I have the following trip planned for April,

MEL-ORD-LAX-SNA-SFO-LHR-SFO-ORD-CLT-ORD-SYD, all on UA.

As I currently have no status, I'll be doing this trip in the back of the bus, however, as I will become a 2P for the first time during the ORD-CLT leg of this trip, am I correct in assuming I qualify for E+ seating for the CLT-ORD & ORD-SYD legs of this trip.

That being the case, is it possible to have E+ seating assigned for these flights when I ticket the trip, based on my future 2P status, or do I need to wait until I actually gain the status.

The main reason for the question, is that I only qualify 4 days before the CLT-ORD-SYD flights, and will assume that all window seats in E+ between ORD-SYD (well ORD-LAX-SYD) will be long gone by this point. Of course if I'm not eligible for E+ seating as a 2P this is a moot point anyway.

Thanks

Beck

Once you get the status, I'd go to the gate agent and tell them and see if they'll change that for you. Unfortunately for me, when I got premier for the first time, my next flight was from Denver to Las Vegas on the shuttle. And then it was Vegas to LA and then LA to Reno, all on the shuttle.

So much for that, huh?

If you're on one of the ex-shuttle planes go for row 3. Most of the ex-shuttles aren't equipped with E+ so ask for row 3.

Some suggestions you may find interesting :
a)At MEL check-in early and politely ask for a seat in Economy Plus; You might have a chance, if not go to b)
b) At MEL ask to the Gate Agent what are your odds of being moved to Economy Plus...
c) When you're already Premier, at the States, ask reservations to erase your Mileage Plus number and insert it again. That's how the system acknowledges you're a Premier. Ask a seat in Economy Plus for your next flights on that reservation.
d) When at the airport, the next time, you'll be all set.

You'll definitely enjoy Economy Plus ! It's magnificent, fantastic and you'll love every inch of legroom you'll get !

PS-I find it hard for you to get advance Economy Plus seats, based on your future earned status, as usually the agent, based on your "no-current-status" won't be able to "see" available seats in the Economy Plus area of the aircraft.

Sounds like a lot of flying, you'll certainly have no status problems this year!

Two notes:

1) First the bad news. I was under the impression that the transpacific routes did not have Economy Plus Seating. This may only be 777 flights, but maybe somebody can comment on the availability of these seats over the Pacific.

2) The good news is that as a General Member, I never had a problem getting E+ seating. The only restriction is that you can't pre-reserve Economy PLus seating, but if a seat is available at checkin, you have every right to it.

I would imagine that the agent at MEL should be able to assign E+ seats for your entire outbound journey (if available), and the LHR agent should be able to book seats all the way back.

Have a fun trip, either way!

Once you have the status if the flight doesn't have E+ (or even if it does) you can also reserve exit rows ahead, which can sometimes be a much better seat then E+

I think that you can only do this if you are a 1P or higher; 2Ps don't get this benefit.

When I had no status on UA (from 1984 to 08/01), I would politely request the exit isle or window at the gate. Sometimes, they would give a E+ seat instead. If the flight is not full, they should be able to give you E+.