If I move a non-premier into E+ so that he is next to me, but then I cancel my reservation, is his seat still intact?

Apparently they really do run sweeps for this. I have booked non-premiers with me before (different PNR's) and ended up having them reassigned without warning into E-.

So, YMMV, but I wouldn't bank on it.

What they said.

Not only sweeps, but sometimes the littlest thing can cause the system to bump them out. Flight time change. Equipment change. The system seems to automatically re-look at everything when these little changes occur.

When I arrange this (not by booking and then canceling myself, but by just asking and getting an agreeable Angel), I monitor the seat assignments very closely. Many times they've been bumped back to E-minus at some point and I had to scramble to get them back up front.

Other times they just seemed to hang in there just fine.

How can you bump someone up? I am 1P, and I am using a free ticket and meeting up (on my connection) with a friend in Chicago, then we are traveling together from there to MHT. She is non-elite, and I was told we would have to wait and see if we could move her to E+. May be a case of which agent you talk to... may be the free ticket - not sure. Any suggestions? Thanks!

It depends on who you are connected to over at UA. Some agents will allow the non-elite to sit up in E+ with you, but some will not. Like the ol' sayin' goes... if it doesnt work your way, just hang up an' try again.

FWIW... some FT'ers around here blame that (the ability to get things your way by hanging up and trying again) on the poor inconsistent training that phone agents receive. I think it more closely relates to that agents comfort level behind the screen. Some older agents, that dont stick to the book, per se, realize what rules cant be bent (change fees, fare rules) and those that can (non-elite traveling partner sitting in E+). Its basic goodwill on behalf of the agent to attempt to seat the non-elite friend into the E+ seat next to you, regardless of what the computer does to that seat in the future. Their ability to bend the rules directly relates to their comfort level. Just my two cents.

Whenever my fiancee travels with me (for whatever reason, we're almost never on the same PNR...go figure), I call up and ask real nicely if they can seat her in a specific seat that I know is empty. Most of the CSRs that entertain my request put me on hold to ask their manager for permission to seat a non-elite in E+.

stbmurray, I've been successful doing this on both domestic and international itineraries where I'm a paying customer and my fiancee is either paying or on a free ticket of some sort. Most of the time, they don't have a problem putting her next to me in a middle seat. Sometimes if the stars are in alignment, I can get her a window and myself an aisle in 3+3 configuration aircraft and pray that my status can ward off a pax in the middle seat.

Last year, my wife and I were travelling together. We were in E+ outbound, but because of a business emergency, I had to fly to a different city and she returned home. She called me and she was less than a happy camper. Apparently the E+ seat that we had already booked for us was lost and she was stuck in E---. If your reservation is cancelled, it's likely your friend will lose their E+ seat.

It would be tremendously advantageous if the UA agents could link or somehow combine two PNR's into one.

Same thing holds true with trying to get a non-1P on a different PNR assigned to sit with you in the exit row when booking. It sure would be great to be able to link PNRs so the same "priviledges" would apply as if the 2 traveling together were booked on the same PNR. Back in my res. days, you use to be able to cross reference PNR's using an "OSI" entry, but that was informational only. Don't know why it would be so difficult to hard code some meaning into that cross reference.

I thought it is possible to link two PNRs.....

My friend was on a bump voucher, and I was purchasing a ticket. As she confirmed her flight on the phone, I hit purchase on the computer. The agent told her she couldn't give her a seat as the seat map is under "airport control". I then asked the agent to link our PNRs together, and within seconds she said oh no problem, let me talk to a supervisor to open the seats up.

This was 2 days ago.

Thanks all. Looks like it could be a crapshoot. I'll give it a try again, maybe it will work out! I appreciate the shared experiences.

I'm in a similar predicament, but on a RTW ticket which is booked in B class.

As a *G, I should get E+, but my mate who's travelling with me doesn't hold any status at the moment (but should be *S by the time we reach the USA).
Will he be upgraded, and should I phone UA to confirm this upgrade?

First thing's first.... E+ is really not an upgrade. Same service. Same seat. Just more leg room. I would call UA. Give the agent both PNS'r, and ask that your friend be moved to the seat next to you.

Based on what some of you are saying - if you're travelling with somebody who has no status and let's say that a PremEx person now tries to get seat they will be assigned to E- instead because a person with no status is in E+?

ldsant...that would be correct. Many aspects of United and Mileage Plus allow for a non-statused traveling companion to share some of your privileges. Not all of them, but many.

Folks complaining about what you bring up is what got United to no longer allow a traveling companion to share your status on the airport Departure Management (DM) List.

But on other issues, non-statused traveling companions still get a shot at it, and if they ended up getting the last seat...yes...other statused folks could end up being shut-out.