SYD Upgrade Chances - LAX or SFO? [Merged]
 

Hey Folks

Flying to Sydney for Mardi Gras in 2010.

Travel dates February 23 and return March 3rd.

It seems like LAX will upgrade easier than SFO with a SWU.

Any experiences with this?

SFO would be easier because my traveling partner lives in SFO, and I want to book our tickets on same PNR because of my status.

Thoughts?

Don't have an answer on SFO vs LAX upgrades but wanted to comment on the "same PNR because of my status."
This is requires starting from the same airport, so since it appears you are out of DEN and the companion is out of SFO, at least one will need to fly a segment not on the PNR. Given that it seems starting in either airport is still an option.

The is much discussion on FT about the problems/benefits of upgrade clearing multiple passenger PNRs -- plus and minus -- many discussions
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...tinerarys.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...e-one-pnr.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...tin-w-nf1.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-same-pnr.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ravellers.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...e-pnr-two.html

If a reason for being on same PNR is to transfer your status for upgrade priority, your companion upgrade priority will be fine, 1 or 2 PNRs -- everyone using SWUs goes on the PA list regardless of status before DM, and every one is handle after DM based on their individual status. The status of other folks on the PNR has no impact.

Now their are other reasons for being on same PNR -- irops, waiver of luggage fees, .. but upgrades does not appear to be one.

Wine Country UA - Thanks so much for your help!!

I'm a relative newbie to all this stuff and would love it if you could clarify to me exactly what you mean by this paragraph?

Do you mean that If two us are on the same PNR and I am a 1K and my companion is a Premier, then my status doesn't move us up on the list?

I'm a little confused and would love to NOT have to make a separate ticket DEN-LAX or DEN-SFO or even worse DEN-SFO (pick up my companion) and then SF0-LAX-SYD-LAX-SFO-DEN.

Your information is very helpful and I thank all of you! (As do most of my friends who love all the advice on here)

Kevin

I just read this thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...x-one-pnr.html

and now think I understand!

Thanks so much as now I've just saved a bunch of time and money by not having to book a separate ticket!

I'm doing two PNR's with my SWU's.

Thanks

You cannot have two passengers starting in two different places on 1 PNR. You can either have:

PNR A: 1 Passenger DEN-SYD
PNR B: 1 Passenger SFO-SYD

or

PNR A: 1 Passenger DEN-SFO
PNR B: 2 passengers SFO-SYD

In the end, it really wouldn't matter, because FT believes that all upgrade requests go on to a FIFO waitlist if they cannot be confirmed in advance. Once the flight is at the gate (Departure Management) all waitlisted upgrades then get re-arranged depending on status, and again, the PNR's wouldn't matter.

Thanks so much!

If you are at the GATE...Will they upgrade on PAX on the PNR and NOT the other?

Also
My companion will be in the last month of his Premier Exec..(end of February 2010)

They will still accord him him Premier Exec status correct?

Think you have figured this out, but with a SWU a non status passenger as the same priority on a PNR with an 1K or on their own separate PNR -- the companion will be on the same prioritization list as the 1K.

Just to point out there is a downside to two PNRs -- the companion will not get the 1K / UA elite baggage fee waiver (unless they have some status - a good use of 3P nomination)
and you will need to watch out for your companion for irops, equipment changes, .. the status passenger will be handled sooner / better than the non-status on a separate PNR. But the trade-off is the likelihood of upgrade clearing does seem to be better.

Note-- you will be able to guest your companion for priority boarding / security / E+ .... even if on separate PNRs

Yes, everything is individual at the gate but you can decline the upgrade.

???? February??? status good til the end of the January.

Yes, they will upgrade one and not the other on the same PNR only when the flight is under departure management.

Some bad news is, I believe UA changed when expiration of status is to the end of January, instead of February as it has been for years.

Just started this year, 2009

To answer the OP question about ease of upgrades through SFO or LAX, my experience is that LAX flights are easier to clear.

However. Remember that Mardi Gras attracts literally THOUSANDS of GLBT visitors to Sydney and a large number of them will travel either from or through North America. IIRC, Air New Zealand has in past years chartered a Pink Flight from SFO. If they do it again next year, that will relieve some of pressure for space in the premium cabins.

I think your chances of an upgrade for Mardi Gras will be the same out of both stations.

Is this your first Mardi Gras in Sydney? You'll have a Fabulous time!

I was returning from SYD to SFO on business and was made aware that the flight was oversold due to the Mardi Gras pax returning home. I was 1K, as was my friend, and neither of our SWU's cleared for the flight home. The whole airport was a mess in fact.

In any case, my best luck for upgrades to SYD has definitely been out of SFO flying mid-week. I have been told that LAX carries a lot more of the transcon pax than SFO.

In any case the International RCC is far superior in SFO than in LAX.

I have upgraded a number of times out of SFO and have never had any problem. In fact most of the times I've gone the business class section has been half-full at most. (This was 1-3 years ago, things may be different now as the super-cheap flights fill the planes.) I'm not aware of the situation out of LAX.

-Bruce

Because at SFO you can use the SKL...

IMO, the SQ lounge is nothing to write home about. I prefer the domestic RCC to them both usually.

I guess it's OK if you don't like to eat or drink.

What is there to eat that is so great in the SKL? Ramen noodles that you have to make yourself? I have only been to the lounge three times, and have yet to see any real food at all. Wifi was also broken.

Best Upgrade Chance to SYD?
 

Hi Folks:

Are my chances of upgrading to/from SYD better via LAX or SFO?

Heading to OZ with a Systemwide, are chances to upgrade better for the SFO-SYD or the LAX-SYD (and of course the return flights)? I figured FT family has plenty of experience on this one.

Looking to go
bay area to sydney (via lax if needed) friday jan 15
sydney to bay area (via lax if needed) monday jan 25 (can also come back sunday 24th if chances are better)

Any advice? thx!

I flew to SYD/MEL 3 times this year, twice from LAX and once from SFO. I was able to upgrade using a SWU on the LAX flights, but not the SFO flight. These were all on K fares. YMMV.

You were one of the lucky ones before they really started to clamp down on upgrades with SWU's to/from SYD on less than W fares....your chances of success now is zero.

In answer to OP question, it all depends. I am looking at a day in December and fortunately selected SFO as my return with a connection to LAX. Looks like a lot of open C seats to SFO but not to LAX. Upgrade has not yet cleared, but so far it looks like I got lucky in my choice. Unfortunately, things could change over the next few weeks and I might be regretting that I didn't choose LAX. Bottom line....you really can't tell.

Did you buy up to W fare before the flight? You can't use SWU's on anything less than a W fare. :confused:

My most recent flight was 3 weeks ago. YMMV

We did not buy up to W fare before the flight. I know you are not supposed to be able to use SWUs, but we asked the GA handling the flight at LAX if we could upgrade with SWUs anyway. It never hurts to ask. Both of us were able to upgrade twice out of LAX using SWUs on K fares, once in May and once 3 weeks ago. Different GA each time. ex-SYD they absolutely won't on a K fare and they will tell you that UA is cracking down on that. However, we both got upgraded "due to customer disservice" on the return flight as well.

I asked for a SWU on checkin on a L fare, done and dusted.

I'm guessing 1 beats Zero :p

Please be careful on stating things you have no control of.

Wow that is interesting. Probably not something we want to advertise widespread as if UG space is available at the gate I guess you aren't taking it away from someone who is on a waiting list. Congrats and good luck to others in this situation.

Well that's very interesting.

I've been op-upped from the US to SYD and back at least 5 times this year (they just like my face).

I wonder if in your situation you were going to be op-upped anyway, and the GA took the SWU just for fun.

No, it couldn't happen!

Not the unusual, it depends on your status and when you check in. A number of people have done the K class Upgrade on the US-Australia route.

That's always a possibility. It didn't matter though, for a 14 hour flight I'm happy to use the SWU if they let me.

This year I am 100% (5 flights) for SWU C upgrades on the SYD-SFO-SYD using W-fare or higher, haven't gambled on a non-upgradable fare class though. I am happy with this as there were a lot of long faces at the gate in SFO last night for UA863 when C and the whole flight checked in full. Loads down to SYD from either LAX or SFO on Friday Jan 15 could be very, very high so my feeling is it will be tough for upgrades all round...

SFO is always better in my 10 year experience as a 1K.

YES thats exactly what they do - upgrade the higher status pax first and its the last seat, you get it and your companion doesnt. I have lived and breathed this scenario before, because I always put my daughter on the same PNR as me. Then you have the decision of who gets the seat :D. In my case, MINI DG (daughter) got the F seat and I sat 4 rows behind in Y :p. A year ago, EX JFK going to SFO - booked same pnr. Waitlisted with CR1s. At the gate, I was #5 on list as a 2P and daughter was #7 as a 3P. So they shake everyone out on the list at gate and list according to their status, fare paid and time entered on DM waitlist. Neither of us got the C p.s seats that time.

YES he will still have his status until it expires if the cards says FEB. However better check that, because I believe this year was the first year UA gave out cards that stated expiry end JAN 2010. Oops. In that case, the status will be gone by FEB. Sorry.

Please also be careful posting these success rates here. I say this because earlier this year we had every man and his dog on K fares to SYD - great prices/fare wars etc. There were stories starting to come out how people had been able to upgrade ex SYD and ex LAX/SFO using their SWUs. As soon as the stories got out here - the door was tightly SLAMMED shut ex SYD at least, and also SFO from what I was told. So the less we advertise these rule bends here, the better, perhaps :D. UA does read these boards.

I have tried ex SYD with MILES too on K/T/S fares and I got an emphatic NO! :D but they were hawking Upgrade for cash at $1400 AUD :eek:.

Then for other trips I have been op-upped ^ due to high loads.

PAT: What was your customer disservice? Enquiring minds would love to know :D.

Downundergirl has it summed up pretty well. ON the PNR, you can clear together at the highest status. AT the gate, or off of the DM list, eveyone currently clears at their own status level as an individual.

Eligible fare classes are supposed to be enforced as well.

What percentage of battlefield upgrades are people seeing? Is UA pretty tight with the NC availability on the SFO routes?

Sounds like people are saying upgrading to/fr SFO will be a bit more likely than from LAX?

Do you think more passengers from other parts of the country transit through LAX to get on to SYD than SFO?

Of the posts above where people have directly compared them (posts 10, 18, and 28), I count one who says that and two that say the opposite.

I'm 3 out of 3 for SFO this year - all with miles cleared fairly well in advance. Flew to SFO Monday 19 and C had a number of open seats.

I'm still waitlisted for LAX-SYD this thursday.

Edited to add: Thursday became Friday after I got stuck in Orlando overnight. UG was initially waitlisted but cleared day of flight. AFAICS we went out with 1 empty C seat.

Seatcounter
 

Other than Seatcounter, is there a way to check loads?

I have a mac and don't have any the PC tools

Looking specifically at the February 23 SFO (or LAX) to SYD
Return
March 9th SYD-LAX or SFO

Traveling companion lives in SFO so SFO would be best but it is Mardi Gras and many LGBT travelers will be departing from SFO

Thoughts?

I will upgrade both with my SWU'!

There is no public way to check loads, you can check what UA is willing to sell in each fare class.

Seatcounter is one free tool but does not show award/upgrade availability.

United.com provides the same info by being in expert mode and hovering over the "flight info" for a given flight. If done in Standard Award booking mode, it also shows Award & Upgrade availability.

Both seatcounter & united.com work in browsers and work on the Mac.

Success Rates is what this thread is about.

It's up to the United agent to decide if you get upgraded or not, and I guess that also depends on your status, they know your EQM and don't know about the bonus offers etc, so what they see is just your EQM.

It's nothing about bending the rules, it's about United treating those who fly more often feel they are respected as regular customers.

Sure people with less EQM might not get treated as well as higher person, but such is life.

If FT were about hiding things like this, then the site would not exist to begin with.

While I do understand your point here, even GS people I know found that once the stories got out, UA were not willing to bend the rules. GS have the highest status :D. In fact it was a good GS friend who said to me, people who post THEIR success after the fact, often end up ruining it for others who come after them, because UA put a stop to the loopholes, especially out of SYD. In other words, sometimes its better not to rush out and annouce how a GA broke the rules for you :p. There are ways and means ;). Look at the Mileage Run Deals forum...its all in code and FOR GOOD reason ;).

I also think we are talking about two different things - I was referring specifically to certain UA personnel who originally upgraded some 1Ks who were on K fares with their own SWUs when the fare rules dont allow for it. So IMHO it was definitely about BENDING the rules. K fares are NOT upgradeable with SWUs or miles, no matter who you are or how much status you have. THIS thread was originally about LEGITIMATE upgrade chances on the appropriate fare types ie for SYD its W fare and higher not K fare :D. There is no problem reporting instances of that as UA has no reason to be concerned about that.

For the record, I have received op-ups ex SYD as a GM, and also as a 1P ex SYD AND ex SFO (with my then GM daughter who was also op-upped each time I was). So I have no problem with how UA treats me :D. I have always been happy with UA, that is why I stay with them.

Of course, as with everything, YMMV. I was just suggesting we all need to be a little more careful with how we alert UA to their "BENDING" situations because 9 out of 10 times, that ultimately ends in that opportunity going away for everyone :(.

Go through the process of making a booking for each alternative and check the seat map to see which (and, more importantly, how many) seats are already allocated.

Which comes back to the original question: Having flown this route for a decade, I'd say SFO flights used to be much easier to upgrade. But, then, I always check seat availability and only book one which is more open (preferably confirmable at booking). Actually, I'll go further than that: I'll pick my day of the week on the basis of seat availability. Perhaps it's not surprising that my upgrade success is 100%.

Maybe it's because of the self-levelling effect of people such as me, but both routes seem to have been pretty even in recent years, with human randomness thrown in. Some days, there are heaps more C pax booked on SFO flights, some days the opposite.