What is the upgrade wait list like on that flight (DEN-SJC-DEN)? Is it elite heavy?

LarkSFO,

I fly DEN <-> SJC pretty frequently and, as a Gold, I haven't been upgraded on that route since the merger. Things are obviously much better if you're 1K - I assume odds are improved for you since you're Platinum (I should know better next month after I hit Plat).

OK, thanks. It certainly seems like that MIGHT be the case! Obviously, this is all rather mysterious black-box stuff.

I went ahead and split our records. No downside to this that I can think of -- except perhaps that the computer is less likely to assign us to adjacent seats if we clear (of course, on the flight segment that already cleared, we weren't assigned ANY seats!).

I would like to know more about this "skipping" thing, though. Sometimes I travel with my kids, who are only silver elite (I only put one of them on the record with me, and one on the record with my 1K wife). We sure don't get upgraded too often. If they're skipping us over as "twos," that's pretty crummy, and there's not much to do about it (except complain to UA about the programming), because they sure aren't likely to get upgraded on their own status.

Well, the CPU system seems to still be FUBAR.

So I split the record a few days ago: myself on one (1K) my wife on the other (1K). This is a 737-900 with 20 FC seats. More than half of them were still available 3 days ago. But we never cleared. They were down to 7 seats tonight when check-in became available.

After I checked in, I looked at the upgrade list. My wife was 6th and I was 7th. Seemed pretty terrible (like how many GS could there be?), but I'm now used to being unusually low on the list.

So now, a couple hours later, I look again. I've suddenly been upgraded, and my wife is still 3rd on the list, with the FC cabin booked to 18.

How the heck could I suddenly leapfrog in front of my wife who was originally listed ahead of me? BTW, I also seemed to have leapfrogged ahead of 2 other pax who were originally on the list in front of my wife, and they're still on the waitlist, too.

I just don't have any faith that this "blackbox" processes anything according to any rules.

I have had that leapfrogging happen to me. I was first on the waitlist after checking in, with 9 open seats in first and several folks behind me on the list. After refreshing the URL a few second later first showed fully booked with the waitlist behind me shortened. Yet there I was, still first on the waitlist. Black box indeed.

Just a couple of notes:

First, the two-person-PNR issues are extensively discussed in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...eeds-stop.html

Second, there are two separate upgrade systems, with two different sets of priorities. The list that is visible online is only used for at-gate upgrades. Although leapfrogging can happen due to the two-person-PNR issue, another explanation is that you simply should not be looking at the upgrade list on the website until you're standing at the gate.

Finally, United has acknowledged how badly this system is screwed up, and is (supposedly) actively working to fix it.

I didn't know that! So to be clear, once one checks in at T-24 hours you are put on a CPU waitlist based on premier status and then fare class. This list will clear once check-in has closed. In the mean time at T-24 there is processing of a waitlist for instant upgrades, GPUs, RPUs, upgrade awards, and CPUs (in that order). So a 2P who has an upgrade award may be below me on the CPU waitlist that shows up on the web, but will clear at say T-23 because they are ahead of me on the upgrade waitlist.

Is that right?

Look at the E-Ticket #. Usually the one who was ticketed first (will have a lower number in the end of the E-ticket such as 1200 vs 1201). The one with the lower number usually gets upgraded first IME.

As for leapfrogging two people ahead of your wife, sounds like all four of you have the same status and fare class, however you guys booked first before the other two, but the other two checked in first so they appear higher on the airport list. Now, it everything remains constant (no new last min purchase, SDC, etc) if CPU runs before the GA runs it, your wife will leapfrog the other two customers.

This is just a guess based on anecdotal experiences.

Thanks, guys, for trying to explain the "unexplainable."

Golfingboy -- I think your guess as to what's going on is likely correct. My 1K wife did check herself in first, and then checked me in (also 1K). So she's higher on the "at-gate airport list" that's visible on the website. But I have the lower ticket number, so I cleared ahead of her when the "CPU advance upgrade program" ran.

So for my wife to get the upgrade, another FC seat has to fall into the right bucket and that program has to run before the gate agent takes "control" of the upgrade list, right?

As a practical matter, to maximize gate upgrades (at least on 1-traveler PNRs), does this mean one should always try to check in at exactly 24 hours?

And getting back to my original question: it IS a good idea to split two-person PNRs well in advance if both pax have the same status, right? Will the advance CPU system skip over you if only 1 seat becomes available in the correct FC bucket and give it to somebody lower on the list?

On the other hand, if I'm travelling in a 2-person PNR with somebody with a lower (or no) elite status, and we want to maximize our dual upgrade chances, I don't want to check-in until I get to the airport? Of course, does this mean if only one seat becomes available, somebody below me on the advance list will get it?

Sheesh. My brain is starting to hurt from this strategizing. They need to simplify this.

EDIT: OK, just when I think I understand this, ponder this other scenario. Two weeks ago, my wife and I (both 1Ks) are travelling with our 2 children (both silvers). We have 2 PNRs (each 1 adult, 1 child). Nobody clears the upgrade list. At 24 hours, I check us all in. We're all in coach. But less than an hour later, I and my silver daughter have been upgraded, and my wife (and other silver child) are still in coach. (Later, many hours later, my wife did clear, but not our other child). So how did that happen? From reading some posts from the other thread, I would have thought my daughter would have lost my "advance CPU upgrade" status (and been demoted to silver) when her PNR was split off at check-in, yet she still got upgraded before my 1K wife (who was then in a solo PNR).

EDIT 2: Well, for all the strategizing, it didn't matter -- I couldn't take the first flight because it was several hours late and would have stranded me. Interestingly, my wife never cleared the list, although she probably would have at the airport because she was 2nd on the airport list and there were 3 seats remaining. Oddly, one of the pax that I leapfrogged on the list to get upgraded WAS later upgraded, while my wife languished. When you split a record, could that affect the "purchase date"? If status level and fare class are equal, is the priority given by low ticket number or the date the PNR was created? From my experience, I'm thinking it would be the latter (which would explain why I got leapfrogged with my original PNR, and my wife languished), but who knows. This might be an argument against splitting.

Back to the original question, from earlier this year. Are CPU's improving? My success rate was about 45% in the first quarter, about 55% in the second quarter, and about 70% in the third quarter. So, for me, yes, they have been improving.

Still a big 0 for X for me so not improving. But hey, at least they can't get any worse

Not for me: 3 for 26 this year w Plat status
Did better as a gold last year and as a 1P in pre-merger days. My home airport is elite heavy, at boarding I usually see a few step up when GS is called, and BG1 is huge.

What is your status level?

What's the appropriate metric for measuring CPU rates in multi segment itineraries?

Lately, I've been clearing the shorter legs, and not the longer legs, on these trips. Does this mean that my CPU success is declining?

You have to talk to spin and flyer about 'stage length adjusted CPU clearing' metrics.