App display of early cleared upgrades changed? Waitlists on gate monitors going away?
#46
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: DTW and ORD
Posts: 667
While I agree with information, from a practical standpoint the information isn't relevant. If your upgrade cleared before T-24 for whatever reason, when you check in you'll have your upgraded seat. If you haven't been upgraded yet, then you'll show on a list as awaiting an upgrade or upgraded. Only those pax really have a *need* to consult the list. For everyone else it's just curiousity.
Delta doesn't even show you upgrade lists unless you're on that flight. I bet some people here on the UA forum look at upgrade lists all even if they aren't on it just for sh*ts and giggles....
My point has always been, that's not the purpose of the upgrade list.
#48
Join Date: Nov 2012
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#49
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: New Jersey
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Same here. I didn't recognize most of their airports and all my frequented airports were gone. I had to delete them all and start over. That said, since you can't delete individual cities, I now have the cities I'm traveling to the most at the top of the list (which was very long before).
#50
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Just because you don't find the information valuable doesn't mean that it's not.
#51
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,177
While I agree with information, from a practical standpoint the information isn't relevant. If your upgrade cleared before T-24 for whatever reason, when you check in you'll have your upgraded seat. If you haven't been upgraded yet, then you'll show on a list as awaiting an upgrade or upgraded. Only those pax really have a *need* to consult the list. For everyone else it's just curiousity.
And, the "sell more TODs" sword cuts both ways -- people are less likely to strive for UA status if they feel they'll never be upgraded. You can see that attitude already on this forum, especially from SFO-based passengers. Presumably, UA would rather keep their business than lose it to the competition.
#52
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Programs: UA 1K, UA .53 MM, Marriott Gold, Nexus, GE, TSA Pre, Hertz PC
Posts: 581
I don't think this is even close to an accurate measure of your chances. How does the fact that showing 10 people cleared out of 20 seats (at say 18 hours before departure) give you any indication that you're likely to clear?
You don't have any info of the statuses and fare classes of those who did clear. Nor when those people cleared. Half of those 10 could have cleared at booking with a GPU.
You don't have any info of the statuses and fare classes of those who did clear. Nor when those people cleared. Half of those 10 could have cleared at booking with a GPU.
If you fly enough CPU eligible routes, you can gather more than enough data points to form some semblance of an indication. As a Silver, I was usually in the bottom 25% of the upgrade list - and that held true for elite heavy routes like SFO<>ORD, as well as routes like ORD<>GRR. As a 1K, I'm routinely in the top 25% of the upgrade list. Couple those data points with my purchased fare class, and my upgrade confidence gets even stronger. I have cleared into first on all B, M and E fares I've purchased. I upfared on EWR-SFO to an E fare and my RPU cleared ahead of everyone else...
All that said, knowing how many people are on the upgrade list, how many have cleared, and how many open seats are left, I can make a pretty educated guess as to whether or not my CPU will clear.
I echo @jsloan - the more info the better.
#53
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Miami, Florida
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Why should UA care if people are SDC'ing to get upgraded? They were going to upgrade somebody anyway. The only reason an SDC would net an upgrade is if the SDC'ing passenger has a higher status / fare class than somebody on the waitlist; UA presumably is happy to reward that person's loyalty.
And, the "sell more TODs" sword cuts both ways -- people are less likely to strive for UA status if they feel they'll never be upgraded. You can see that attitude already on this forum, especially from SFO-based passengers. Presumably, UA would rather keep their business than lose it to the competition.
Again, I'm not trying to be an apologist for United. I noted my objection to the changes a couple days ago. But anyone expecting the current upgrade model to get any better over time is dreaming. Everything airlines have been doing in recent years has been with the goal of fully monetizing F and J.
#54
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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Posts: 1,288
Previously, I could tell that Flight A is far more likely for me to clear as most of the GS and 1K have already gone through the upgrade system. With three seats available, my odds are good. Flight B is not so good. If only one has been upgraded, I can usually assume 1 GS (or more) would be ahead of me. I would choose flight A over flight B.
Now, both flights looks the same. All I see is that there are three seats available with no way of knowing what has been run in the upgrade.
Is this the end of the world? No. Is it a step back from previous data? Yes.
#55
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Join Date: Oct 2017
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This. Let's take a hypothetical flight from SFO - MCO. There might be 16 FC seats. And I know that three of them are still available at T-24. And let's say we have two flights, Flight A where ten people have been upgraded and three paid. Flight B where one person has been upgraded and 12 paid.
Previously, I could tell that Flight A is far more likely for me to clear as most of the GS and 1K have already gone through the upgrade system. With three seats available, my odds are good. Flight B is not so good. If only one has been upgraded, I can usually assume 1 GS (or more) would be ahead of me. I would choose flight A over flight B.
Now, both flights looks the same. All I see is that there are three seats available with no way of knowing what has been run in the upgrade.
Is this the end of the world? No. Is it a step back from previous data? Yes.
Previously, I could tell that Flight A is far more likely for me to clear as most of the GS and 1K have already gone through the upgrade system. With three seats available, my odds are good. Flight B is not so good. If only one has been upgraded, I can usually assume 1 GS (or more) would be ahead of me. I would choose flight A over flight B.
Now, both flights looks the same. All I see is that there are three seats available with no way of knowing what has been run in the upgrade.
Is this the end of the world? No. Is it a step back from previous data? Yes.
#56
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: DTW and ORD
Posts: 667
What if UA showed the full upgrade list with people who are waiting, in the exact order they would clear? Isn't that better?
I feel like a lot of the "calculations" everyone's making here is because the actual list with people waiting isn't reliable since it only shows people who are checked in.
For example, if at T-24, I look at the standby list, it shows very few people on the list. Let's say I go ahead and check-in. I might be a 1K at position 2.
But if I check a few hours later, some GS and some other 1K get added to the list, only because they are now also checked in.
I personally would prefer UA show me the upgrade standby list at T-24 and tell me exactly what position I'm in. That would be a better way of telling me my upgrade odds, wouldn't it?
I feel like a lot of the "calculations" everyone's making here is because the actual list with people waiting isn't reliable since it only shows people who are checked in.
For example, if at T-24, I look at the standby list, it shows very few people on the list. Let's say I go ahead and check-in. I might be a 1K at position 2.
But if I check a few hours later, some GS and some other 1K get added to the list, only because they are now also checked in.
I personally would prefer UA show me the upgrade standby list at T-24 and tell me exactly what position I'm in. That would be a better way of telling me my upgrade odds, wouldn't it?
#57
Join Date: Oct 2009
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This was my experience. I'm upgraded on one of my flights for tomorrow (cleared at T-96), but I wasn't on the list. Even after check-in, I'm not on the list. I thought it might be because I'm on an award (1K w/Explorer card), but it seems like it may be more widespread than that.
As someone who rarely uses a cell phone (I only have a primitive flip-phone), this is a definite downgrade for me.
#58
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, AA, DL
Posts: 7,402
If you're checking the upgrade list for that you can just as easily check your reservation, which will show the seat you've been assigned. And then you're a couple of clicks closer to choosing a different seat.
#59
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,177
For example, if at T-24, I look at the standby list, it shows very few people on the list. Let's say I go ahead and check-in. I might be a 1K at position 2.
But if I check a few hours later, some GS and some other 1K get added to the list, only because they are now also checked in.
But if I check a few hours later, some GS and some other 1K get added to the list, only because they are now also checked in.
But that's the thing: United doesn't actually want to upgrade anyone. If a person in E+ who doesn't believe he'll be upgraded SDCs at T-1 to a flight 3 hours later, as per an example someone mentioned above, that's one less upgrade and/or seat United can sell on the later flight.
Even DL, who started the monetization trend, has stated their goal is to sell 80% of the front cabin. As long as any one carrier still provides status-based upgrades, they'll all need to do it...
Again, I'm not trying to be an apologist for United. I noted my objection to the changes a couple days ago. But anyone expecting the current upgrade model to get any better over time is dreaming. Everything airlines have been doing in recent years has been with the goal of fully monetizing F and J.
The flight status page loads much faster than the reservation page on the app.
#60
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: DTW and ORD
Posts: 667
That's better than we have at the moment. I would still want to know how many people had already cleared. If UA were going to show us the status and fare class of each person on the list, I could probably live without knowing how many have cleared, although I still wouldn't think that hiding that information was somehow good -- just less bad.