Kmxu

NH's IAD-HND flight departs at nearly the same time as UA's flight and has a nicer aircraft type (B787 vs B777). It may be better off for UA to have IAD-NRT and IAH-HND, instead of IAD-HND and IAH-NRT.

subinf

I think this is the right thread - waitlisted on a flight to SIN (2 people on the reservation). Purchased premium plus (A fare). Had a GS apply PP for an upgrade to Polaris. Currently 2 and 3 on the list. We have no expectation that the upgrade will clear but on the off chance there are seats that are available (or just 2) is there a way to avoid the upgrades going to numbers 1 and 4 on the list?

Kacee

You can split the reservation, and UA will process upgrades one at a time. Note that beginning at check-in, UA will automatically split the reservation if upgrade seats are available, so from that point on, there's no risk of getting skipped in favor of #4.

dirkhotel

Hello Flyer Talk!

Just to make sure I understand what I’m looking for when obsessing about the possibility of an upgrade on my PHX-EWR-LHR flight on Sun Oct 22, for which the upgrade prospects look dismal…. No status member booked on:

UA2011 PHX-EWR (B)
UA940 EWR-LHR (R)

I have the options to change to several different connecting flights at a negligible ($25) cost. One of them looks like this when I review the itinerary – not promising:

UA 1217 PHX-IAD (B)
J3 JN3 C3 D3 Z3 ZN3 P3 PN0 PZ0 IN0 I0

UA924 IAD-LHR (R)
J3 JN3 C3 D3 Z3 ZN3 P3 PN0 PZ0 IN0 I0 O9 ON9 A9 R9 RN8

But if I search only for the TATL leg, it shows as
UA924 IAD-LHR (R)
J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 P9 PN4 PZ4 IN3 I3 O9 ON9 A9 R9 RN8

PZ4! Have I been misreading inventory loads all along – not understanding that with a connecting flight they would be “married?”

And am I now seeing that the TATL leg, which is the one I care most about, actually has PZ inventory? Before I pull the trigger, is it correct that if I switch the flight (and the PZ inventory is still there), I can grab it with a MUA?

As always, FlyerTalk, thanks for the advice!

leftysauce

UA unfortunately switched to displayed married inventory for PN/PZ and award spaces a month or two ago which is extremely annoying. But yes, if individual PZ is available, you should clear immediately on that segment

jsloan

Specifically, switched back to it. It had been done that way for years. It was a breath of fresh air when they briefly showed PN/PZ independently on connecting flights, but unfortunately that time seems to have passed.

Kacee

It's not married inventory; if it were, you couldn't clear the overwater segment separately, rather you'd need PZ on both segments to clear. What OP is seeing is just a UA display convention (and as jsloan notes, this is a return to how UA has displayed inventory for many years, with only a brief recent respite).

merges

What are my chances?

UA 875 SFO-HND Fri Oct 20
Purchased Economy (L)
Waitlisted for MileagePlus Upgrade Award to Polaris (30k + $600)
Platinum Status

18 "available" Polaris seats and 0 "available" Premium Plus seats on seat map.
J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 P8 PN0 PZ0 IN0 I0 O3 ON3 A2 R0 RN0 Y9 YN9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 HN9 Q9 V9 W8 S5 T3 L1 K0 G0 XN4 X0

fumje

Not great. It's not hopeless, could happen, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.

Kacee

I'd be watching for a cash upgrade offer - you're in at least $900 for the miles + copay (assuming minimum value of 1 cpp).

JWWI

Would be curios to see what people think my chances are..

UA 801 LAX-HKG - Thursday November 23rd (Thanksgiving Day)
UA 802 HKG-LAX - Tuesday November 28th
Both Purchased Economy (W)
Both Waitlisted for PlusPoint Upgrade
1K Status

Dabizz33

First time poster, long time lurker. I'm platinum on UAL, and booked an XN award flight from Brisbane --> LAX--> ORD. I've got 40 plus points that are going to expire 1/1/24. I want to not sit in economy (I'm 6'4, and it's soooo long). The United Premier Plus upgrade is ridiculously priced at $5100, with the base fare of $1300 for economy, and they are all open. Been checking prices, and they're not moving. Wondering if I should cancel the award ticket and buy a regular economy ticket, and try my luck with the plus points. Has anyone ever done this?

IAH-OIL-TRASH

All GS-enabled upgrade request and everyone in PremPlus (TPAC)fares w/ requests in, as well as 1Ks in coach will be ahead of you. United typically oversells PremPlus, so that reduces inventory up front also. Your chances of success are.greatly diminished by all this. My guess is you will still be in a coach seat.

Kacee

Whether you'll have a shot will depend on how heavily the flight is booked. It it's a light load, you have a chance; otherwise, the odds are very low.

ibush01

Thanks for keeping an eye on this! I bought up to P+ and we were then #1-2 on the Polaris upgrade list. But there was only one seat remaining when we got to the gate and we were passed over for #3 (you're welcome, whoever you were). I ended up buying up to Polaris on MUC-EWR home. I checked; no upgrades cleared, as you suspected. One of these days (better be soon) I'll get to use these hundreds of PlusPoints...