"free air" and economy plus??

[nparmelee]

Just starting to think ahead for air for Sept. 2007 cruise and wondering if anybody has had any luck with United's Ecopnomy Plus when using the O free air part for the cruise??? We recently were able to fly economy plus and it made a huge difference over regular coach and just wondering if any of you have had any luck doing the United economy plus, especially for Europe flights, if you took the air or if I should just take the credit, book our own economy and upgrade with miles. We already know we'll be doing the deviation so I could specify United flights to try and do plus. It's my understanding that the free air is very difficult to upgrade to business and we just need a little more space (tall people) not necessarily the business perks.

[digby]

It is my understanding that it is IMPOSSIBLE to use FF miles to upgrade to BC when using "O's" so called free air. That is why we have always taken the credit and made our own arrangements. I have not done so, but for $300./year you can upgrade two tickets to Economy Plus.

[nparmelee]

Thanks, digby, I was pretty sure about not being able to uprade O airfare, but I was wondering more if anybody had had any luck using the United Plus program to at least fly in economy plus. We recently flew SFO to Maui and those extra few inches of space made a huge difference in comfort level. Worst case for us, we'll take the air credit and either book the plus level economy on United or BA or book economy on AA and use miles to upgrade.

[shedevil]

Thanks, digby, I was pretty sure about not being able to uprade O airfare, but I was wondering more if anybody had had any luck using the United Plus program to at least fly in economy plus. We recently flew SFO to Maui and those extra few inches of space made a huge difference in comfort level. Worst case for us, we'll take the air credit and either book the plus level economy on United or BA or book economy on AA and use miles to upgrade.

Yes, you should be able to book into Economy Plus seats for your Europe (if there are any available). The key is to make sure you give your travel agent your ff number and specifically request seating in the economy plus section.

You can then call United if you are unhappy with the seats and get them to reassign your seats. I learned from frequent poster/TA Jan, that calling the airline directly - after you have the reservation confirmation number - can be the best approach.

Also, do a little homework before talking to your TA and know which flights and seats you prefer.

[xplrcrzn]

There are three ways to use United's Economy Plus service-1) be an "elite" member of the frequent flyer program 2) buy "Economy Plus Access" for $295 a year (good for two people traveling together) or 3) buy it at the gate if it is available. Of course, you must fly United and you or your TA should give the airline your FF number since seating in Economy Plus is keyed to it.

[spindrift]

United was WONDERFUL. We bought the Economy Plus and we were upgraded, but we did need to request the upgrade when we went to the airport. They accommodated us. Give it a try.

[nparmelee]

Thanks all! I figured that if we bought the Econmy Plus Access and can specify United flights, we'll be good. If that doesn't work, back to plan b and take the credit, buy our own air and use miles to upgrade to business. For that much time in the air, we would really like at least those those extra few inches.

[Jane110]

United was WONDERFUL. We bought the Economy Plus and we were upgraded, but we did need to request the upgrade when we went to the airport. They accommodated us. Give it a try.

Are you saying that you purchased Economy Plus seats and were then upgraded to Business Class, just for the asking?

[spindrift]

No. We were in Coach Class and we paid United to join the Economy Plus club and were put into the Economy Plus section, which has more seat room and better pitch.

Because Oceania has group rates, the upgrade to BC was prohibitive.