glasnost7

Was offered a buy-up today at booking on a SFO-IAD itin for late September. I want to say the offer was something ridiculous like $700 each way. Declined and used miles instead because I knew there was NF space and I didn't feel like parting with the money. U/g confirmed on request.

anc-ord772

I was offered Y->Z PCU which I purchased. Soon after .bomb was selling me Z->F. Have not had a Y->F offer on a 3 cabin aircraft. This was not on a PS route.

Occasional Flyer

OK, I'm probably the oddball out here. I rarely fly, but I'm still a Member of both United and Delta's mileage plans. I'm on a trip from GEG-DEN-CLE tommorrow on UA. I don't have enough miles to upgrade to first, but does UA offer the option to pay cash for an upgrade? I know AS lets customers upgrade for $50 at the gate if there are seats available. Does UA only offer upgrades with miles?

mahasamatman

Welcome to FT, Occasional Flyer!

If there are seats available, United will often offer upgrades for cash (UFC), but there's no guarantee.

cordelli

Welcome.

If your trip is tomorrow, and you do the online check in you may be offered the ability to pay to upgrade to first class when you check in.

United upgrades it's elite members for free, so there is little chance of anything being left over for upgrades when you get to the gate, but you can check in up to 24 hours before the flight.

I don't think it will be as low as $50 either.

Occasional Flyer

Thanks for the info. What's odd is that I wasn't able to upgrade online, but when I checked the seat assignments in economy, the put me in economy plus and I didn't pay any extra for the additional legroom. Probably won't be as bad as the more cramped regular economy seat.

fly747first

I received a $625 buy-up offer to upgrade my SMF-DEN-ORD-MIA trip and I declined. In the end, I ended up getting my UDU on all legs. UA's revenue management department seriously needs therapy.

glasnost7

I like the ridiculous prices; means there's a good chance I'll get the UDU or miles upgrade, depending on the route.

seacarl

+1

CO's lower prices for upgrades for sale mean fewer free upgrades... I have the feeling that that will occur on UA as well as they integrate

ORD-LIH

I'm willing to bet that the hit-rates for % of pax that take advantage of a buy-up on a certain route can be forecast with surprising actuarial accuracy over the span of a year.

Madisonman39

I'm the same way. When the new configurations came out, I had to fly to BRU and, instead of going direct, took a connecting flight through GVA which had the new seats. My first reaction: great. Much better video, more privacy, and lay flat.

But then I realized the negatives: a narrower seat and literally no storage space. I am not a big guy, but I did feel a little cramped.

When I flew the old 777 back from BKK to NRT to SEA, I realized the old seats are not so bad. I generally don't recline all the way, either. The only thing I really missed was the ability to put my legs up higher when I am stretched out. If I could do that, then I would not mind the old seats at all.

If given the choice between taking a chance for an upgrade with the new configuration versus an almost sure upgrade on a 777 to Asia, I'll chose the old 777. But if the odds appeared more even, I would take the new plane.

BTW Since we can now use SWU's on CO, has anyone had experience on the CO flight from IAH to NRT? (Or any other CO flight to Asia)

NYCSINUA

Has anyone had experience with the Y->F upsell offer lately? Booked a K fare on a flight with NC0 and XF & NF both >0, applied miles, but no upsell offer. Is that gone forever?

jetboy787

Two months ago booked K from sfo-hkg and got the upgrade to First offered for 999.

smfnrt

Cool. I'm hoping the offer is not gone forever, but last month (July) I was hoping for Economy --> NF buy up to SYD but never offered despite NF>0. However, when NC>0 I did take the buy up.

Hoping to make the SFO-HKG mileage run a bit more comfortable this month but NC/NF has been frozen to 0 for the past several days. =(

fly747first

For sure, but given how unselective UA is when it comes to choosing revenue analysts, there is plenty of room for easy mistakes to be made, especially when people who have no quantitative backgrounds are being selected.