PDXPremier

I'm currently in saver economy on a PTY-LAX Copa flight and I know on UA metal you can waitlist for saver first/business, but wasn't sure if that was an option on Copa flights. It sounds like many folks (including Silvers) report getting CPUs so I suspect it would have a good chance of clearing if I can get on the waitlist.

gnaget

You are not going to get (or should not get) an upgrade on an award ticket.

Copa seems to be very stingy about awards and upgrades, so even if they have this WL then you are probably not got going to be lucky.

I recently had an M fare with a nearly empty F cabin at booking. It's eligible for instant upgrade like Y an B (and M for 1k) on UA. Didn't happen. Then the window for elites comes around starting at 4 days. Nothing happened. Not until the day of travel and the agent did it as a "special favor" at check-in. The flight went out with at least one non-rev and 2 empty seats of 12.

So if you have a revenue ticket then your chances (as silver) might be better on the day of travel. My experience was PTY-IAD.

PDXPremier

I am not looking for an upgrade on an award ticket...I was saying that I want saver business but only got saver economy so could I waitlist for saver business if and when that becomes available. They do seem stingy about business class awards with a few exceptions....lots of availability on LAS-PTY and MCO-PTY....

gnaget

My experience was that they don't release anything as the date approaches. So they make one or two seats available for upgrade or award, or maybe they don't release anything. And then they don't release anything for upgrade in advance until at the gate even when the plane probably goes out with empty F seats. There are other threads complaining about this.

Check out random dates for LAX and IAD in the future and they nearly always are C9D4I0 where I is award inventory. Upgrade is not visible on Expertflyer and comes out of Z.

You are right about LAS. PTY-LAS random date in October shows C9D8I4.

sbm12

No, it is not possible to waitlist for X/I inventory on CM metal, at least not that I've ever seen or heard happen.

Plus the website doesn't mention CM while it usually does in other cases where they are included:
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...vel/types.aspx

Kacee

I wonder if CM opens up inventory as the flight approaches? From what I've seen, their approach to inventory management is quite different from UA's (and the other airlines that use sophisticated algorithms). CM seems to have a set number of discounted seats (which is very small), and once those are gone, it's nothing but full fare. CM seems fully willing to send flights out half empty rather than drop the fares a nickel. I would not be surprised at all if the same holds for award seats.

KenInEscazu

Wow! My experience on Copa is quite different from much of what has been written here. I find Business Saver awards with reliable regularity, and I fly at least once/month between Costa Rica and Colombia via PTY. Availability on Avianca, OTOH, is rare. That could be, however, because I'm MileagePlus 1K and have no status on Avianca.

I also fly about 8 times/year from SJO-PTY-MCO-PTY-SJO, and I never buy a Clase Ejecutiva ticket because I am always upgraded. Usually at the 4 day 1K window opening, although I'm at that window today without a notice for Thursday's flight. Looks like it's because the Biz cabin is sold out on the SJO-PTY portion, but there are 14 seats open on the PTY-MCO leg - the more important one, obviously.

IME, wait lists for saver premium cabins aren't available, but because booking through UA's web site is the only way to get them, any Premier Platinum or higher can book economy, watch for saver availability, purchase it and cancel the economy ticket with no penalty. Silvers pay $125, Golds $100 for the change. Even at silver, $125 isn't a bad deal to insure a seat up front for such a long flight.

As to the discount pricing topic, they definitely do not try to drop prices to fill seats. That may very well be why they are so profitable. They are making a LOT of money in an industry well known for struggling with frequent losses.

Kacee

I've always found award availability PTY-CTG/BOG/MDE, frequently on very short notice and usually saver at 10,000 miles. Good use of miles, since the RT usually runs $550+. LAX-PTY is a bit of a different story, pretty tough saver award. Clase Ejecutiva pretty much always goes out full.