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Home » United Airlines » The United Upgrade Gamble
United Airlines

The United Upgrade Gamble

Matthew Klint Posted onApril 5, 2012December 9, 2016 6 Comments

Friday will be another travel day for me as I return to Los Angeles for the Easter holiday. My United flight back to LAX, operated by a 757-200 with 24 first class seats, has been zeroed out for about a week now in both first and economy class. I called United this afternoon and found that economy class is “way oversold” but first class is only booked 10/24, as the seat map suggests.

 united-upgrade-gamble

With the flight zeroed out, the option to request an upgrade has disappeared on united.com. I suppose I could call up and waitlist a regional upgrade on the flight, but I am going to hold back–I want to see if I end up getting this complimentary upgrade. Under the old United, I would have absolutely no worries about getting it, but with the new post-merger system that aggressively sells upgrades for relatively little out of pocket, I just wonder how United is going to handle this oversell.

I have a prediction: with economy booked well over capacity and first class lightly filled at the moment, I bet we’ll see buy-ups to first class for cheaper than usual. The problem is United does not always offer these deals to elites. I also cannot do a dummy booking and see what the buy-up price would be for someone with no status because the flight is zeroed out. In other words, I do not have a way to test my theory, but nevertheless, I predict we’ll see $99 upgrades or less offered to passengers at check-in (which admittedly, is a good price but a price still too high for me to justify) while elites remain waitlisted. United has two upgrade systems, but it is not clear when one or the other kicks in. The first is simply the difference between your fare class and the cheapest (Y, B, M) upgradable economy fare class (or full-fare for non-elites) that would confirm you into first class. The second is a flat dollar amount for the upgrade, annoyingly used at times when dozens of elites are still on the waitlist for an upgrade. That’s where we see the really cheap upgrades seemingly selectively offered to non-elite passengers upon check-in.

Just another example of the not-so-transparent world of upgrades at the new United. I trust that as UA develops its new system, dynamic waitlisting of upgrades will return and understanding whether or not we are on the upgrade waitlist will not just be a matter of faith, as it is today until check-in.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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6 Comments

  1. Mike Reply
    April 5, 2012 at 1:13 am

    Go early and loiter at the checkin machines? Wear your United lanyard and help Ma and Pa Kettle use the machine? See how often and what amounts the upgrades are offered for? 😉

  2. Dan Reply
    April 5, 2012 at 2:20 am

    Barf @ COdbaUA. Let us know how it turns out.

  3. Darren Reply
    April 5, 2012 at 3:50 am

    Why didn’t I fly this Easter weekend? The bump opportunities missed…

    While I tend to agree with you that they’ll start hawking cheap upgrades, hopefully the sweep tonight will clear some people into R, as well as tomorrow night. I think you’re smart to wait and not try to burn a RPU.

  4. Brad Reply
    April 5, 2012 at 11:46 am

    Wow, a 757 used to be a slam dunk upgrade for almost any route, especially for a 1K. I fear your prediction about cheap buyups is correct. That said, I have had good luck clearing upgrades eventually since the 3/3 change over. Do keep up posted.

    Darren brings up a good point about VDB opportunities. I haven’t seen anything since 3/3, which is a little surprising given the busy flights during spring break. Maybe you can get a bump if you don’t get the upgrade…

  5. Matthew Reply
    April 6, 2012 at 3:57 am

    I’ll be very happy to take a bump!

    I called UA once more before we hit the 24hr window this morning (when upgrades can no longer be applied) and the flight was still booked 10/24. Furthermore, the agent said I was the only 1K on the manifest!

    So if I don’t get the upgrade or bump, I am honestly going to look into US Airways or American.

  6. Eliot Reply
    April 11, 2012 at 12:09 am

    I was relatively fortunate just befor Easter. I’m a platinum whatever (50k a year)flying Thursday 4/5 IAD-SAN on a 757-200 and got an automatic bump up a few days ahead of the flight. I called on Thursday afternoon after arrival to ask if I could use miles to upgrade SAN-IAD on Saturday before Easter … and they gave it to me over the phone “based on your status.” My wife says I come home in a better mood when I fly business/first vs coach.

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