Repooc17

Are you saying I need to fly INTL?

Given almost all of my flights have been full of basic economy pax and/or those without status, and the fact many economy plus seats have gone out empty, I think I have done okay not getting stuck in the middle (though assigned middle almost always on 3-3 config)

Enjoy your empty row (?)!

Lux Flyer

Is there a non-UA airline anywhere on the itinerary?

SS255

Nope. LAX-LHR-LAX.

ContinentalFan

The empty row was great. I have another one for the return flight in a few hours. I hope it holds up!

BigFlyer

What's your secret for avoiding the middle seat?

dawkins20

Read the thread, but still a bit confused about OLCI options.
Looking at a flight from EWR to KEF on UA metal for a family of 4 (kids under 12) have never considered BE but the delta is 150 per ticket and I have a UA Mileage Explorer Chase card.

A couple questions:

1- We will probably not check bags, but may check 1. I understand that we definitely get 1 checked bag free with me as the cardholder. My bigger concern is that if we do not check bags, will we still need to check in at the counter vs OLCI? Does the fact that we will get boarding group 2 as cardholders change this automatically? I really do not want to check in at the counter at EWR as its often a huge pain.

2-Looks like as per new policy the kids will be assigned seats next to a parent. That's good enough for us as we aren't avoiding middle seats anyway. Is there any way to avoid being stuffed in the last row of the plane or is that just the likely risk you take with these tickets

3-I dont care about PQP miles / $, so other than that and possibly eating a $99 fee per ticket if we change or cancel, is there any other downside to these tickets I'm missing?

Thanks. Seems like there have been some recent changes so I hope I'm understanding this properly

emcampbe

I don�t fly BE - ever - so just from what I understand, but:

- will likely not need to do check in in person - though obviously, you�ll need to use counter for some portion if you have bag(s) to check - IMO and IME, there�s little downside to having to check in at counter if you need to check bags anyway - obviously, can be a real benefit if you can skip the counter completely.

- I think the policy is to seat kids next to a parent when possible, which includes potentially opening up paid seats for free if needed. However, there is no guarantee it won�t be in the last row, and also no guarantee all 4 will be together (ie, if two adults and two kids, may be one adult and kid in row 27, another adult and kid in row 31). Also, if for some reason there is no adjacent seats, it may not be possible. IMO, bad idea to rely on this, honestly. If you want seats for all your party together, or are looking to avoid certain areas (ie, last row), I�d just buck up and pay for seats, personally. For me, it wouldn�t be on a BE fare, but if the savings are too valuable, completely get it, but just buck up and buy the seat assignments. From what I�ve seen, it�s not that much, and honestly, it�s a little comfort that will save you stress at the relative last minute, IMO, it�s probably just worth doing.

- For me, I�m not convinced BE is ever going to be worth it based on my travel preferences/needs, but yeah, aside from the miles, bag restrictions (for non-premiers/cardholders), seat assignment restrictions and change/cancel policies, those are the main disadvantages of BE. All of these can pretty much be avoided with additional fees now though.

dawkins20

I've never even considered BE before , but in this case it may be worth it. $600 total difference for 4 people , date cannot change for us, probably aren't checking bags , and really usually only sit in groups of 2 with one adult w one kid, rarely all together on any flight ..

I don't have an issue pre buying seats if available nuts wasn't sure if that was doable with BE, and mainly want to avoid the counter and just do OLCI

Those are our main concerns

TWA884

In my experience when flying BE, as a MileagePlus Explorer cardholder who never checks bags, I never had to go to the counter and have always been able to OLCI. Once, I really didn't care for my auto-assigned middle seat and paid $10 to change it to an aisle seat.

fumje

I'm fairly sure the BE check-in flow only blocks you from completing it if it sees no checked bags have been paid. If you have a credit card or status, it treats that as prepaying for the bags.

jsloan

Well, if no bags have been paid and if you will be in Boarding Group 6. I don’t think the no-OLCI restriction applies to international BE, because there’s no carry-on restriction. The purpose of the in-person check-in is to enforce the latter rule. Since passengers with a qualifying credit card or with UA status will not be in BG6, they are exempt from the rule.

ContinentalFan

I started flying on BE tickets last October. I tried to fly standby from EWR to LAX, but the agent wouldn�t add me to the list. I don�t recall exactly what was said, but I erroneously concluded that BE fares couldn�t fly standby. I may have said as such earlier in this thread.

Fast forward to the post quoted above: it prompted me to try standby the next day. It worked like a charm. Though whenever I�ve tried it at EWR, I get pushback from the gate agent. CS at the United Club adds me without an issue and I�m always first or, once, second on the standby list.

I think I know what�s going on. EWR-LAX seems to be very NRSA heavy, so maybe agents don�t want me crowding the list. If anyone has issues getting on the standby list, I�ve found that CS agents are more than happy to oblige.