MarthaB

We booked three, round-trip United FF flights from Chicago (ORD) to Maui (OGG), leaving Dec 28 and returning Jan 6.

Getting there is no problem (yet). We got a non-stop flight with all three of us seated together which is fantastic.

Coming back is a different story. Originally, we were to fly from Maui to Los Angeles and then LA to Chicago. Both flights were changed, and now we're flying into San Francisco and then Chicago which is fine.

However, we were told we would have to get our seats assigned 24 hours before we fly Maui to SFO. After talking to two people at United, they eventually assigned us seats. My questions: when I check the seat assignments at United's website, the plane appears to be full except for 1st class (I'd be okay with those ). Is it possible this flight is overbooked, and could we be bumped off the flight to SFO? We have an 11-year-old with us, and I don't want him flying alone (more for the sake of passengers and flight attendants!).

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

mjz_kc

Yes, it's possible. I don't fly UAL much, but recently did on a trip to the Big Island. The seat map gave me the impression the flight was overbooked. On the day of travel, there were many open seats and I was able to upgrade to Premium Econony. Same story on the return flight. I'm not sure why they do this...
Have fun.

MarthaB

Thank you for the info, mjz_kc. I'm thinking that they must do this to drive us crazy!

AAFrequentFlyer

Seat maps are not good indicators of how full/empty the flight will be.

Some of the reasons are:

1. full fare tickets - these travelers can change or cancel their tickets at any time without any penalty.

2. some of the reserved seats in economy may be occupied by elite fliers who requested an upgrade. Don't know how UA's system works but AA will start upgrading elites starting at 100 hours before the flight for their top elites and all the way up to last call to board for any elite that requests an upgrade.

3. All the major airlines block at least 10 and maybe up to 20% of seats for airport assignment only. These seats will be seen as occupied on the airline's web site.

4. During booking process and even after reservations are made, some seats, as in exit row seats, are only visible and available to elites. For a non-elite, these same seats will be seen as occupied when checking the seat map.

So you see that perhaps up to 25% of the seats will not be available to most travelers until they check in at the airport.

I have been on flights that had no seat available on the seat map, yet went out only 1/2 full and I also have been on flights that it seem empty on the seat map, but yet it went out totally full.

rkkwan

You son won't be flying alone. You don't have to worry about that.

UA might as well have overbooked coach for 1/6 coming back from Hawaii. Nothing unusual about that. Airlines overbook flights all the time. Most of the time, not everybody shows up, so that's fine. When everybody does show up, they'll ask for volunteers to change to a different flight for compensation. Most of the time, enough people will volunteer.

Involuntary denied boarding is a very rare event; and you'll still be compensated.

suze

The flight seating charts you/we all see on the website does not reflect reality.

That only shows the seats that they are willing to let you buy/choose. There are always a certain percentage held back for assignment one day before &/or at the airport.

MarthaB

You fellow Fodorites are great! I have gone from feeling very anxious to only a tiny bit nervous now that I have a better idea what's going on.

I'm guessing that flying fewer than three or four times a year would not make me an elite. Darnit!

Mahalo everyone!

rkkwan

If you do fly 3 to 4 times a year, all with United, and usually with a companion, you should consider purchasing the $349 annual Economy Plus Access. 4 roundtrips for 2 people is 16 flight segments at least; so it's about $20 each time to get 5-6 inch more legroom in a seat closer to the front.

Also, you may want to see if one-time E+ access is available for your OGG-SFO flight and see how much.

https://store.united.com/enhancement...ry_id=UM_LEGRM

MarthaB

Thanks, rkkwan. Five to six extra inches for $20 sounds great. I am going to check into that.

ms_go

I'm not sure which of the Jan 6 OGG-SFO flights you're on. The earlier one (UA34) is showing F9 (first)/Y7 (economy), which means that they're still selling a few economy seats. The Economy Plus section is actually very full with only a few middle seats left (one set of three together; 19DEF). There are also a couple of open rows at the back; those are also typically blocked in advance except to those with United elite status.

The later flight (UA36) is F9/Y0, meaning it's sold out in economy (could be oversold). I can't see the E+ seat map since there are no economy seats for sale and ExpertFlyer doesn't show unassigned E+ seats.

It sounds like you do have seat assignments now. If this was me, I'd just check in online as early as possible.

mowmow

UAL seems to be playing seat assignment games. Our flights to Hawaii over the holidays had a very minor schedule change and our seat assignments evaporated.

I was able to select seats on the current seat map, but not able to get the two of us seated together. I'm traveling with a child, so this is unacceptable. Even a phone call to UAL didn't resolve this.

They told me to "see the gate agent at the airport" to have this remedied. This is so stupid. There ARE seats available on this airplane, and they should be able to assign us two seats together now.

They're just setting themselves up for having a pissed off mother to deal with at LAX on Dec 22nd while trying to make a tight connection to our third flight of the day.

GoTravel

""They're just setting themselves up for having a pissed off mother to deal with at LAX on Dec 22nd while trying to make a tight connection to our third flight of the day.""

I can totally understand your feelings but getting pissed off will only hurt your circumstances.

Killing the gate agent with kindness is usually the only thing that I've found that helps.

MarthaB

Ms_go, thank you for that very helpful information. Yikes. It's the packed UA36 flight we're on. I don't know why they didn't put us on the earlier UA34 flight instead. Maybe I should call and see if it's possible.

Yes, we're going to check in online as soon as we can just to be sure.

Ack! Well, I suppose we'll all get home somehow or other.

Good luck, mowmow. I hope you can clear your seats up beforehand. It can be so frustrating!

Thanks again to all!

mowmow

GoTravel, I am always polite and kind; I would never take out my frustration with a stupid corporate policy on a gate agent, but it doesn't mean I'm not pissed off.

I get my vengeance by picking a different airline the next time for my business.

mrwunrfl

MarthaB, I see that it is now 13 days since your post. Today, the United seat maps for the two flights show better availability on the flight that you booked.

UA 34 has four Economy Plus seats and 27 regular economy seats available. This is a 777 with 2x5x2 seating. With 5 across in a lot of rows you have a good chance of having three seats side by side.

UA 36 has 42 Economy Plus seats and 7 regular economy (but exit row) seats available. This is a 767 with 2x3x2 seating.

Both flights are sold out. Both have a lot of unassigned seats.

mowmow, if you don't like the seats you get when you check in online, then check in again at the airport of your first flight (assuming all three are United).

mrwunrfl

UA 34/36 are sold out in all classes.

MarthaB

Thank you, mrwunrful! We still have our assigned seats which is good. I will check them again 24 hours before we leave Maui, just to make sure.

10 more days until we leave snowy Illinois. It is great getting off the plane and feeling the warm sunshine. Woo-hoo! I can't wait.