight is scheduled to have the newly config 777 with lie flat seats in business..which makes an upgrade even less worth it considering the distance.

That said..your chances to be upgraded are good. I don't imagine a ton of people are on the waitlist for a short domestic C to F upgrade using an instrument.

Since you're comparing to AA.. note that on AA, AFAIK their business cabins on domestic flights are given out for free on 3 class planes to elites but the service in those cabins is like economy. It's different on UA.. biz class on 3 class planes is a higher class than economy and you'll have free booze and meal service.

revigik

I would suggest searching through the countless threads asking exactly your question.

Roughly speaking: You can only confirm First Class when there is availability in the ON Fare bucket (you can see fare bucket availability on your reservation page by clicking the hyperlinked "Fare Class" next to the aircraft type. United only allocates ON seats when they believe they have no chance to sell these seats (why give something away for free if they can sell it...).

If they don't release ON seats at 24 hours before departure you will be added to the Standby upgrade List, which will be cleared in order of Miles/Regional Upgrades, Y/B/M Fare Upgrades, and then Complimentary Upgrades based on status.

So it's really hard to tell your chances, it really is based on how many seats are left and how likely people are to purchase seats for that day.

Service wise, Business Class is not as good as First Class, but First Class is like any domestic first class United sells. They'll give you a meal, you'll have a good seat... and service is hit or miss, depends on the crew. The food is decent, though is getting repetitive and can be not great. They are supposedly in the process of upgrading this.

allinone

Not worth wasting the miles and money for such a short flight. Take the $75 when you get to Chicago and visit one of their incredible world class restaurants.