LPCJr

I am sure that this has probably been discussed here before but I wasn't able to find anything with search.

My wife and I are ticketed on US flight 91 on 8/5 from PHL-SAN. I've been watching the F availablilty using the Travel and Transport ITN tool. As of this morning, the tool is showing F3, P2, and A1. I called to inquire about upgrades (I am silver and we are 2 days out) and was told that we are waitlisted because there aren't any upgradeable F seats available. The agent said there need to be seats in fare bucket E. T&T doesn't even show an E bucket.

I know it's a different airline, but whenever I get upgraded on NW, I always am booked into P class. Is P on US not the same thing? I just am trying to confirm that the information this agent gave me is correct. If this thing about E is correct, how would I use T&T to determine the number of upgradeable seats?

dknn

No P is not the same as E for US. P is the fare class that full fares tickets are upgraded. Since you are familiar with the NW upgrade process, you know that the airline usually holds back a couple of seats in F for purchase.

I'm not sure what type of plane you will be on, but I wouldn't think your chances of getting upgraded as a silver is good. I have missed a couple of upgrades to SAN as a Chairmans. However, your flight is on a Saturday, so who knows.

LPCJr

Thanks for the info. Equipment has changed from a 321 to a 320 to a 319, so I've been watching my upgrade chances go down the tubes...

kennyboy3

Yeah. Unfortunately the E bucket is invisible.

LoganFlyer

The E class is invisible, but from my experience, it seems it has strictly fewer seats available than the A bucket.

kinglobjaw

All I know is that on the A319 they hold at 3 seats, so that why you have not cleared.

Example. PHL-TPA on Jul 26 730am was A319 with F3 so I did not clear on that one at all. While in Vegas sitting in the club, just hours I would actually fly the A319 and F4 came up. I called US, and they said they have 4 First seats for sale, including one which is upgradable, so they confirmed me.

me4yankees

Isn't F (full F fare) different than E (Envoy-restricted fare upgrade) and that the availability of E is not shown (it is hidden like X class), so one does not really know what is available for restricted fare upgrade?

PremiumSeat

The information from US is correct. First, to upgrade discount economy tickets there must be "E" inventory available. Outside of the 7-day Chairman's upgrade window, on most domestic routes, 50% of the cabin is available as "E" on US-legacy operated flights. Within the 7-day Chairman's upgrade window, on most domestic routes, 75% of the cabin is available as "E" on US-legacy operated flights. 25% is a "revenue hold back" and will be converted to "E" at the gate, if seats in F are still available. "E" is no longer a published booking code, so you will not be able to see how many "E" seats are available, however, you can use the 25% rule and guess. In your case, the information that you are being given is correct: 25% of the F cabin is still for sale which is normal that they would hold 3 out of 12 seats on the A319 for sale. There is "P" availability which is for upgrades off of a full-fare coach ticket ("Y" or "B"); "A" is discounted first which has nothing to do with upgrades. As silver, if you're on the waitlist, your chances are slim that you will both (or either of you for that matter) actually get the upgrade at the gate given the equipment and number of seats left.

PremiumSeat

"E" is a domestic upgrade off of a discounted coach fare class; "R" is upgrade from discount OR full fare coach to Envoy. Like "E" (which, up until about 1.5 years ago was published), "R" is not (and never to my knowledge has been) published. The hold-back for Envoy is far higher than for domestic F. Almost the inverse of domestic first, the holdback in Envoy more than several days before the flight is 75% as a rule of thumb (i.e. 6 out of 24 Envoy seats on 767 generally are available for advance upgrade from discount or full fare economy). The 75% revenue holdback is a bit over the top in my view, however, that's what it is and has been for some time.

LPCJr

Thanks everyone for the information, the explanations have been very helpful!

amejr999

Quick question, when do the dates count from? I have a flight Saturday morning that hasn't had the upgrades clear, even though there are 8 seats in first open. Would it have cleared this morning or tomorrow morning?

me4yankees

Depends on your preferred level...today would be two days in advance, tomorrow will be one day in advance...

amejr999

Thanks. Odd that it didn't clear, it's on an A319. Will give them a call, I'm silver preferred.

lt1GM

This is correct, my experience has been that initially on the A330, around 10-11 seats (roughly 25% of total) in Envoy will be released to the "R" bucket. As the departure gets closer, additional seats may open up depending on load etc.