I've never had much problems using my miles to upgrade my tickets. However, I am flying from LGA to ORD to HKG in less than two weeks and I am still "waitlisted." What surprises me is that I have no problems clearing for F on the LGA - ORD sector but I've been waitlisted for the ORD - HKG sector even though the C cabin is wide open with over 40 seats remaining. What is going on? Do they really expect to sell that many seats in the next couple of days? Any suggestions to make them clear my upgrade?

Thanks!

Some FTers have had success asking customer relations to check with inventory control. Sometimes they'll release seats when asked.

How, though, do you know that there are 40+ seats available in C? Are you looking at the seatmap? If so, you only know that's how many seats are unassigned -- which doesn't really tell you how many tickets are (un)sold. Ticketed pax may not have seat assignments.

In any case, with that may unassigned seats, you're likely to have the upgrade clear. A call or two to try to "force" it may be helpful, though.

Do you have status with UA?

(On the one hand, the request will be treated better if the answer is yes. On the other hand, if the answer is no, your success on the day of departure will be much much tougher.)

I believe the term is Yield Management.

While I have not had to do it, I believe if you call Premier Customer Services, who can call the YM trolls in Elk Grove and may be able to pry a seat loose for you. Phone 1 877 228 1498 ( 8 am - 6 pm CST )

Good Luck!

I actually called MP up and they told me they can't call inventory control for me. I don't have any status with MP (I rarely fly on UA). The agent did inform me that over half the cabin is still empty and they are still hoping to sell some of those seats.

With my LGA-ORD sector on F having cleared and the ORD - HKG sector still on waitlist, I just don't want to waste my miles and take the F seat on LGA-ORD only to find out that I will not get the upgrade to C for ORD - HKG (I am spending a night in ORD).

In the event that seats will have to be cleared at the airport, will MP (1P, 2P 1K) using their upgrade certificates have advantage over me (who's using miles to do the upgrade)?

Any insights? Thanks in advance!

Yes. Once the airport takes over, the standard rank and file system goes into effect: 1) status, 2) fare type, 3) time on DM. Odds are you'll still clear, but (in light of your lack of status) you might want to continue to pursue the inventory control route somewhat agressively between now and your departure date.

If, for some reason, you end up sitting in F for your initial leg and getting shafted on ORD-HKG, you can probably talk them into redepositing all or 15K of the miles pulled for your UG. You might also want to look into switching flights in order to confirm upgraded seats. In light of the circumstances, there's a good chance that you can get the change fees waived as long as you don't switch your dates. Good luck!

I would like to consult you seasoned flyers a similar question.

I have asked for mile upgrade (from H to Business) for Feb-12th trip to SIN. The 1K res put me into a waitlist but should I keep calling them to see if they could release an inventory control? The availability in UAL.com shows C9 D9 so I do think there are quite few seats still available.

I have never done that (mile upgrade) and I was going to wait aproximately 1 week before my departure to check on the progress.

What should I do to secure my upgrade?

Thanks



[This message has been edited by Atuchan (edited 01-27-2002).]