skidooman

So, so far, you have not disclosed anything too compromising publicly. I guess there is no harm done - yet - as far as UA is concerned.

But just discussing any of this in public, while fascinating for the rest of us, is really only tempting fate. For the sake of your friend, I would stop discussing it in public entirely.

FlyingNone

---------
Looking at information and doing something with it (letting others know about inventory management or making a non-rev booking) are two different things - what rule would you be breaking?. Even if you do have access to that information, you do realize that things can change quickly - lists change, people cancel, flights cancel, equipment changes, etc.? Looking at it in advance doesn't really help you.

-------------
Why would the thread need to be deleted ? - absolutely no information has been compromised. All we have is a passenger (1K) who is on a revenue ticket with United but also has access to the employee website as an eligible non-rev and is asking if it is okay to LOOK at information on that website.

qukslvr619

Yes it is and it never ceases to amaze me when these threads pop up on FT. If you have to question whether or not something is ok.....then it probably isn't.

You are using internal information for the purpose of determining which flights to book in an effort to "game" the system---whether that is choosing a particular flight with the intent of the best chance of an upgrade, or purposely selecting flights that are at/near/over capacity (PBTs) with the intent of seeking either voluntary or involuntary boarding compensation. It more or less is the equivalent of insider trading.

One might say....well how would UA know----but it becomes pretty obvious when there is a certain pattern to individual bookings. Then someone will argue how this is any different from airline employees having access to internal information and doing the same thing---in essence yes they probably do use information to make decisions on flights, but usually its to determine whether they should buy a ticket or play the standby game.

In simplest terms....if you are using the internal information to maximize your 1K benefits or potential for overbooking with the intent of gaining compensation etc......it's a violation of terms for both nonrev benefits and MileagePlus benefits.

You might decide which is more valuable....1K or nonrev benefits?

nomad420

Agree, I have seen nothing here that is compromising so far. However, I have seen multiple posts on FT with information given in such detail it had to have come from a UA employee or the "Non Rev" website (and other carriers) . Nothing that I would consider extremely proprietary but just very detailed. Specifically load information that could have only come from this site. Is this against the UA rules of use, I don't know. I have over the years seen the site myself many times with employees/family of employees but really didn't do anything with the info other than perhaps see what the likely hood of an upgrade would be. Needless to say I was always holding a rev ticket.

mr8

malgudi

Why would a non-employee have access to this info to start with??? And what other such loopholes exist wrt proprietary info such as this?

nomad420

It used by employees and employees family/sponsor/significant other. I don't know what they are told in terms of confidentiality of the site but per multiple comments above there are apparently "rules" about use of the site and who can and cannot see/visit the site. I am traveling with a spouse of a UA employee on Wed and will ask specifically what the restriction are on use of the site with others. However, I suspect this information is publicly available.

physioprof

This makes no sense at all. Why else would UA give non-revs access to this kind of load information unless for them to use it make decisions about which flights to shoot for and whether to buy a rev ticket or take their chances on non-rev? And of course a substantial part of that decision matrix for many people is trying to maximize the chance of sitting in the premium cabin for as cheap as possible. Viewing these behaviors that are exactly why UA provides non-revs access to this information as part of the value of non-rev travel benefits like "INSIDER TRADING" is non-sensical.

chronicrelief

If OP has access to the non-rev site for legitimate reasons, I see no reason why he shouldn't use it to glean operational information. From a terms of service perspective, no one can definitely say that OP wasn't legitimately contemplating booking a non-rev ticket on the flight he's searching up. Even if he had already purchased a revenue ticket, he could have every intention to cancel that revenue ticket (e.g. if he notices that there seem to be lots of empty spots).

threeoh

Flying non-rev on [non-airline] business is explicitly prohibited. Only leisure trips.

So if OP were on a business trip and looking at load info to maximize the chance of an upgrade, OP could not have been contemplating a non-rev journey as an alternative.

nomad420

Perhaps I am not understanding you, are you saying that someone with access to the site buying a ticket for business purposes is not allowed to lay eyes on the site in an attempt to maximize chance of upgrade (assuming eligible)? If so then that is crazy, believe me it is done all the time. Yes, you are expressly forbidden to use non-rev travel for business purposes but those that I know will always take a peak at the loads and see what flight may give them the best chance for a CPU/instrument upgrade. I have never heard that that was forbidden.

Ari

You would have to read the exact terms of the applicable agreements to get the correct answer. It is a highly technical question and cannot be answered by speculation. Enforcement of such a rule would be nearly impossible as a practical matter, though.

MSPeconomist

Zorak

Sure, although...

... I have the impression from the nonrevs I know that this is explicitly forbidden on DL, i.e. you cannot list for a flight that you previously held a revenue ticket (which makes a ton of sense, for the same reason they don't want revenue pax to "hold" upgrade space by booking award tickets and cancelling at the last minute) -- is that also the case on UA?

malgudi

Agreed.

There's no way a company is going to allow non-employee access ...