Kacee

That is an overstatement. The waitlist processes, but there may be a lag of as long as a few hours after the inventory opens. I'm pretty sure you have experienced this (clearing off the waitlist)

I don't waitlist often, but clear a handful every year.

dkc192

Honestly with J6 I'm quite surprised to see PN4. How close to departure are you looking?

uanj

Try calling again. While this whole mess with PZ not showing was going on I booked a quick international roundtrip where I specifically saw PN 2 or higher on all legs. Purchased the ticket, applied the GPUs and two of four legs did not clear. Immediately called in. First agent said that if the system cannot clear the upgrade it will automatically be on upgrade and she could not do anything about it. I explained that PN inventory was showing and she said that the website often shows incorrect inventory information. In fact, she said even hers was incorrect because she also could see the PN inventory but the upgrade would still not go through. Unbelievable. HUACA and new agent manually applied the GPU with an apology saying they were having a lot of upgrade inventory issues at the moment, a combination of the December website and mobile system upgrade and "some new inventory management system". Maybe you can reach a more resourceful agent.

Rock214

WakeTurbulence

findark

It's more complex -- married inventory may apply additional rules, including additions or subtractions, to the set intersection inventory which would be considered the "default" for a connecting flight. It doesn't make sense to do this with PN because of the way it's used for upgrades (per segment), but I can't say I'm all that surprised to see it happen.

It makes perfect sense in a revenue environment. For the same IAD-DEN-COS, UA will only sell a Z fare, but if you marry it with ZRH-IAD they are happy to sell it in P (since it adds the international paid Business revenue). It's only odd because upgrades don't (currently, thankfully) work that way.

For reference:


02MAY19 ZRHIAD UA 0053 : J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z7 ZN7 P3 PN0 PZ0
03MAY19 IADDEN UA 1070 : J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z7 ZN7 P0 PN0 PZ0
03MAY19 DENCOS UA 5815 : J6 JN6 D5 C2 Z1 ZN1 P0 PN0 PZ0

02MAY19 ZRHDEN : J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z7 ZN7 P4 PN0 PZ0
>02MAY19 ZRHIAD UA 0053
>03MAY19 IADDEN UA 1070

03MAY19 IADCOS : J6 JN6 C5 D4 Z3 ZN3 P0 PN0 PZ0
>03MAY19 IADDEN UA 1070
>03MAY19 DENCOS UA 5815

02MAY19 ZRHCOS : J6 JN6 C6 D6 Z6 ZN6 P4 PN4 PZ0
>02MAY19 ZRHIAD UA 0053
>03MAY19 IADDEN UA 1070
>03MAY19 DENCOS UA 5815


(The last being what OP searched.)

WakeTurbulence

jsloan

I disagree -- I've seen both often enough that I no longer get surprised by anything UA does.

Except this. This surprises me. If all of these changes in Expert Mode are the leading edge of some changes to come, it's hard for me to imagine they'll be customer-friendly.

findark

I'm pretty sure I've seen this before and it's just rare, but I agree I am not a fan if they try to actually implement married upgrade inventory.

fumje

I'm certain I've seen, albeit rarely, married segment upgrade inventory since before the recent expert mode 'bug'. However, I believe I've only seen it with international segments and only with PN.

myperks

Mogreen

So , I had called United 1K desk to ask about PZ0 on every flight I had searched , was looking for flights at the end of March , beginning of April from multiple US locations to FRA. Their response is , that they are currently reconfiguring planes for Premium Plus and many of the new planes will lose Business seats , and will be become PP , so they do not want to offer those seats as there could be a plane change

Not sure if that is an amazingly crafted story to appease me or there is some truth to it , but wanted to share the latest reason for PZ0

jsloan

No, that isn't true. Just another MOLA making up a story.

Among other problems with this are: "So you're saying they're OK downgrading paid customers, but not upgraders?" and, well, they're taking out economy seats, not business seats, for P+.

Aussienarelle

You are correct @Kacee I do clear off the waitlist but there have been times when I have been surprised the UG has not come through as I generally fly on "off days" as I have that flexibility. I ended up with one UG not cleared last year which was highly unusual for me as the last few years I was able to use every one of my upgrades and miles + co-pay. My wish is that United would not allow folks to "jump the queue" or perhaps instruct their CS agents not to push through the UG when there people on the waitlist.

jsloan

But you're missing the point. As soon as PZ is opened, it's available to anyone. I could be shopping for a flight today, see PZ, and book directly into business without ever calling anyone or being on the waitlist in the first place.

The issue isn't one that can be solved by instructing agents not to push through upgrades -- that just makes the situation worse. The solution is to process the waitlist as soon as practical after the inventory adjustment -- seconds or minutes later, not hours or days.