Question -

I was on the 22:10 1/17 GRU-ORD flight and saw something interesting. There were about 5 open seats in Biz w/ 2 open in FC. Didn't see anybody upgraded to fill those seats, yet I knew of at least 4 other 1K's on the flight besides myself. I was in 16F on a 763, so my situation was great, but I'm curious as to what is the process is for awarding an upgrade to loyal customers when seats are empty?


Thanks,
Jim

Many will echo these comments, but UA rarely gives out free upgrades even if there are open seats in F/C. The only time this might happen is if they need to free up seats due to there being more passengers checked into one cabin than there are actual seats.

In 4+ years of flying I've received one op-up from Business to First on HKG-NRT. I was on an Economy ticket that was upgraded using a SWU. When I checked in I was given a C BP, but when I arrived at the gate they had an F one waiting for me.

The saying here goes, if you want an upgrade a)buy the ticket b)use miles to upgrade or c)use a SWU, CR1, or 500's. Never expect any freebies.

Elites are more likely to get op-ups when Y is over-sold. Otherwise, United rarely gives complimentary upgrades.

No free upgrades. SIN-HKG with 2 other UGS's (all in C). Nobody was in F, but still no "free" upgrades for us. Not really an issue as only about 6 people in C on the lower deck.

I surprised the did not find some crew members somewhere to fill up those empty seats!

Within the last month I watched more than a half dozen people get op'd up from coach to first on the ORD-EZE route, while I was sitting in business. I am only a 1K so maybe there were GS in coach, but if there were why didn't they upgrade to business earlier? I checked the manifest on the first flight and there were no GS in business and as a 1K I was in the minority. Either they were all op-up'd prior to boarding and weren't part of the shuffle I saw or there weren't any in business.

I know you can't tell a GS by their appearance, but I don't think all the double op ups were GS. How does United pick who to op-up and why would they pass over the 1Ks in business (even if they used SWUs) and give double op-ups when the flight is ahead of schedule and there is no rush?

How does one check the manifest. Was it sitting out?

yes. It was taped on the wall, in plain view for those waiting for the lav. I quickly looked at it to get the status totals for business class.

Cool. I'll have to look for that on my next flight here in 70 minutes.

Just don't say or get caught looking. A recent thread where a passenger mentioned the manifest pissed off the FA royally.

If those 1K's didn't offer certificates or miles to upgrade, why should they be upgraded?

I agree.

(But I was lucky last weekend and got Y->NC->NF ORD-CDG and back. )

AND back?!?

AND back!!!

At CDG, no less.

Don't you know who I am by now?

DUH! You're Mr. Pillows.

EVERYONE knows who you are!