lhrsfo

+1. Otherwise, you end up in the same situation as domestically, with cabins being mostly populated by upgraders and therefore no reason to provide any form of service or amenity.

Ghery

My flight from SFO to HKG on the 1st and the one home tomorrow show BusinessFirst to be full. UA doesn't seem to be having any trouble filling those seats. Now, as to how those folks got them, I don't know, but they are showing full. I'll have my seat in E+...

AndyInSaigon

I flew EWR-HKG on 2/27. I think there were about 20 on WL for BF that didn't clear.

Last year I flew over 200k miles (all TPAC or TATL) & BF was full on most flights (& always IAH-LHR, IAH-NRT & EWR-HKG). But occasionally there are days when the load is very light. IAH-NRT once had 5 in BF, but that was on Jan 01.

Other than the wines I have no complaint about UA BF. For me it's comfortable & the price is right.

mdpdjx

The problem is not just with United. I flew Singapore Airlines from LAX to Singapore (via Tokyo) last week. It was less than one third full in business class. It is the same way coming back. Why would any airline give away premium seats away to others who don't want to pay extra for it?

UA1KPHL

or if you got access to Global Premier upgrades if you are in a W fare class or higher.
This is exactly why i wnat United to allow Day of departure use of Instruments for the upgrades!!if it is empty let us use GPUs for upgrades if its full i paid for cheaper Econ seat and got econ seat!!

xliioper

You are wildly mis-interpreting what "dilute the value" means in this case. It's simply saying that many of those paying for F or discounted J or using GPU or miles to get up front would stop doing that if they knew they had a decent shot at getting moved up for free. As fewer people actually buy J seats, there are more seats available for comp upgrades which further increases the notion of "why pay?". So there's a kind of reinforcing action that can occur. Sure, there will be some that pay more to guarantee a seat. But the overall premium they will pay above a coach seat will likely be less. Diluting the value refers to that premium airlines can command on those J seats. It's got nothing to do with a "caste" system.

Offering cheap day-of-travel buy-up's can also cause the same issue. Why buy a discounted J when you know there's a decent chance if you buy the cheapest coach fare you will be able to get a J seat for $200 on the day of travel.

halls120

Today would be a good day to fly to Europe out of IAD if you wanted a BF seat and had a GPU to burn. Of the 10 flights I looked at, Munich is showing J4 C4 RN4, Paris is showing J6 C 6 RN6, the late FRA flight J7 C7 RN7, and all the rest are J9 C9 RN9.

TPJ

I have been on a single UA flight in C that was less than 40% full. Normally - if there are any available seats left - they will be grabbed by non-revs.

PS. I do not have any issue whatsoever with non-revs traveling in C - just an observation not criticism.

CDKing

Ive always received buy up offer even after check in.

ZZYZXROAD

This might be the best quote ever from a member community who tries to as little as possible to sit up front. Made my day.

I think you meant to say, if it's important to you, you should probably buy a tix.

While I believe we all 'pay' for it one way or another, your point is understood but the way I read it cracked me up.

Kacee

Well one reason would be to build loyalty.

I remember many years ago on one of my very first business trips the Park Hyatt Los Angeles upgraded me to a suite. As a result, I gave that hotel all my west LA stays until it changed brands.

btw, SQ is known for not giving away premium seats. It follows a different model from UA. I flew the all-business 340 LAX-SIN once with maybe 25 pax on the entire flight.

mahasamatman

It's a balance. If United gave the seats away reliably, nobody would ever pay for them. If it happens once in a while as a "surprise", it might be more effective on both sides, but that's basically what GPUs etc are for (or would be if they released a bit more R space).

fahrradman

I think it harms United, rather than the full fare passenger. My domestic upgrade percentage (not on United on another airline) is very close to 100%. Why would I ever buy a domestic F ticket if I know with near certainty my deep discount Y ticket will get me F.

Same logic applies to international upgrades. If you start upgrading me on a space available basis from Y, I am less likely to buy a J ticket.

exbayern

I was shocked to fly from LHR in BF the other week and find the cabin 1/3 full, with at several non-revs and at least four people who had done a buy up to BF at check in.

mitchellh

I recommend calling and asking.