Kacee

No such flight . . . do you mean DEN-NRT?

That's not an easy route in general but specifics depend on the particular flight. Odds can be zero one day and close to a sure thing the next.

popoemt

Sorry, yes, meant NRT... I'm flying out on a Saturday, hoping thats not a big business flight time...^

*My flight back is MNL-HND

I knew Haneda was in there somewhere...

EmailKid

Mid week tends to be easier to u/g, but if you are hoping for a buyup at checkin or at gate (I assume to avoid adding miles to $$$).

Don't believe they do u/g at the gate like PMUA used to do, and I suspect there will be pax wanting to u/g with GPU as well as Miles and Ca$h, so you can hope for an offer.

IME flying on a Saturday does not increase your chances, as some business travelers like to rest on Sunday and get used to time change before doing business on Monday.

PsiFighter37

What do folks think of a 1K applying an RPU ~7 months out on an LAX-EWR p.s. flight that currently is showing 16J version (with no seats booked)? Would be for a Sunday late morning flight...my hunch is that it's pretty unlikely it would clear, but wanted to solicit opinions before tying up RPUs.

MatthewLAX

Unlikely, IMO. I would not risk it.

But I had just had two clients (Gold status) clear a Sat morning 16J seat p.s. flight on miles.

PsiFighter37

I could see Saturday morning working out...my past experience has been that Sunday LAX-EWR flights, unless you are on the earliest one out of town, is probably not going to clear. Was just wondering if status (I should be 1K by the time of flying) and doing it way ahead of time would give me any benefit. I don't really recall the upgrade clearing list generally being that long for p.s. flights...

Kacee

Personally I won't waitlist ps anywhere. I'll only book into open upgrade space or buy the P.

shonamac

Of course I understand that upgrade chances on any given flight would depend on the loading of the flight on that day; however, can anyone comment on the upgrade chances on the non-stop SFO-SIN-SFO flights from Coach (W) to Business?

If the chances are relatively slim, there would be no point at all in paying the extra money required for the W fare bucket.

PS. I'm a 1K if that makes any difference

AlwaysEnRoute

How firm are your travel dates and how much lead time do you have? Are you using miles or GPU? Usually the agents on the 1K line are extremely helpful with finding an upgrade seat if one is open (almost never) and it's much faster than UAs new website.

Otherwise it's a crapshoot, as a 1K I've had EWR>HKG (GPU) not clear when requested 2.5 months out and another time was op-upped SYD>SFO as a gold early in my career due to oversold economy.

The largest factor is going to be requesting early and hoping a seat gets released, or opting for a non direct route that can get confirmed immediately. Flights going through NRT usually have upgrade space. But you will then be most likely flying on ANA or Singapore Airlines going down to Changi and you may have to use more miles or GPUs for that segment to upgrade.

shonamac

@AlwaysEnRoute: I have about 3-4 days leeway with my planned dates in mid-October, but that is entirely moot since the ticket has to be purchased before requesting an upgrade. I will be buying a ticket with $$ and not miles.

Once the tickets are purchased, I cannot change the dates without an absurd penalty - so the dates are firm, willy nilly.

Creative routing is also ruled out since I am ONLY interested in the non-stop SFO-SIN. If I had to fly via an intermediate point, I would rather fly SQ or some such, and not UA!

kluau88

You can find R space. I bought a W fare on SIN-SFO to try the nonstop last month, and R was available at booking which was like 2 weeks out. Sadly HKG-SIN cancelled as a result of ORD-HKG going mechanical so I never got to fly SIN-SFO.

physioprof

Applied a GPU to a friend's V fare on MXP->EWR tomorrow morning. He is currently #3 on the BusinessFirst upgrade list, and the flight status page says "United BusinessFirst®: 40 | Booked: 38 | Checked In: 14". And Global First is booked full. Any hope for him to clear?

LIH

Have my fiance booked on ORD > SFO next Thursday on a V share. Applied a RPU at booking a few weeks ago and it went to the WL. Now the front of the bus is showing 10 empty seats and 7 "available" for a $444 buy-up. That is down from 9/$525 yesterday. When I saw 9/$525 a week out I thought she would be a near shoe-in. Not so much anymore.

Update as of 7/16: Buy-up moved to $411 with 6 available. Ugh.

Kacee

Some chance. It's not uncommon to get last minute cancels (or no shows) on long-haul business class. One or two is almost the norm.

physioprof

Great. Thanks for weighing in!