Dublin_rfk

mduell

They told you they don't care ("Seat assignments, regardless of class of service, are not guaranteed and are subject to change without notice") and they consistently act like they don't care (the ongoing seat scrambling, more than ever since the merger), so I don't think you should be very pissed off that they don't care.

DELee

yup. they don't care.

David

jsloan

UA sells nearly 100% of the front cabin seats on transcontinental routes as PAID first. (The lack of upgrade space on those flights is a constant complaint on the board). Internationally, you might have an argument, but even then they sell a lot more than 8 PAID seats. Domestically, there's a good chance that all of the seats up front are taken by PAID first GS or 1K customers.

chavala

But the way I understand it there is no more "paid first".
So as a 1K "paid Business class" (whether it's with cash or an upgrade, that is no concern to anyone), I get priority to those seats over a "former 1k/GS". As it should be.
If you give up your status don't complain if you're not getting treated as well as those of us who fought to keep it.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

If you're talking about front cabins LAX/SFO-EWR or SFO/BOS, you need to look at your ticket. Does it say "First"? I'll save you the time - it doesn't - it says "Business".

There's no First on the ps routes anymore. The front cabin (or cabins, on a 3-class plane) are all "Business" now. As for the most forward cabin on a 3-class plane, GS and 1Ks get to select those BUSINESS seats first come, first served.

climmy

The leg in question is SFO-IAD on a 3 class 777...And the reservation most decidedly says "FIRST".

I get the perk for GS and 1K's and they should be able to select those a booking to be sure. However, on a paid ticket, and I plan in advance (as of now there are 8 of 8 available), I too should be able to select those seats.

I ended up cancelling the flight (24 window) and booking AA anyway. Individual pod on the transcon portion...And it's not the 8 abreast variety.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Yes, that is a non-ps route and the front cabins are marketed as First. United has decided to let their high-value customers select the best First seats available. You got what you wanted at AA, so everybody's happy.

climmy

you've PERFECTLY summarized my original point that I was making so poorly. I might not fly 100,000 miles a year anymore...But I almost always pay for a premium cabin. So on any given Tuesday, that makes me a high value flyer. I mean, if you're paying the freight, you're paying the freight, right?

jsloan

UA disagrees.

Besides, there's an excellent chance that the people getting those seats are also paid F travelers. There are a lot of them. And, given that you've stated that you plan in advance, it's entirely likely that anybody who did manage to get an upgrade through paid more than you did.

nomad420

It's UA , they are not the sharpest tool in the shed of air carriers. I paid Full Fare F on a IAH-UIO and was UA Gold at the time. The took my order last with basically something like pasta choice available. When I asked the FA said GS and 1K order first even if traveling on instrument upgrades/ miles/ or what ever. She was actually embarrassed by the situation as I had paid a ton for a needed last minute biz trip ticket.

WineCountryUA

But in the case of SFO-IAD, the vast majority of GSs and iKs are also paid F, Very few upgrades for SFO-IAD, especially the flights with lie-flat seats. So UA is prioritizing its paid F HVF who are also high-level elite. The days of upgraded elites on hub-hub flights with lie flat-seats is long gone.

findark

As others have noted, this flight will be leaving with at least 40 paid F almost as a certainty, and many times all 48 have paid. UA has decided to allocated the legacy GF seats to GS/1K rather than first-come-first-served. I don't see what's so unreasonable about that.

climmy

I think this thread is seeming to prove that 1K's and GS'es will protect their perks, whatever the cost may be.

I understand this is a hub to hub route and very elite heavy. There'll likely be 80 names on the upgrade list. I've said in a few of my posts I understand a good perk for HVF's.

What I don't understand is the logic that, well, since they'll probably sell a bunch of those seats they don't need my money. By that logic, why should UA even publish a fare this far in advance AT ALL?

I mean, I do the search, bypass the $300 basic economy fare, and click the "FIRST" button. Oddly, UA is willing to sell the fare so I assume they also WANT to sell it no?

And now, my cash goes to AA and not to UA. That's just bad business for UA. Incidentally, my TCON on AA is also hub/hub.

jsloan

Nobody has said that they don't need your money; I'm sure they'd have been happy to sell you a ticket. And they'll happily seat you in the first class cabin, which is "any unreserved seat not in economy" on a two-class plane. They will not seat you in the 8 seats that you'd most like to be in, because they're no longer selling it as three-class, and they've decided to give those seats to 1Ks and GS members.

Your argument that you should take precedence over 1K and GS members would make sense if they were still selling it as three-class (in which case you could buy a first class ticket that would have seated you in the front eight seats, as opposed to a business class ticket) or if they averaged 8 or fewer paid first class customers on the flight.

Since they'll likely have 40+ paid first-class customers on the flight, your desired prioritization isn't actually prioritization at all.