CPU on protected flight?
 

I'm on a CPUed transcon today where the feeder flight is delayed. Naturally, I called UA to have them protect me on the next available flight. After arranging the protection, I logged into the website to make sure that they didn't mess anything up. To my surprise, I saw that my protected flight shows "Upgrade Confirmed" in R class, with the same seat assignment as my original flight. Flight status for the protected flight, on the other hand, shows first checked in full and someone else having been upgraded to my assigned seat.

Is this normal? Do I have a chance of actually flying in F?

Something is missing here. You refer to both flights as "protected". That can't be. Which one of your two flights shows someone else has sitting in "your" seat?

There is only one protected flight.

On the original flight, I am CPUed and assigned a seat in F. Everything is consistent.

On the protected flight that leaves later, reservations page shows me CPUed with the same seat assignment as the original flight. Flight status on this flight don't show me on the upgrade list, and shows someone else having been upgraded to my assigned seat.

The reservation display usually shows me in the same seats on a protected flight if the number of coupons don't match. Its a glitch.

It's possible that the agent protected you straight into First (R) as a courtesy.

As for the seat assignment, CO's website is unable to accurately display seat assignments for more than one flight of the same leg, so the second seat assignment may not be accurate until you delete out the first of the like segment.

For example, if your itin is:

DEN-SFO-ANC
FAI-DEN-SFO

What the CO website displays for the second DEN-SFO will not be accurate, and you will have to call to manipulate that seat.

I had the same thing happen recently, though I'm 99% sure that the protected segment was not actually upgraded or in F. I say this, because when I looked at the upgrade list for that flight, I was not on there, and someone else was with the seat that I had been assigned.

Fortunately, I made my original flight, but I'm pretty sure that had I shown up at the gate, that I would have been given a seat in the back.

correct. it always shows yoru same seat assignment on the protected flight but it's nto real. just jeffy IT

You are in fact on standby on the protected flight.

You are protected for further delay. It does not mean you are "officially" offloaded from your original flight.

Once you are offloaded and rebooked (since you will not be able to get BP for your standby flight), everything will be back to normal again.

You are not confirmed in F and won't be CPUed in F.

I checked the glossary but couldn't find this one - I assume "protected flight" means just getting a seat on the next available flight in the event you are forced to miss your original because of a delay, but are there rules for this at UA and how do we go about asking? Is there a thread on this?

This seems normal to me. Every time I've been protected on another flight it shows the same seat assignment as the flight I'm scheduled to fly on. Since you aren't really "booked" on the protected flight you can't choose a seat or anything.

What you are indicating seems normal but like Gary said you aren't protected in F and likely won't get CPUd.

I was CPU'd last week into R; due to irrops I called UA to get protected on another flight. It was no problem...and the agent said "because you cleared into R, we will protect you into R" which was available. I didn't show up on the second flight upgrade list, but did get a F seat.