Booking a R/T for 2 - with different return dates - Same PNR?
 

I am planning an international trip for myself and my niece -- we are traveling together outbound, but returning on different dates. I'd like to have us on the same PNR for U/G purposes on the outbound leg --

Should I call the 1K line to book this? I have no idea how I would do it on the .bomb.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Don't think you can do it - in order for your niece to get your benefits, you have to be on the same itinerary; that means same flights outbound and inbound.

You can book it as two one-ways so the outbound benefits get shared, but I'm assuming that would be a fare break and cost more for an international flight.

You can't book together with different dates. However, if there is R space available at booking, you can apply the upgrade to the separate PNRs and confirm immediately. Furthermore, GPU priority is based on the status of the account it comes from, not the person booking, so you should be in a similar priority.

There IS a risk only one of you could be upgraded, but it all depends on the flight.

I'm not sure this is possible.

Maybe buy a ticket for the same dates, fly outbound, split PNRs, change one PNR. That would set you back at least one of the freshly increased change fees, likely some fare difference too.

As far as I know there is no way to combine PNRs together, so you'd have to start off with a single PNR. But this, by definition, means you and your niece must buy the same itinerary.

All correct. All passengers on a single PNR must be booked together at the same time, fly on the exact same flights on the same dates, and be booked in the same booking code...and for upgrades either all passengers on the PNR or none can be upgraded.

The technical reason why you can't do this is that UA's reservations system enforces constraints for a multi-passenger PNR which require that every passenger must have identical flight numbers and fare codes.

Some of the things you can't do include:

• Have two different flights, one for one passenger and one for another passenger, on the same record.
• Have the exact same flights booked, but one passenger is on an W fare and the other passenger is on an L fare. (This is why buying two one-passenger itineraries is sometimes cheaper than one two-passenger itinerary -- a flight that's Y9 B9 M9 … W2 V1 will book into W for two passengers but may book into V for one passenger and W for the next passenger if booked on separate PNRs.)
• Have the exact same flights and fares booked, say both K fares, and then upgrade one traveler. (This would leave you with an R fare and a K fare on the same itinerary, which is a no-go.)

If the pricing is the same, you could consider booking it as one ways, then you can be on the same on the outbound.

Back to OP's question - OP are you aware that having the same PNR on a GPU results in an all or nothing approach? Many here split PNRs so at least one GPU will clear.

But, none of this matters because the UG's are presumably by cert and cert takes the owner's status. So, OP's cert will get him his status and his use of a cert for his niece will get her his status. The only reason I would book OW's, is if the two OW's are cheaper than the RT.

Currently, most UA international pricing includes a hearty premium on the one-way fares. It's worth checking but don't be surprised if the OW is 75-90% of the RT fare.

Why did everyone assume GPU upgrade? Why can't it be CPU upgrade (eg., NRT-HKG) that the OP was wishing for? So what exactly is in your mind, OP?

Nevertheless, i was told a couple times by 1K reservation agents that you must have identicle itinerary on the same PNR. Sorry to break the bad news!

Not just an UA system limitation, a general airline system constraint.

Exactly. Kind of unfair to try to pin it as a UA failing. It's the IATA standard for how PNRs are formatted. If you want to have the possibility of ever having more than one carrier on the PNR and the details shared correctly between the carriers your system needs to be formatted this way.

Thanks everyone. Right now, the flight I am looking at is R9 and I want to upgrade at booking with GPUs. And yes, I have looked at the one-way fares and to do that is literally 4X the price of the R/T!

I guess I can book my flight, then hers, and hope that the U/G seats are there, assuming the second will be purchased only a few minutes after the first...

Try to get everything done within 24-hrs of booking. In that case if something falls through, you can always cancel everything. But if R=9 you'll be just fine.