mh3265a

*MODs - please modify or merge as necessary.

Curious what experiences people have had upgrading to Polaris Global First on non-converted pmUA 777s and 767s since UA ended sales of Polaris Global First earlier this month. Sometimes I see ON class available on select flights but I have NOT seen any O class available. Are they doing upgrades based on any set criteria? Would like to see what folks are experiencing since the change.

DetroitFlyer

Upgrades are being cleared at the gate. You can still request an upgrade to First from Business, but since they're not selling tickets, no upgrades are clearing in advance either in case there is a swap.

kevanyalowitz

I think its time to allow GPUs on P and Z fares.

Ryu2

If no advance upgrades are allowed, do you still need to use GPUs/miles? Have you ever seen them giving "free" upgrades, e.g. based on status?

iluv2fly

I had a discussion a few days ago with the GS manager at ORD about this.
I was (and still am) willing to buy an "A" fare for my upcoming ORD-LHR trip. All three flights are not selling F seats.
He told me I could use a GPU. Told him I don't want to use one.
He said if they do use a three-class 767, nobody will be comped an upgrade. So I asked if non-revs will get those seats.
He said most likely yes. Even though I was (and am) willing to buy F? Yes. If the buy-up is still around $800, I would gladly do it. But as you know, the buy-up can change and it could be in the thousands.
I made it very clear that if non-revs go into F and I am stuck in C, I would cancel my ticket at the gate and fly BA or another carrier with an F cabin.
Of course he didn't want to hear that, but he knows me well enough and knows that I would do that.
He said that he would call WHQ and discuss this with people who have decision-making powers with respect to this issue.
I await the answer.

docbert

I would presume the usual rules would apply.

Waitlisted upgrades would be cleared first
If Business is oversold, people would be op-up'ed from business to first
If Economy is oversold, people would be op-up'ed from economy to business, and (if needed) others from business to first to make way for them
And finally waitlisted non-rev's would be cleared into first if any seats remain.

Depending on the exact aircraft planned for a route, I would expect they would be overselling business, in the knowledge that they will either have first available, or a larger business cabin if a switch is made.

narvik

United + Common Sense ≠ Reality

PsiFighter37

spin88

In another era, I recall how NW addressed this when they did away with First Class (c2000??). They stopped selling it, and they just gave the better/nicer seats to elites. I was PLT on CO at the time, and took a number of J flights on NW, each time they put me in the nicer seats. At the time I thought "classy, nice to be recognized for how much I fly"

How times change...

lhrsfo

IIRC when UA dropped First from ps routes, if you got a plane still fitted with F seats, they were comped to those in Business. I think it was done on status.

findark

They were running 3-class 772s for a while in 2016-17, and there was an automatic CPU process for GS only, and the GAs could op-up lower elites at the gate. I made the mistake of ending up on a flight with 22 GS. As a lowly 1K on a P fare, I did not rate

aCavalierInCoach

It was 2016 and that is not how it worked. The seats in F were assigned by someone in marketing who was targeting... well I have no idea who they were targeting. You could not buy a seat in first and you could not apply an upgrade from biz. As a GS who ended up in the 8-abreast J, I wrote an email over inflight wifi to GS saying I thought the policy was ridiculous and my next 15k in airfare was going to another airline.

123k MQMs on Delta that year.

findark

All I can say is that for the flight I was on, all the GS in J appeared on the upgrade standby list to F. I had a chat with the GA about it. It's possible the advance assignments were done differently.

UK Stages

i'm in purchased C from ORD to HKG later this month, upgraded with GPU at purchase to ON.

cur

lol wow, a manager confided in you about how the non-rev situation would work. that's pretty incredible he told you this.

while staff should be treated good by their company and they should fly up front if there's room, this is a bit of a loophole that's gravy for staff but just awful for high yield high revenue pax.

they prob won't reply and you'll just go to ba. or they'll comp it to you this one time as goodwill.