GuyverII

On one of those ORD-FRA flights I had one get lodged up in my crack. Woke up REAL quick.

findark

Because between upgrades and cheap fares, I'm usually flying up front for less than triple the cost of a Y ticket, and I have no interest in gambling on finding an empty row

ermintrude

My company pays for J and I pay for Y (Recently I've been using my GPUs - I used to give them to my parents but they are flying less). In Y I 'beat the house' 90+% of the time; this year no exception TATL TPAC in Y on my own dime regarding getting my row. That's too high a percentage success for me to buy J.

helvetic

Is that allowed? It'd be extra great for mileage runs, since you're allowed to keep the miles, too.

coolbeans202

I've had some pretty remarkable luck with empty rows, though I tend to fly internationally during the off months when the planes are more empty. I can sleep fairly well on planes to begin with, so really I’m just hoping for an empty middle.

PsuedoEuropeanGuy

The way I read it is that:

a) If people don't have to pay for Polaris (i.e. use a GPU) they prefer Polaris strongly.

b) If people have to pay a co-pay or buy it outright then most people prefer Hobo to Polaris.

That doesn't bode well for United if this forum is a representative sample of their customers.

docbert

Why not? Everything is relative to price.

A 777-200 2-class plane has 50 business class seats, and 217 economy seats. Say a flight goes out full with no upgrades, does that mean that over 80% of people would prefer to sit in economy? Or just that 80% of people can't afford/justify the extra cost to sit up the front?

Getting 3 seats free in the back is an oddity. Yes, it happens, but it's not exactly common. Getting a lie-flat up the front is basically guaranteed. People aren't going to stop buying business class tickets just because they might get 3 seats together at the back. People not paying cash for an upgrade because they happened to score 3 seats at the back is hardly something that "doesn't bode well for United".

PsuedoEuropeanGuy

Because I take it to mean people don't value the Polaris product enough to even pay a token value (20K Miles+$550) of its true purchase price. Personally, I've had good experiences, but it seems people have some issues including the food which is one thing I can't understand.

findark

I'm not sure, but if you can buy one EXTRASEAT why not two? The hassle though is another reason J is just simpler.

You only get RDM though, no PQD or PQM for the extra seats.

Right.. I "voted for" the hobo seat, but only in the sense of "if you blocked a row for me for the price of a Y seat". At that point, you're basically giving the same amount of space on the plane (which is what the $$$ actually buy in the end) as a lie-flat J seat anyway.

Sure, the service and food is nice, but I pay for J to avoid feeling like I'm strapped to an instrument of torture for 16 hours.

belfordrocks

Personally I call it "EconomyFirst" as well

Did four SYD-LAX rt's a while back and got it on 7 out of the 8 legs. Definitely gets my vote compared to going for J.

anc-ord772

EconomyFirst all the way. In use for years.

Anyway, too much anxiety to ever consider this a strategy. Would rather just book F/C.

Also, I'm 6'2 and 260lbs. No way this is gonna actually be comfortable for me. Nice concept though.

helvetic

Would be sweet if you could credit all 3 seats to another partner and get distance based mileage.

Any other airline allow EXTRASEAT and maybe crediting to UA? That'd be particularly epic.

Imagine getting one of these cheapo-fares e.g. $300 to SIN, paying $900 for the hobo first class version, and getting 50k RDM credited.

halls120

I've had good experiences in C. I prefer it over Y. I would never give up a C seat on a TPAC. On a short TATL, it depends. If I have a meeting the day of arrival, I'll spend the miles and money. If I don't, and I am sure I'll get 3 across to myself, it depends on how much it will cost me in money/miles. And yes, the downgrade in C food and drink matters.

StuckinITH

My question is: The gate agent said it blocked the two seats next to you in Economy. Then, in an otherwise full flight, how do you prevent another passenger from moving from his middle seat to the aisle seat in your blocked 3 seater? For that reason, I still prefer to fly Polaris if I can afford it or use miles or take the upgrade offer. And how do you know if the plane is going to be empty until the day of flight? From my own experience, I have seen that, in Asia, passengers do not choose their seats until they are in the airport. And then there are the people who misconnected their own flight and suddenly find themselves sitting in the middle seat next to me that was empty until one hour before the flight.

belfordrocks

Sprawl out as early as possible, and pretend to be asleep (or actually, sleep). People might give you looks of disapproval, but...