Chance of getting empty row in E+?
 

Hi guys,

Tuesday I am flying DTW-IAH-LHR-BRU on UA. (Yes I know I could have simply done DTW-EWR-BRU but that's less fun and around 1000 less miles :D)

I would like to try and get 3 seats in E+ on the IAH-LHR flight as the seat map looks pretty open. Here the seatmap as of know: (72 hours before flight)

http://s4.postimg.cc/8wolr9q99/Scre...3_52_07_PM.png

Should I pick a seat now? Or wait until Online Check in and see how it looks at that time? I guess my chances are greater on the middle seats?
Also I am not really interested in paying the extra fee for E+ unless I get the 3 seats.
If the price for Business Class goes down to around 500 euros I might just take that as well. If I do so, will I have access to the LH Business lounge in DTW as my DTW-IAH sector will be in economy?

Thanks,

OK, now I get it. You're not traveling in a party of 3; you're looking to get a row of seats to yourself. I'd say chances are very low of seeing that at flight time. Remember that the seat map only shows assigned seats, not sold. Things can fill up quickly. Or... sometimes not. I saw a half-full CDG-EWR flight the other day that ended up flying... half-empty.

Thank you for your answer and sorry if I wasn't clear.
I was also wondering if selecting a E+ seat would change my booking class or is it just a seat assignment?

No change in booking class.
Edit: By that I mean the fare code wont change if you pay for the E+ seat.

Almost zero chance of this happening. Non-revs will very likely scoop up those remaining seats

IMO, looking at that seat map, I'd say your chances are slim.

Plus Silvers have not moved up yet. There is about zero chance a passenger will have 3 across to themselves.

"If the price for Business Class goes down to around 500 euros I might just take that as well. If I do so, will I have access to the LH Business lounge in DTW as my DTW-IAH sector will be in economy?"

No access to LH lounge, but you would get access to UCs along the way.

I got it once, LHR-IAD. I switched to a particular flight just so I could do that. got lucky. Last month, I thought I was going to easily have a row to myself for LAX-SYD. As soon as I got to the lounge, I looked at the standby list. Oops - 31 people on it.

I would say your chances are not great on this one. But the computer will typically fill seats from from to back, so row 23 would give you the best chance.

My rule of thumb is to always pick my seat like every seat will be taken. Because that happened to me once--wide open seat map coming back from London and then the school group of fifty kids and adults heading to Colorado to ski got on and took every remaining seat.

Given that seat map, especially a few days before christmas, I'll be surprised if that flight doesn't go out 100% full.

But even if you could get them, the exit rows/bulkhheads have the tray table in the armrest, which means that you can't raise them. Having the middle seat free is still a (small) bonus, but having 3 free together doesn't gain you anything.

3 free together means you can lay down!!! Not as nice as F or C but waaay better than sitting up or having an empty middle. I used to be able to get that often during the recession but now a days, don't count on it. I plan on the flight being full, and watch the app seating chart like a hawk. When the door closes and seats are still open I will move if it allows me extra space, but others may do the same and it is hard to claim a full row especially middle vs, sides, when someone else is just trying to get an open middle along with you...

Not when there is a fixed armrest as mentioned. Possible in some rows, just not all.

No. No it doesn't. As the rest of my post said, the exit rows/bulkhead arm rests on the 787 (and 777, 747, and some others) are fixed, so you can't raise them, which means no lying down.

Naturally, I would avoid exit row in that case, but watching the app like a hawk til door close is worth everything, as it changes rapidly...and there were 3 non exit rows in the diagram

Well, you could lay on top of the armrests if you bring enough carry-on to fill up the seats...

To the op - I'd say you have approximately a 0.001% chance of a full row being available (and that's being optimistic).

I'd go for an aisle in the middle row 23. IME, the empty seats fill up front to back and the exit and bulk head seats will fill up first.

I once lucked out. The middle seat in the exit row was taken (I think the strategy was that no one would book with the middle seat taken). My traveling companion and I took window and aisle as they were the best seats available. It turned out it was a non Rev who had booked the middle. One of the FAs moved her to a "better" seat and we got the middle seat free.

I see a lot of times when the middle seat in a row of 3 is booked; I assume on the hope that the other seats will remain free. I wouldn't chance sitting in a middle seat even in E+.

Keep checking to see what frees up as folks are upgraded. Also check to see what the availabilty in the economy classes are.

Another thought is to see what the very back of the plane is like. If there are lots of empty rows, I might book an aisle seat in a middle row in the far back of the plane.

I really wish UA would fill up E- first before seating standbys in E+. Is there any official policy about this?

I believe they do, if those standbys aren't entitled to E+.

You're right and I believe there is an policy.

But my brother who's not an elite on UA had multiple scenarios where the gate agent was like "It's your lucky day, ill give you an E+ seat even though there's E- seats avail."

He was not assigned an seat on the ticket.

I think the best you can do is take an aisle seat where the window is already selected. Then you've got an OK chance of at least having the middle left open. When I travel with my husband, we always take aisle/window and hope no one gets seated in the middle. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

A few weeks ago on the Sydney to SFO route economy was fairly but not uncomfortably full.
After takeoff FAs began moving pax up to E+.
Never seen so many moved before.
In fact so many, that a lot of us in economy then had rows to ourselves or at least an empty seat next to us.
During a sticky beak later in the flight I was very amused to see E+ 100% full with everyone sitting cheek by jowl.

I couldn't tell if it was a typo or an Aussie expression, but Google identified it for me. What a great expression!

Despite having lived in the US for 8 years, I still occasionally use an Australia expression that I don't realize has no meaning here. Always results in much confusion and blank stares until I explain what it means :)

When my wife and I fly, we do the opposite.....we book aisle and window in an empty E+ row with the hope that no one will take the middle seat unless the plane is quite full. If someone turns up, my wife asks if they would mind switching to the aisle so she can sit in the middle next to me...suprise! no one has said "no" to that offer. We've ended up with an empty middle, I would guess, about 70% on Transcons and TATLs.

Be very aggressive in refreshing the UA app for people no-showing or empty rows opening up, especially around 1 hour before departure. Also doesn't hurt to ask the gate agent if you can get a seat "closer to the front" (generally I've had more success in international outstations where they are less familiar with the monetisation of E+ compared to hub agents)

I've had a complete row to myself about 5 times in 2015 - the last time earlier this month when I had two rows, the bulkhead pair in row 20, and the three in row 25. There were more rows than people in E+, and only slightly fewer in E-

Odds of getting 3 empty seats together in E+ on an international flight full of *G? Pick a number, any number, as long as that number is less than zero.

It does happen, so while the chance may be low, it is not zero.

Wow. Last emptyish E+/fullish E- flight, the FA was offering those seats for payment but otherwise you were stuck where assigned.

I've had three empty seats on flights with 90% load factor... it happens

Indeed they do. In my experience, Premier members and Non-revs get E+ seats if open, all others start with E- and only into E+ if that's all that's left.

This is one area where being a 1K carries some weight. Clearing standbys, I've found the GAs will do everything in their power to make a 1K comfortable if flying standby ... They can be awfully creative. ;)

Well you guys were right. I don't know what happened but at about T-32h the seat map just suddenly filled up...

http://s7.postimg.cc/ujjqpli2z/Scre...1_40_36_AM.png