Lowly 2P and bringing others into E+
 

Hi all

I'm a lowly 2P, and for the first time I'm travelling with my two parents. We are flying United on domestic economy flights, and neither of my 2 parents have any sort of status.

What exactly is the deal with bringing others into E+, I am only allowed to bring one other person into E+ right. Does that person have to have a seat right next to me or how does that work? Any ideas on bringing 2 people with me into E+ (obviously we are flying on discount fares not full fare Y or such).

Or even if we don't all get into E+, will we all get the "Seating Area 1" boarding due to my status?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

You're allowed 1 companion. Although sometimes the gate agents will be nice and let you have 2 companions. But to be really safe, you could call UA and ask them how much it would be to bring a 2nd companion with you.

I believe you'll get Seating area 1 if everyone is traveling on the same PNR.
Anyone who's not on your PNR but associated with you (not sure how UA accomplishes this) will probably get Seating area 2. At least that's how it worked when I took my friend to SFO. He was on a different PNR I believe so he had Seating 2, I had 1. This time I had another compantion on the same PNR as me and we both had Seating 1.

Thanks for the clarification. I'll try giving UA a call and seeing what they say.

But it's good that regardless we'll get seating area 1.

I have brought ppl into E+ before (only 1 though) and they got seating 1 with me since they were on the same PNR. On my last flight we were standing by for an earlier flight and they reprinted our boarding passes - my companion only got seating three. we boarded together when seating 1 and I mentioned right away that she was with me and we had no problems.

Getting two ppl up to E+ over the phone seems to be really hard an even if you get it done by a nice res agent the seat assignments might be swept away by the computer. I suppose your best bet is being nice to the GA. You can always try at checkin as well.

good luck

As others have said. Only one companion allowed into E+ with you. That person has to be seated next to you. Though people have reported being allowed to choose an Aisle + Window leaving the middle open.

Your best bet would be a sympathetic GA. i would go ahead and get seats for self + 1 parent in E+. Try and seat second parent in the first e- row right behind your E+. Then, try and find a sympathetic GA to get teh parent in E- seated with you.

Other option is for one of the parents to purchase Economy Access Pass. If they are going to be doing significant travel on UA over the next one (calendar) year, then one of them could consider buying the EAP for 299$.

There are several other threads on this, as recently as yesterday, that have TONS of additional information if you want lots of other advice and experiences.

You are a "lowly" 2P, but lowly or not, UA values 2P's. For this 2P they booked my family (myself, wife, child) into E+ seats in spite of the rule against it. That's what status can do for you on UA... most agents are very sympathetic toward families.

(I've also suffered the other end of this: "Sorry, Mr. Black, but we've reseated you to accommodate a family." And this was when I was traveling with another pax on business, trying to work on the plane.)

My experience as a 2P and 1P has been the allowance of 1 passenger into E+. That guest must sit next to you. The guest does not have to be on the smae PNR. I recently did this request in June when I brought my niece back with me for a visit with her cousins. Although others have reported that GAs have been sympathetic to families in regards to getting all family members into E+, I have not had similar experiences.
We now bring our 2 teenage children into E+ by virtue that my wife and I both have premier status.

You definitely don't have to be on the same PNR, quite right. Just call Res and ask the CSR to link your PNRs, then move the GM up to E+ as a companion to the elite.

As for sitting together, there is conflicting information on this. Some CSRs will say you have to sit together. Others say you don't. When I booked my recent holiday travel, the CSR specifically told me that we could assign aisle/window and the middle would be automatically blocked (unless the flight became full and the space needed to be sold). He assigned us that way a month ago and the seats have not been kicked out by any sweeps. So, YMMV (pun intended).

Anything done over the phone is subject to change if there's a sweep, Full Moon or a 2 tacos for 99 cents at Jack-In-The-Box special. Your only sure-fire ways of making certain everyone's in E+ would be either with an E+ Access package at $299, Mr. Chicken (easy check-in computer) offering, or the GA (Gate Agent). I've asked if we could pay an upgrade fee (like Mr. Chicken offers at check-in) on the phone, and have been told no, that's only at check-in.

I believe you'll get Seating area 1 if everyone is traveling on the same PNR.


I have travelled over the past few years as a 2P and had my travelling partner consistently be place in Seating area 2 eventhough we were on the same PNR no matter what I have asked of the CSRs. Of course we would just board togehter anyway. No that I'm a 1P maybe that will change?

I travelled with my wife and two teenage boys earlier this year, and when I made the reservation, the CSR put us all into E+ with my wife and kids together on one side, and I was in the aisle on the other side (757). It probably helped that the flight was only about 2/3 full. When I made the reservation she had to put me on hold to call someone else to get authorization to free up extra E+ seats.

We all had seating area 1, but my BP was the only one on gold paper.

Honestly, I don't like when a reservation agent put a whole family in E+ section unless they are allowed by the rule. What I would like them to do is doing so on a day of departure and that should be done at the gate.

When I book flights for my family (myself, wife, 2-kids) and, as the only one with "status" I can have just one person besides myself in E+, I go to a lot of trouble to book flights where the two kids can be sitting next to each other in the window/aisle section of a 767 or 777. Not E+, but it's the next-best thing.

I would never think to ask if they could squeeze all of us into E+ and, even if that was offered (which it once was, by the infamous outsourced call center) I'd turn it down because, in all likelihood, it would be caught in a sweep (or at the gate) and the kids would be scattered to the far reaches of the cabin, probably in middle seats next to POS (persons of size).

If I noticed that the flight was nearly empty, sure, I'd ask at the gate, but I'd do so offering to pay the $35 that Mr. Chicken normally seems to charge. If it's too much trouble to take the money and the just want to give us the seats, I won't complain. :D