UKOK

And to answer the other part of your question, you will not be eligible for an upgrade if you buy a ticket, discounted or not. Also your luggage will need to be collected in NJ. You can't check a bag thru on a two different tickets if one is rev and one non-rev. If you're going to buy a ticket to EWR you may as well just buy it thru to BOS.

Often1

A BCN-BOS ticket may even cost less than BCN-EWR.

FlyingNone

If your father is a retired employee and you are listed in his profile as an enrolled friend, then he definitely has access to the Employee Website (FlyingTogether). With that in mind, have him pull up the website and under "Travel" there are all sorts of links to rules/ regulations/ availability, eligibility etc. Look at it with him and be sure to read the rules - they are not that complicated. Phoning the benefits hotline might be useful but they have a tendency to challenge whoever is calling (especially if not the employee or retiree) and questioning anything about wanting to rebook/ change things/ rules, etc., it becomes a third degree interrogation - which I understand due to abuses in the past by other people.

In answer to your question, if you buy a revenue (coach) ticket from BCN to EWR, you will not be able to standby in any "non-rev" capacity for an upgrade to Business class.....and, as others have mentioned, do not double book with a revenue ticket and a standby booking at the same time or same day - you'll be standing in BCN buying a full revenue ticket on another airline and your father will be in the hot seat with his travel benefits.

You are entitled to purchase a UA Employee Discount fare in all classes but it also will not put you on or allow you to get on an upgrade list for Business class if you buy the discount for coach cabin. Most importantly what are your chances of getting on standby from BCN to EWR ?- are you planning weekend versus midweek travel, on or near a holiday, etc.? Can you consider an alternate listing from BCN to IAD instead (Washington Dulles)?,...any unused non-rev ticket is refundable should you decide to go to IAD instead of EWR that day.

nomad420

+1
Fly with NRSAs not infrequently (in fact with one next week) and per above there is a very helpful website that I is supposedly only for employees, I assume it is this "flying together" site. My friends are able to pull up extremely detailed information regarding the load, who is flying, who is waitlisted, levels of seniority, number of rev cusomers, etc.... It is freakishly detailed. I believe you (or at least your father) will have access to this. Once you pull it up then it is basically game on as to trying to see if you can get your Polaris seat. My buddies have become fanatic at this. I don't know the details of this UA website but as others pointed out FT is more consumer or REV oriented travel site.

FlyingNone

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I totally agree with you here. Whether active or retired, one must always, explicitly explain how this works to the person they are sponsoring. Not surprisingly, there are probably many retirees who have rarely traveled or have not traveled for a very long time and are not totally aware of all the things that might go wrong. Flights are extremely full, everywhere, even off-season so it's also not a bad idea to set up an alternate non-rev flight booking (ie., to a different city or on a different day) but I'd venture to say that a lot of employees/retirees don't even think of this and then will get that dreaded phone call in the middle of the night or from a boarding gate....."what do I do ??". Not me. I set up the plan and then advise or book/list the alternate flights and plans B and sometimes C. I am obligated to explain the dress code, conduct, risks, etc., if only for my own retention of benefits. As I have said in many other threads, I am extremely selective of who I grant passes to. They have to be savvy travelers who can handle the downside and are willing to accept disappointment. I recently removed someone, for their benefit, because it would have been such a hassle to guide them through alternative times/ dates/ flights, etc. In my case I feel it is just not worth it. Plan way ahead, buy a ticket, case closed, done.

HNLbasedFlyer

The real reason for the rule - if pass riders bought refundable one way tickets - find out they could get on standby, and then cancel the refundable ticket -

xooz

It is possible that OP could buy a ticket on another carrier, since UA would have no real way of knowing. I don't know how the non-rev rules read for UA, but it is possible that technically one could pre- purchase one way on IB for example, possibly using points and meet the letter if not spirit of whatever UA's non-rev rules state.

nomad420

Most the NRSAs are spouses of active UA employees so they are pretty savvy to the rules, "dress code", and etiquette. They always have a plan B, C, and D in getting from point A to B. They don't bother the sponsor in the event of a delay. I can't tell you how many times I have traveled with them and have had to wave good by while they went off to find alternative flight plans because they got shut down. You are NON REV it is what it is.

Miles Ahead

The "spirit" of the rule is the same as for revenue passengers - they don't want a single person holding two reservations for the same flight. They can only use one. They don't care if you hold a reservation on another airline, although it is seldom economically advantageous to do so.

mr8

FYI, one-way international tickets tend to be more expensive than roundtrip.