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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 4:21 pm
  #856  
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Originally Posted by uwr
This move substantially affects planning a SDC.
Just changes where you have to go to do the searches. The data is all still readily available.
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 4:22 pm
  #857  
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Is anybody writing to United?

Outside of FT, is anyone writing to the 1k customer service desk to complain?

Do people think getting a petition signed on this issue will make any difference to United?

I know in the past, mass complaints have affected and reversed some decisions....
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 4:23 pm
  #858  
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Originally Posted by mmack
and the siet just says nothing available call...so what am I doing wrong?
Does it return no flights at all or no flights with upgrade seats?

If it returns no flights at all then you're probably doing the search wrong. If it is just returning no flights with upgrades then that's likely because, well, there are no upgrades available. The latter wouldn't depend on this change and the former would likely be an end-user training issue.
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 4:30 pm
  #859  
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Originally Posted by sbm12
And, by that measure, there is no metric which will tell you it is the wrong change to make either.

So we can all hate the move but pretending we know it is going to destroy the company and see huge volumes of revenue go running out the door seems rather strange to me.

There is a difference between "this is bad for me" and "this is bad for customers" and "this is bad for the company." Failing to recognize that leads to all sorts of issues in the long run.
Of course, there are a virtually infinite set of responses.

And the reaction here on FT may certainly not be indicative of the larger customer base (or it might be).

I think the point is, that a big part of management is understanding and managing customer psychology and expectations.

In my experience, that's an aspect that CO has never especially excelled at, relying instead on their numbers-driven metrics to guide their decisions, even if their guts tell them there will be a downside as valuable customers are put off or driven away,
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 4:37 pm
  #860  
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MileagePlus Upgrade Awards

So I know we can still search for R availability with the Advanced Search function and click on MileagePlus Upgrade Awards but this forces you to redeem miles with a copay. What if you want to use a GPU?

Do you check for MileagePlus Upgrade Availability and if there is one, buy the ticket in W and hope the "UPGRADE" button is there after you buy the ticket?

Has anyone been successful getting a confirmed GPU upgrade since "expert mode" went down Friday?
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 4:46 pm
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Originally Posted by sfonorth
Just wondering exactly what is the new UA's business model? You would think trying to keep high volume flying elites on UA would outweigh this stepwise downgrading of benefits to net a small volume of TOD sales.
This is not to net a small volume of TOD sales. This is to replace GPUs with TODs. Just when you didn't think it could get any harder to upgrade, they do this. I bet that in the next 12 months, upgrades with GPUs will become virtually impossible to obtain. We're only a small step away from that place now. Even with EF, I could barely find R space.

Originally Posted by mmack
Hi: I just tried to "work through" the UA web site: pick sfo-syd, 2013 dates, # passengers, w fare, mileage upgrade...and the siet just says nothing available call...so what am I doing wrong?

I hate this change.
Call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call.

That's the solution to everything with this regime.

Just give up your life. All of it. Friends, family, work, food, rest, play. Give it all up. Spend the rest of your life on the phone, preferably with someone in Manila who has never even seen the system before taking your call.

That's what everything seems to lead to.

Last edited by iluv2fly; Sep 9, 2012 at 4:57 pm Reason: merge
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 4:51 pm
  #862  
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Originally Posted by sbm12
Does it return no flights at all or no flights with upgrade seats?

If it returns no flights at all then you're probably doing the search wrong. If it is just returning no flights with upgrades then that's likely because, well, there are no upgrades available. The latter wouldn't depend on this change and the former would likely be an end-user training issue.
Yes, I assume I'm doing the search wrong: please help with training

I log in as 1K, go to advance search

Put in dates for 2013 ie SFO-SYD jan 16 to Jan 29

put in w fare

click box to upgrade using award miles both directions

click search, and get the message that nothing is available.

What ma I doing wrong? I have searched the thread, and other than comments that the info is still available, I haven't seen the methodology
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 5:01 pm
  #863  
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Originally Posted by mmack
Yes, I assume I'm doing the search wrong: please help with training

I log in as 1K, go to advance search

Put in dates for 2013 ie SFO-SYD jan 16 to Jan 29

put in w fare

click box to upgrade using award miles both directions

click search, and get the message that nothing is available.

What ma I doing wrong? I have searched the thread, and other than comments that the info is still available, I haven't seen the methodology
There is currently no Upgrade Availability on your outbound date, and there is only short-haul (LAX-SFO) Upgrade Availability on the return:

[KVS Availability Tool 7.0.5/Diamond - ITA: Upgrades/UA]
Code:
SFO  San Francisco Intl CA US [KSFO]
SYD  Sydney Kingsford Smith NS AU [YSSY]
WED  16 Jan 2013 | 1 Seat

Carrier    Flight  From  Depart    To    Arrive    A/C  St  Availability
---------  ------  ----  --------  ----  --------  ---  --  ------------
UA         863     SFO   22:35     SYD   08:10 +2  744      CU-
UA/NZ      6755    SFO   19:30     AKL   05:30 +2  744      CU-
 -> UA/NZ  6771    AKL   07:00 +2  SYD   08:30 +2  763      CU-
UA/NZ      6755    SFO   19:30     AKL   05:30 +2  744      CU-
 -> UA/NZ  6773    AKL   09:00 +2  SYD   10:30 +2  772      CU-
UA/NZ      6755    SFO   19:30     AKL   05:30 +2  744      CU-
 -> UA/NZ  6775    AKL   13:00 +2  SYD   14:30 +2  763      CU-
UA         368     SFO   19:20     LAX   20:48     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         499     SFO   18:40     LAX   20:08     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         548     SFO   17:40     LAX   19:08     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         769     SFO   16:40     LAX   18:08     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         842     SFO   15:30     LAX   16:58     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         698     SFO   14:20     LAX   15:48     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         541     SFO   13:00     LAX   14:28     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         867     SFO   11:40     LAX   13:08     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         653     SFO   10:45     LAX   12:17     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         814     SFO   09:05     LAX   10:37     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
UA         479     SFO   08:30     LAX   10:02     319      CU-
 -> UA     839     LAX   22:15     SYD   07:50 +2  744      CU-
[KVS Availability Tool 7.0.5/Diamond - ITA: Upgrades/UA]
Code:
SYD  Sydney Kingsford Smith NS AU [YSSY]
SFO  San Francisco Intl CA US [KSFO]
TUE  29 Jan 2013 | 1 Seat

Carrier    Flight  From  Depart    To    Arrive    A/C  St  Availability
---------  ------  ----  --------  ----  --------  ---  --  ------------
UA         870     SYD   16:20     SFO   10:50     744      CU-
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     318     LAX   11:00     SFO   12:38     319      CU+
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     988     LAX   12:45     SFO   14:10     319      CU+
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     444     LAX   14:00     SFO   15:25     319      CU+
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     703     LAX   16:00     SFO   17:25     319      CU+
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     460     LAX   16:40     SFO   18:05     319      CU+
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     746     LAX   18:00     SFO   19:25     319      CU+
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     954     LAX   19:05     SFO   20:30     319      CU+
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     841     LAX   20:05     SFO   21:30     319      CU+
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     263     LAX   22:40     SFO   23:59     319      CU+
UA         840     SYD   15:20     LAX   09:50     744      CU-
 -> UA     414     LAX   06:00 +1  SFO   07:27 +1  319      CU+
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 5:10 pm
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Originally Posted by KVS
There is currently no Upgrade Availability on your outbound date, and there is only short-haul (LAX-SFO) Upgrade Availability on the return:
That isn't the issue. The issue is the W fare portion. I haven't checked, but maybe there aren't any W fares published. If there is, then the CO site is broken (hard to believe, I know).

Edit - @ mmack There seems to be a valid W fare => website not working properly, despite sbm12 blaming the problem on you

Last edited by murphyUA; Sep 9, 2012 at 5:17 pm
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 5:21 pm
  #865  
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Originally Posted by mmack
put in w fare
This is what's breaking it.

You have to search for Y,B,M,E,U,H,Q,V,W not just W. Or, if you have a web browser which supports GreaseMonkey, you can grab the script I have here which will always have that text in the advanced search box so it searches the proper fare classes.


Originally Posted by murphyUA
Edit - @ mmack There seems to be a valid W fare => website not working properly, despite sbm12 blaming the problem on you
You sure about that? I'm not seeing one which works in initial queries.
Seems to only work with a connection via LAX on the outbound which the site isn't pricing for some reason.

ETA2: Actually, looking at ITA, the W fare only works on the 16th with a double connect (LAS, LAX) or an overnight in LAX and LAX-SYD on the 17th, arriving the 19th. And that double-connect option is actually pricing as SFO-LAS + LAS-SYD + SYD-SFO. I'm actually not all that surprised that the United website doesn't show that.

Last edited by sbm12; Sep 9, 2012 at 5:30 pm
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 5:25 pm
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I still wouldn't follow that advice, because it's giving you a V fare on the outbound. ITA is pricing out a cheaper W fare on those dates (total fare is about $120 less).

After a few edits, I think we all might finally be on the same page

@ sbm12, perhaps it's because united.com is nice enough not to offer a 22 hour layover at LAX
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 5:34 pm
  #867  
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Originally Posted by murphyUA
@ sbm12, perhaps it's because united.com is nice enough not to offer a 22 hour layover at LAX
It will if you force it via multi-city. But I'd pay the extra <$100 and just get the trip over with rather than pay for a hotel in LAX.
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 5:34 pm
  #868  
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Originally Posted by sbm12
This is what's breaking it.

You have to search for Y,B,M,E,U,H,Q,V,W not just W. Or, if you have a web browser which supports GreaseMonkey, you can grab the script I have here which will always have that text in the advanced search box so it searches the proper fare classes.
But I don't think your GreaseMonkey script works anymore either. I've had it install for a while, but since the change you don't get any fare bucket information.

Update: I had a screen clip, but don't know how to get it into the post without an external web site. Sorry.

Last edited by drowelf; Sep 9, 2012 at 5:36 pm Reason: Deal with Image better
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 5:36 pm
  #869  
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Originally Posted by drowelf
But I don't think your GreaseMonkey script works anymore either.
I'll take a look.

ETA: Seems to still be working for me; I sent you an email.

ETA2: You're looking for my fare bucket info script to work. That's not going to happen. It was based on the premise of the data being embedded in the webpage. Once United pulled that the script died. The link I posted above is a different script which just fills in the fare classes which are GPU-eligible on the advanced search form. Sorry for the confusion.
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Old Sep 9, 2012 | 5:38 pm
  #870  
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Presumably, this is just a precursor to unlimited upgrade space that can be confirmed by 1Ks and extension of GPU validity to any fare class, right?


Seriously though, this seems like a poor decision that is short-sighted, vindictive, or both.
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