What if UA changed the upgrading policy....
 

I was speaking with a friend that calls himself a "UA guru" this week and he said something that peeked my interest.

He mentioned this...

"What if UA only allowed M,H,Y,B C,D" fares to be upgradable. Would you still consider remaining with them as an elite member?" My response was yes, but now that I've had some more time to think about it, I'm not so sure....

So, I pose the question to the you. Also, do you think it would be even tougher to get an upgrade for 1P and below? Doesn't AA have a policy like this or something close to it?

That should be "piqued"...

The last time UA asked that question, the answer was a resounding NO and UA apologized by handing our Sweet Spot upgrade certitificates, which were good down to S (or was it T?) fares.

I believe AA lets you upgrade almost anything with the appropriate copay.

upgradeable with what, miles? or e500s? and of course you're talking domestic, right?

I think they don't have to do that anyway. As we're discussing in other threads, the way they're controlling who gets to upgrade is being cleverly executed by IM, so that status is being emphasized over fare paid anyway. It would go over badly though, I'm sure, unless they wanted people to buy upgradeable fares with the purpose of upgrading. And people would be upset if they bought tickets with that hope, just like they are now with YBMH international fares, and don't get the upgrade.

What I can see is that for the flights where it matters, if you're not high status (and somewhat) high fare, you're not getting that upgrade anyway, so UA has basically, in effect, put this in place already. It is a stealth copay -- your status and fare are already factored in.

I think they're about tweaking the algorithms silently and internally (they've learned their lesson) so they don't have to piss people off with outright stated policies that you can get upset over! You just notice fewer upgrades clearing, and begin to get the message that if you don't have status or buy F, you ain't gettin it!

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but wouldn't this make it easier to upgrade if you are 1P and below (and are in one of the listed fare buckets)?

For me, almost every flight I take is domestic, under 4 hours and on a 757 or smaller so it would just mean that I never upgrade. The minimal difference (for me) between E+ exit and domestic short-haul F would not be close to the difference in price.

I would have no problem with United weighting ticket price more heavily in the upgrade formula. I always book the cheapest fare, but I don't begrudge any effort they make to reward those who are paying more and keeping them in business.

The masses will revolt if UA attempts to change the fare classes eligible for upgrades with SWUs: this is why United issued the Sweet Spots even valid on S&T fares to make up for doing exactly this in 2004. Perhaps you can forward all of the blowback to your UA friend and let him know in advance that United should not even consider going there with changing the fare class that are upgrade eligibility.

another thing UA can do stealthily is simply raise the average ticket price in the upgradeable fare classes, such as when you find normally priced L tickets to South America, but W class bumps it up beyond $1500rt.

I'm a new UAL flyer formerly AA PLAT. I've always had the opinion that upgrades should be based on status and fare paid first afterall shouldn't it be the intent of the airline to make sure to get as much revenue as possible whilst recognizing it's top flyers.

Having said that with my limited upgrade experience on UAL - it's too complex! They could simplify it. First your on one list and then after airport control or something there gets to be two lists and then there are E-500's which seem similar to AA but CR1's? before using Systemwide upgrades which seem more like VIP's from AA to me. Keep it simple, understandable, profitable.

That should be "out". ;) :D

Dave

What a silly idea. Presumably UA already milks as much as it can by keeping a swath of F seats open until a few days before the flight, then slowly doling them out to those on the wait lists and those with e-500s. And then kiosk upgrades.

While I can see why UA does this for international fares (because they can) for domestic it would simply mean less revenue and empty F seats.

OTOH if UA is concerned about rewarding the high fare coach passengers it can simply implement Y-UP or another type of upgrade that pre-empts people on cheapo fares. But thinking people are going to buy up to higher fares to upgrade non-ref tix (where by definition they are looking for the cheapest tix) is lunacy.

I agree with other here for sure... Nothing worst than stirring the bee's nest with regards to already hard to secure upgrades huh?...

Anyway... My friend was also just mouthing off, perhaps, with regards to the BOB changes made for C class since it's "full" of Y fares these days (domestics flts.)

As far as it being difficult for 1P or less to upgrade, just consider if GS and 1K opt to get the lowest fares available for the upgrade, the rest of us tossing money for higher fares are at a disadvantage for perhaps the two class config. flights...

Was he talking about domestic, international, or both? :confused:

I think it would kill a lot of the benefit I derive from 1K.

Did your friend deliberately leave out E and U, or just forget about them?