Downgrade Priority
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, Hyatt Plat, SPG Plat
Posts: 332
Downgrade Priority
I am wondering if there is a specific policy regarding the order in which passengers are downgraded in the event of an oversold F cabin?
Here's my situation from this weekend:
Does the downgrade list go purely by status? The UA App showed 6 passengers had cleared an upgrade on that flight - so shouldn't one of them be downgraded before a paying passenger (paying with miles or dollars) is downgraded?
Here's my situation from this weekend:
- 4 pax on one PNR (2 1Ks, 2 GMs) booked with miles from 1K account.
- Confirmed in F class with seat assignments and boarding passes.
- 5 minutes before boarding one of us is paged and told we are first on the list to be downgraded.
- Got the $500 downgrade compensation and a decent seat bulkhead aisle seat, so not horrible.
- Gate Agent was nice even though I was being pretty hard on her. She even talked to the FA to make sure our one pax in Y was taken care of. She got free drinks and even a comp BOB.
Does the downgrade list go purely by status? The UA App showed 6 passengers had cleared an upgrade on that flight - so shouldn't one of them be downgraded before a paying passenger (paying with miles or dollars) is downgraded?
#2
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: DCA
Programs: UA Gold
Posts: 1,653
I am wondering if there is a specific policy regarding the order in which passengers are downgraded in the event of an oversold F cabin?
Here's my situation from this weekend:
Does the downgrade list go purely by status? The UA App showed 6 passengers had cleared an upgrade on that flight - so shouldn't one of them be downgraded before a paying passenger (paying with miles or dollars) is downgraded?
Here's my situation from this weekend:
- 4 pax on one PNR (2 1Ks, 2 GMs) booked with miles from 1K account.
- Confirmed in F class with seat assignments and boarding passes.
- 5 minutes before boarding one of us is paged and told we are first on the list to be downgraded.
- Got the $500 downgrade compensation and a decent seat bulkhead aisle seat, so not horrible.
- Gate Agent was nice even though I was being pretty hard on her. She even talked to the FA to make sure our one pax in Y was taken care of. She got free drinks and even a comp BOB.
Does the downgrade list go purely by status? The UA App showed 6 passengers had cleared an upgrade on that flight - so shouldn't one of them be downgraded before a paying passenger (paying with miles or dollars) is downgraded?
Where was the downgraded passenger seated? They could have been unseated by a FAM.
Did you receive a mileage refund?
#3
Moderator: United Airlines
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For IDB, it is
and award tickets are below all paid fare classes including upgraders.
This may have been what was used in your case.
The priority of all other confirmed passengers may be determined based on a passenger’s fare class, itinerary, status of frequent flyer program membership, and the time in which the passenger presents him/herself for check-in without advanced seat assignment.
This may have been what was used in your case.
#4
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#5
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The procedure (which is seldom followed, IME), is they're supposed to solicit for volunteers to downgrade for a refund in upgrade method + the voucher.
If no volunteers, then downgrade in reverse upgrade order. An F award ticket is considered a paid F ticket. They are supposed to downgrade an upgrader first before downgrading a paid F ticket. If there were no upgraders, then yours would be the lowest paid F ticket, presumably.
So, based on the information provided (that there were upgraders), it appears that this downgrade situation, like most other UA downgrade situations, was mishandled.
At least you got the voucher, though. IME, they usually don't know about the voucher and you have to push for it.
If no volunteers, then downgrade in reverse upgrade order. An F award ticket is considered a paid F ticket. They are supposed to downgrade an upgrader first before downgrading a paid F ticket. If there were no upgraders, then yours would be the lowest paid F ticket, presumably.
So, based on the information provided (that there were upgraders), it appears that this downgrade situation, like most other UA downgrade situations, was mishandled.
At least you got the voucher, though. IME, they usually don't know about the voucher and you have to push for it.
#6
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Location: DEN
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It seems like if there are CPU upgraders, they should be downgraded first (with the last upgraded the first to be downgraded). Only when that list is exhausted should they go to the folks who booked in that cabin with miles or dollars. Or is that too logical? Or maybe not oversell the F cabin so frequently...
#7
Join Date: Apr 2009
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Posts: 1,707
It seems like if there are CPU upgraders, they should be downgraded first (with the last upgraded the first to be downgraded). Only when that list is exhausted should they go to the folks who booked in that cabin with miles or dollars. Or is that too logical? Or maybe not oversell the F cabin so frequently...
#8
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It seems like if there are CPU upgraders, they should be downgraded first (with the last upgraded the first to be downgraded). Only when that list is exhausted should they go to the folks who booked in that cabin with miles or dollars. Or is that too logical? Or maybe not oversell the F cabin so frequently...
Additionally do you know if the upgraders were CPU? or YBM or GPU or RPU .....
BTW I agree the CPU upgrades should be reversed.
How frequently have you encountered a domestic F cabin oversell if you think it is too frequent?
#9
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It seems like if there are CPU upgraders, they should be downgraded first (with the last upgraded the first to be downgraded). Only when that list is exhausted should they go to the folks who booked in that cabin with miles or dollars. Or is that too logical? Or maybe not oversell the F cabin so frequently...
#10
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As far as how many are too many - 1 is too many if it happens to me! Seems like they have increased post-merger but I don't have any data to back it up.
#11
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#12
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I think the main factor we didn't have pre-3/3/2012 is SHARES incorrectly dropping people's returns after their outbounds get changed, necessitating them having to be reinstated. If someone was in F, they get reinstated in F, simple as that.
I remember one last year, and the GA was nervous about the flight because they were already oversold and they had to reinstate a GS into an already full F cabin because SHARES dropped his return after an outbound IRROP. She was afraid that she'd have to IDB this GS, and they were begging for a volunteer from F not to downgrade, but to take another flight (VDB).
I was on an F ticket, I bit, and they rerouted me on another carrier in F. Not all things are bad about SHARES, it sometimes works out in your favor.
#13
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The procedure (which is seldom followed, IME), is they're supposed to solicit for volunteers to downgrade for a refund in upgrade method + the voucher.
If no volunteers, then downgrade in reverse upgrade order. An F award ticket is considered a paid F ticket. They are supposed to downgrade an upgrader first before downgrading a paid F ticket. If there were no upgraders, then yours would be the lowest paid F ticket, presumably.
So, based on the information provided (that there were upgraders), it appears that this downgrade situation, like most other UA downgrade situations, was mishandled.
At least you got the voucher, though. IME, they usually don't know about the voucher and you have to push for it.
If no volunteers, then downgrade in reverse upgrade order. An F award ticket is considered a paid F ticket. They are supposed to downgrade an upgrader first before downgrading a paid F ticket. If there were no upgraders, then yours would be the lowest paid F ticket, presumably.
So, based on the information provided (that there were upgraders), it appears that this downgrade situation, like most other UA downgrade situations, was mishandled.
At least you got the voucher, though. IME, they usually don't know about the voucher and you have to push for it.
#14
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
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....
So, based on the information provided (that there were upgraders), it appears that this downgrade situation, like most other UA downgrade situations, was mishandled.
At least you got the voucher, though. IME, they usually don't know about the voucher and you have to push for it.
So, based on the information provided (that there were upgraders), it appears that this downgrade situation, like most other UA downgrade situations, was mishandled.
At least you got the voucher, though. IME, they usually don't know about the voucher and you have to push for it.
Sure it is fun to trash UA and the oversell should not happen but the recovery may be fully legit.
#15
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: IAH
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Posts: 4,043
It never happened to me pre-merger, but post-3/3/2012, I've been downgraded maybe 4-5 times, and have heard about my flight having oversold F many more than that.
I think the main factor we didn't have pre-3/3/2012 is SHARES incorrectly dropping people's returns after their outbounds get changed, necessitating them having to be reinstated. If someone was in F, they get reinstated in F, simple as that.
I remember one last year, and the GA was nervous about the flight because they were already oversold and they had to reinstate a GS into an already full F cabin because SHARES dropped his return after an outbound IRROP. She was afraid that she'd have to IDB this GS, and they were begging for a volunteer from F not to downgrade, but to take another flight (VDB).
I was on an F ticket, I bit, and they rerouted me on another carrier in F. Not all things are bad about SHARES, it sometimes works out in your favor.
I think the main factor we didn't have pre-3/3/2012 is SHARES incorrectly dropping people's returns after their outbounds get changed, necessitating them having to be reinstated. If someone was in F, they get reinstated in F, simple as that.
I remember one last year, and the GA was nervous about the flight because they were already oversold and they had to reinstate a GS into an already full F cabin because SHARES dropped his return after an outbound IRROP. She was afraid that she'd have to IDB this GS, and they were begging for a volunteer from F not to downgrade, but to take another flight (VDB).
I was on an F ticket, I bit, and they rerouted me on another carrier in F. Not all things are bad about SHARES, it sometimes works out in your favor.