So how'd it go for each of you? And did it look fishy at the gate vis a vis upgrades and 1K/GS loads?

I had a flight today EWR-ORD where 20 F seats were on the plane, and the upgrade list showed 15 booked + 2 blocked when we started preboarding. 16 people had checked in.

I was #1 on the upgrade list and they hadn't cleared CPUs, so I asked the agent what was up when the other agent began pre-boarding the flight. The agent I spoke with said "I haven't done them yet." I waited, and finally my E+ row was called so I boarded. I asked the boarding agent about it, and she said "if there is a seat available they will come get you at your seat".

I boarded with my row in E+, and a few minutes after I sat, my boarding pass changed to F. I still waited to see if an agent was going to come and let me know. The agent I first spoke with came onto the plane holding a boarding pass, went to the back and left the plane. Then the boarding agent came onto the plane with a long printed sheet (looked like the manifest), went to the back, and then exited the plane as well.

Then an FA came by and I just told her my boarding pass got upgraded and she said I could take a seat.

On the upgrade list, I was the only one to get a seat assigned, and we departed with two row 1 F seats vacant.

Obviously, I have no idea about the elite status of others on the flight, but there were 20+ on the list, and two of them didn't get an upgrade that was available, presumably just because the gate agents didn't feel like doing them. That seems pretty poor on a hub-to-hub flight, with elites still flying UA in these conditions, if you ask me. But maybe there is some weird or obscure reasoning for this? Maybe these were the 2 "blocked" and they were actually blocked for some reason?

Were the 2 seats facing the FA jumpseats empty? That is common on most narrowbody configs -- blocked from use (1E/F on 739)
discussion in UA COVID19 precautions: no longer blocking middle seats ,**REQUIRING** mask usage,

With UA no longer blocking middle seats I am not sure why the CPUs are being held until the gate but here we are.....

My report from the trenches this past weekend as a lowly gold
7/3 TPA-IAH 1 showing empty at OLCI7/3 IAH-SAT 7 showing empty at OLCI7/5 SAT-IAH 6 showing empty before OLCI7/5 IAH-TPA 0 showing empty at OLCIIt didn't look like anyone cleared on my last leg.

Well, the morning of my flight I wound up #4 on the list out of 26 I think. Then sometime 45 minutes before the flight four seats opened in first class. No idea why. I have a hard time believing four people saw the email about "your flight is fairly full" and decided to bail. I got the last upgrade. I would have finished lower on the list had I not applied PP.

I still have a problem with being a 1K on an "E" fare with PlusPoints applied and being that far down the list during a pandemic. That's just crazy.

Two people who got the row in front of me were younger (thinking late teens). I'm guessing they were ahead of me on the list based on PlusPoints from a GS account. #1 on the list I don't know if he was GS or not.

-RM

As I said when this whole thing started...I believe gate CPU is here to stay and advanced CPU for everyone but GS is a thing of the past. UA is going to bleed the rock they've been trying to squeeze blood out of for years even more now. How so? Selling more upgrades at the gate or ahead of time. "Hey, come get your more physically distanced seat for only $119" type of deal.

-RM

Thanks for the report -- definitely crazy being so far down with that fare / +P in the current environment, although with the tight capacity controls on the schedule, I guess we should expect it can happen. Seems like a good guess about GS +P for the others.

Fully agree! :o I haven't noticed if they've started emphasising the physical space aspect of F in buy-up offers, but I imagine they will try if they've not done so yet.

I've bought upgrades before and would do so again if the service levels come back and the price is reasonable. Dropping $200 on a 30 minute flight with no cabin service does not fit that bill.

Same experience for me as a Gold. One recent flight was full, the next flight was empty (2/12) but they cleared everyone at the gate.

Two more flights later this month, both are ERJ-175's, and will report back.

There could be an argument made that the (old) process of clearing CPUs in advance reduces contact between agents & passengers, and the exchange of contaminated boarding passes. There *could* be, but there won't.

I think many people are in my situation where we have PPs to burn, not flying as much, and using them on virtually everything I/we book. So probably a lot of scrambling going on for CPUs these days. Having said that, I agree with your statement that advance CPUs are in the current situation not likely for sub GS pax.

Except for relatively short flights to out-of-the-way places or at unpopular times, and not between hubs.

Which, when you think about it, is an extraordinary achievement on UA’s part. Even during the extraordinary events of Covid, UA seamlessly executes its mission of selling front cabin seats for a pittance above coach, if not below, rather than delivering on elite fliers’ upgrade expectations - a marketed benefit - SUBJECT to availability.

These blocking front rows seats are random. Been on flights that 2 seats blocked EF and flights they are filled.

Is this a gate agent discretion thing?

It is up to the gate agent to preserve the block. As you might guess, sometimes they miss the memo or mix up what to hold blocked.

I've flown a few 739 legs and I haven't seen that before. But yes, this was a 739 and it was 1 E/F. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me because those face the bulkhead just like 1 A/B, and when both FA and passengers are seated, they're easily 6 feet away. But what do I know.