There has been much discussion on this board in the last few months about the increase in price of the QUP's in most markets. The other, perhaps more troubling problem from my perspective, is that UA also appears to be designating far less seats as "A" inventory (i.e. the inventory that the QUP's feed off of).

For example, I have been finding it nearly impossible to find any "A" inventory (i.e. QUP's) on most of the transcon routes that I fly. Compare to CO (or even US) where their equivalent of the QUP fares are bountifully available.

I really enjoy flying UA, however, they are making it tougher and tougher to remain loyal. As we all know, upgrades on UA (in particular transcons) can be very tough to get, so more of us pay for QUP's to ensure a place in first (which is already a big added cost). I understand that "A" fares are discounted first and UA is entitled to seek top dollar for "F" fare tickets, however, I think they could be a little bit more generous with the "A" inventory. Does anyone agree? Has anyone else been noticing this trend too?

They are limiting A fares only because they think they can sell them for P or F fare cost. You don't mention P fares in your OP--UA uses these as a middle ground between A & F. You can frequently find fares that book into P on most routes that have a QUAUP fare--there are usually YUAUP fares that book into P.

I usually don't have any problem finding A availability when I need it. Maybe you are booking too close to departure? What are your usual routes?

The question is, if you can find A fares on US/CO, why not fly them? I know US's F service is not as good as UA's, but most people find CO to be comparable, if not better.

No. UA should charge the highest price the market will bear. Better UA financial health means a better UA product and a more secure airline for those sitting on so many unredeemed miles.

It depends on how far out you book and the day of travel. I have booked QUP fares up to the day before. But other times they were not available 2 weeks out. If "A" class is avalible then QUP should be.

Let me do an omnibus reply:

1. I'm aware of YUP's (book into "P"), however, didn't mention them because, in my view, they are useless. You get the worst of all worlds. QUP's (at least the ones I've been buying lately) are refundable for less money. YUP's for PHL-SFO-PHL price out around $2200 --- $800 more than QUP's (refundable) and only $400 less then FULL F! At the same time, YUP's are still technically treated as upgraded coach tickets. I agree with those on the board who say that QUP's and YUP's are really F tickets, however, if you run into irregular op's, you'll be told it's a coach ticket and they will not give you the same treatment as a full F -- no downgrading upgraders or re-routing on another carrier in F for irregular op's -- I've been there (and argued it --and lost the argument), I know. So, first, the YUP's (at least in my primary markets) are no good. Too much money for too little return. Second, the YUP's are only slightly easier to find in my markets (PHL-LAX-PHL; PHL-SFO-PHL) even if I was (which I'm not) willing to pay a huge premium for a YUP over a QUP fare.

2. I prefer UA because their service is much better than US. As a CP on US, I can get the upgrade 99% of the time for FREE with e-upgrades off a discounted coach fare since US primarily flies their 26-F A321 buses on transcons. The point is, I'm willing to pay more for UA (i.e. QUP), but not full F, as a rule.

3. CO is a fine airline with a great product, however, they just have inconvenient routing for me.

4. Colin - my natural question is, where's the better product in exchange for charging more? UA has been jacking up fares across the board while at the same time I've seen (i) hot lunches on mid-cons vanish; (ii) printed menus on non-ps transcons vanish; (iii) hot towel service on transcons become sporadic at best; (iv) no more ice cream sundaes for dessert on mid-cons at dinner; (v) no more S&P shakers on non-ps domestic F flights; (vi) paper tray liners instead of linen...oh, I guess I should stop there. That's the problem, the product has been getting worse while the price has been steadily rising.

5. I generally try to book them 1 to 2 months out. Even when booking well in advance, the QUP's are very tough to find in my markets.

The point of my OP was not to disparage UA's product, rather, I was just expressing my view that it would be nice if UA kept closer in line with what other carriers are doing and make more (certainly not all, but some) of their F inventory available as A. Frankly, most of the UA transcons out of PHL have 8-F on a A319 and A-0. I just think they should make a few seats available in A. In practice, I think everyone here must agree that they are NOT going to sell 8 out of 8 at full "F" pricing on each (or even most) of the flights.

Don't forget that UA domestic flights feed the airline's and other Star Alliance airlines' signficant international network. UA need there to be available first seats on domestic flights (to/from PHL) to accomodate those traveling on paid F/A/C/D/Z internaitonal fares. Many people buy international premium-cabin fares. No, there may very well be a need for 8 "F" seats on a PHL flight.

Sometimes you may have trouble booking QUP's because the phone CSRs erroneously believe that there has to be _both_ Q and A inventory available to sell a QUP. This is wrong, but a widely held misconception with the phone agents. In these cases you have to ask carefully "is there any A inventory?" and insist that they free-sell A; miraculously the QUP fare then appears even though there is no Q inventory, and the CSRs are baffled.

Except on routes, like SFO-BOS, that don't have a QUP fare. Although there, it is still only a $400 difference on a R/T between YUAUP and FUA2FS.

UA does not fly int'l out of PHL

But they do fly to/from PHL from/to international hubs, so the fares are still necessary.

mahasamatman means that someone might be flying TPE-LAX-PHL; that person would have to connect to a domestic flight in LAX. UA might want to save some of those precious 8 F seats for someone who paid . . . large dollars . . . to fly between PHL and TPE in a premium cabin instead of "giving those seats away" to someone paying the $700 QUAUP fare. (Also, note the ~$450 7-day NR QUAUP in this market).

I assume its because they feed US's international operation. And PHL has significant O&D on its own, and feed to ORD and IAD to UA's own operation has to be there. Example being Asia: PHL has no *A Asia service (right?) and US flyers in C or F can easily fly UA metal to ORD, LAX, SFO or even SEA (one stop, bad example maybe) and will take up UA's F inventory.

I've noticed that domestic F has been on the rise, and QUPs are becoming a little more difficult. For me at least, the difference has been in refundable vs. nonrefundable QUPs. The only routes I purchase F as a student are SAN/CLD-ATL and SAN/CLD-SEA, and have struggled to find refundable QUPs less than 2 weeks out for the days I need to travel, but can still find restricted, like QUAUP7N, which sorta sucks. Of course, finding out someone is sitting in my preferred seat is just as frustrating, but what can you do?