Difference between PA and PB waitlist
 

Tried to search for "PA PB" and was told that the terms were too short. The FAQ sticky also did not appear to contain the information I am looking for.

I believe PA is for using certs, and PB using miles, and assume PA has higher priority than PB. I would appreciate any assistance in locating threads for more information, here are some of the questions I am looking to find answers:

1. Does PA gets completely cleared for upgrade before any one on PB?

2. Are these waitlists only in effect at the airport, and under airport control?

3. Or are they created prior to the day of travel when there is no upgrade inventory available?

4. Would someone on an Intl H fare with mileage upgrade be trumped by someone on a lowest fare class but using a SWU?

5. What is the precedence of clearing upgrades? Fare class, MP status, time of check-in, time of upgrade request, upgrade instrument, perhaps a combination of some/all?

6. Can you find out which waitlist (if any) you are currently on for a particular PNR?

Edited to add:
7. My 1K wife is sponsering one of my trips using a SWU. As a 1P, which list would I be on? PA due to the SWU, or PB due to the 1P?

WOOOOO! You got a lot of questions there. I will try to answer them s best I can. I am not positive that every single one of my answers will be right.

1. Well, at the airport, yes. It may be that PA is empty and that a PB clears a month out.

2 & 3 I belive prior to airport time.

4. I believe so.

5. A LOT of factors. Not any single one of those is the key answer to it. Above all, I would say status though cause that gets you on the PA waitlist, and using a cert.

6. Well, you are only on the PA waitlist if you are a 1K or GS.


I answered these to the best of my availability, but some may be wrong so lets let some other flyertalkers who have more experience with this chime in.

Here are my thoughts.

1) Yes, and they clear First in First out PA first then PB
2) These waitlists are only in effect UNTIL passing to airport control On Checkin, pax on the waitlists are transferred to the DM list which then clears by Status, Fare Class and time added
3) Yes
4) Depends which waitlist they are added to. Unless the mileage upgrader is a 1K or GS, the answer would normally be yes. Otherwise, it depends when they are added as it clears first in first out.
5) Prior to DM list it is FIFO, then the DM list clears by Status, then Fare Class and then time added.
6) I haven't been able to, but apparently it is possible to do based on somethign I've read here in the past.

This is somewhat related, but.......
Just wondering, are 500 milers considered "PC" with the least priority?
Where do 500 milers fit in?

There is no PC, the current running FT theory is that they go on to the PD waitlist.

Yes.

They are in effect from the time the flight is first available for booking until the lists go to Departure Management at the airport day of flight.


Yes, because the SWU is on the PA waitlist and the MUA is on the PB. However, someone using an MUA can be placed on the PA waitlist at the discretion of a UA Reservations agent.


UA clears the PA waitlist before they clear the PB waitlist. If you have not cleared before roughly four hours, the waitlists then go to Airport Control. Both the PA and the PB waitlists are dumped into a master Departure Management (DM) waitlist. This waitlist is then cleared first by status (in order, UGS, 1K, 1P, 2P, GM) and then by fare paid (C, D, Y, B, M, H, etc.) and finally, if necessary, by time added to the DM (you are added to the DM when you check-in for your flight).


If booked through a travel agency, there are tools that will let you see your waitlist type. You can also call UA and ask, but they don't always say. However, "priority" waitlist seems to mean PA.


PA because of the SWU.



It should be noted that UGS and 1Ks travelling on Mileage Upgrade Awards (MUAs) are also put on the PB waitlist by default (based on Baze and myself speaking with UA personnel and Baze's own experiences as a 1K). Only when using SWUs and CR1s do they go on the PA waitlist by default. Also, any UA member travelling on a SWU or CR1, regardless of status, is placed on the PA waitlist.

That being said, UGS can often get upgrade inventory opened at will (thereby bypassing the waitlists, period), and as a 1P I have little trouble getting on the PA waitlist using MUAs so I imagine a 1K should be able to sweetalk themselves on it more often then not.

Nobody knows. There is a PD waitlist, but we don't know anything about it other then it ranks behind the PA and PB. They may go on the PD, or folks using those instruments may start to be added to the PB waitlist as their windows open (120/100/72/48 hours).

Again, once it goes to the DM, however, upgrade type no longer matters - just status, fare paid, and time added to the DM. As a 1P on an MUA, I have lost out to 1Ks on 500s (fortunately only once and it was the SFO-SEA part of a JFK-SFO-SEA run so I figure I got my miles worth).

UA doesn't have PC, but has PD? Intersting. ANA has PC list for *G. PA and PB go to ANA's elite members.

Personally, I think a lot of the answers in this thread are speculation... which of course is fine as this is a discussion board, but I wouldn't read this stuff as being certain.

While it is true nobody from UA Inventory Management has joined FT and told us exactly how this all works, it is based on direct observation from scores of FTers (myself included, and I know what to look for when these things happen to me to try and identify and confirm procedures) as well as conversations with UA reservations and gate agents who do actually have a clue. :)

So all-in-all, it should be pretty accurate for most cases.

LGA_UAL posted an interesting topic about this last August titled Upgrade/Standby Waitlists. Here is the link: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=350081

Yup. I keep it bookmarked and have used it both to help better come to understand the process, as well as used it to check my own experiences.

Thanks for the responses and the link ^ .

A search for keywords like "waitlist" and "upgrade" might reveal a lot of interesting information?

If ticketed through a travel agent that uses Galileo Viewtrip, then you can see the details of the waitlisted upgrade on viewtrip.com.

Example:
Flight 882 Non-stop
Status: Waitlisted (PA)
Class of Service: Connoisseur (NC)

Or you can just ask your travel agent to inquire on your behalf. Mine seems able to get my details (PA waitlist, number of passengers ticketed, total number on the PA waitlist and my current position).

Or you can just have your 1K wife call and verify that you are on the PA waitlist?

PA only valid within 24 hours?
 

I worked at UA Reservations from 1985-87.

• PA stands for "Priority A" Waitlist
• PB stands for "Priority B" Waitlist
• PD stands for "Priority D" Waitlist

I no longer recall if there was a PC that was used very rarely if at all, perhaps for company (UA) positive space?

These abreviations are common throughout the industry, like "HK", "WL," "NN", etc., even though the exact way the airlines clear their waitlists may differ.

Back when I worked at SFORR, a PA was only valid within 24 hours of travel. So getting waitlisted as a PA further out did not help you. The Reservations Sales Reps would list people as a PD, or PB if Premier or had other urgent reasons for travel.

PA was only done within 24 hours of the flight departure; you would be dis-serving the customer by listing him earlier. Occasionally, a knowledgeable elite passenger would ask to be listed PA, and I would explain the 24-hour rule, suggesting he call back then to be changed from PB to PA.

Maybe only the PA queue is cleared within 24 hours, except perhaps at the airport, but I never worked on queues or at the airport, so at this point, 18 years later, I'm just guessing on that. I do know that PA was higher than PB within that 24 hour window.

This may have changed in the past 18 years, but I don't think it is some big, deep, dark UA company secret.