United Airlines Seats Frequently Asked Questions Release Overview 1. What is Sabre releasing? Sabre and United are pleased to announce the reintroduction of s in the Sabre travel marketplace. Travel agents can book and fulfill s for any passenger who is not entitled to confirm an based on their MileagePlus eligibility. s will be priced in $USD for all points of sale, including non-u.s. points of sale 2. What are United s? s provide up to six inches of extra legroom, allowing customers to stretch out with more room to work, relax and sit near the front of the cabin; making exiting the plane easier at their destination. ing is available on most United and United Express flights. 3. Is there anything I need to be aware of when booking s? s are a pre-paid offering. Payment is required to secure a reservation 24 hours before departure through the Sabre before the check-in window. s are available through United directly within 24 hours of departure. o A fee banner and legend on the maps will indicate which s require payment Processes must be put into place to issue payment for s. There is a separate entry required for payment, and this needs to be integrated into agency fulfillment processes to ensure payment is completed within the specified time limit. Further details can be found at Question 15. s are booked from the map the same as any other, but it is important to note that once booked, s must be paid for within the specified time limits or will be released by United. Further details can be found at Question 17. Agencies should ensure that all booking sources including travel counselors, online booking tools, branch locations, etc. are aware of booking requirements. This will minimize any risk that a traveler does not receive their. 4. What features are included with this release? High level features include Dynamic display of s in both the Classic and Graphical Seat Map Booking of s from the map with standard select format Ability to purchase United s within your existing workflow o Utilizes standard Air Extras fulfilment entry, W EMD, to purchase an via direct fulfilment with United Update of booked in the *B field and in the AE field in the PNR 5. What are the benefits of this release? Access to confirmed s that passengers would have had to previously purchase directly through United to secure a 1
Integration into existing workflow and no requirements to link to another site Dynamic processing of customer s request enabling agents to quickly advise passenger what s are available and any applicable fee Ability to service the traveler efficiently and reserve the during the initial booking process or anytime after ticketing while searching or modifying s Ability for Agents to remain a customer s primary point of contact for itineraries and popular add-on options such as s Overview 6. What is the price of an? s are priced individually for each flight segment. Fees vary based on a variety of factors including flight length and travel markets A fee banner is displayed on the Graphical Seat Map as well as in the hover over along with other attributes. A fee banner is also displayed on the map in Classic View. 7. My customer is a United MileagePlus member. Are they eligible for complimentary s? What about if traveling with a companion?, subject to availability, advanced complimentary access to is offered as follows: Premier Platinum members and higher (for themselves and up to eight companions) Premier Gold members (for themselves and one companion) Premier Silver members and one companion continue to enjoy complimentary access to Economy Plus ing, when available, upon check-in. Since United offers complimentary access for their MileagePlus premier members, it is important to remember to always add the United MileagePlus number to the PNR before accessing a map. 8. If my customer has purchased an subscription through United directly, can they utilize the subscription benefits for Sabre bookings?, simply ensure you have entered their MileagePlus number in the reservation and their subscription benefits will allow you to select any available on the map. 9. Are fees refundable? Refunds for purchases are processed automatically after scheduled departure in the event of: Flight cancellation or change to a different flight, when travel is completed in a standard United Economy When travel is completed in a of equal or greater value through the purchase of a premium cabin ing offer. Refunds are not eligible if a Complimentary Premier Upgrade is issued. 10. If a customer is flying standby for another flight on the same day of travel, will they sit in? If a customer boards a flight as a stand-by passenger for an earlier flight, they will be eligible for Economy Plus, however this is subject to availability on the stand-by flight. The fee will be refunded if the customer is not accommodated. 2
11. Will United process Star Alliance partnership frequent flyer status for s? No, while United receives and recognizes elite status of Star Alliance partner frequent flyer numbers for certain privileges, complimentary s are not provided to any other frequent flyer member other than United MileagePlus members. Therefore, if any frequent flyer number other than a United MileagePlus is received, a fee will be displayed for the optional purchase of s. Procedures 12. Where do I find fees? The fee is displayed in a banner and hover over on the Graphical Seat Map. Additionally, specific attributes will also be marketed in the hover over in a Graphical Seat Map. A fee banner will also display in the Classic Seat Map. 13. Other than USD, what currencies are accepted for purchases? s are only available for purchase in USD, including non-u.s. point of sale locations. In such case, while fare information will be displayed in the local currency, fees will be displayed in USD. This practice is consistent with united.com. 14. How can I identify which s are s on a map? s are notated as = Preferred Paid on the Graphical Seat Map or QP = Premium Paid on the Classic Seat Map. 15. How do I book and pay for an? View available s via standard 4G entry; e.g., 4G1* A banner is displayed providing fee information Hover-overs in Sabre s Graphical Seat Map showing individual fees Select / Book by clicking on the on the Graphical Seat Maps or making the standard 4G1/ request entry; e.g., 4G1/6C The AE field is automatically added to the PNR and can be viewed with *AE and *AES Once status code is updated to reflect HD1/PAYMENT REQUIRED. Be aware of the PURCHASE BY date/time in the *AES Ensure air ticket has been issued Status of the AE item must be HD (confirmed, pending payment) Separate entry to drive payment of a United o If using same credit card as used for air ticket, enter W EMD*AEn (where n is the Air Extra ítem number) o If using a new credit card for payment of Air Extra W EMD*AEn (where n is the Air Extra ítem number to fulfill) F*VI4444333322221111/1216 16. Can I pay for a booked before the PNR is ticketed? No, you must ticket the PNR before issuing payment for the. 3
17. When do I have to pay for the once I have booked it? You must issue payment for a reserved before the PURCHASE BY date / time shown in the *AES field. If you do not issue payment by the PURCHASE BY date / time, the following occurs: United cancels the assignment and sends a message to Sabre o The PNR will drop on Queue 25 o The *A will not display HRS in the itinerary segment o The *B will have a UN for the requested 18. Can I issue payment for multiple s with one entry?, you can issue payment for multiple s in one EMD entry: W EMD*n-n or W EMD*AEn/n (where n is the AE item number) should a segment not include an. This transaction will process the payment directly with United. 19. Is the fee associated with the processed with the fare? No. The fee associated with the is separate and is processed directly with United once the W EMD*AEn (AE item number) format is entered. 20. Do travelers need to use the same credit card to pay the Economy fee as they did for their fare? No, the traveler has the option to use the same credit card or a different credit card for the fee. 21. Can I pay for an with cash or check? No, since United fulfills the transaction, you must use a credit card as noted above. The transactions are not settled through ARC, BSP or any other industry clearing house. 22. Once booked and paid for, how will I know my traveler has been assigned an? The *B will be updated with a P indicating it is a paid. Additionally, the AE field will be updated and reflect the status HI1/FULFILLED and the fee amount / total will display the fee paid. 23. If I have multiple customers with the same last name in the PNR, can I request s for all customers at the same time?, and to ensure any subsequent changes are properly managed, it is strongly recommended that the customer names are entered separately. E.g., 1.1.Smith/John, 2.1.Smith/Mary vs. 1.2.Smith/John/Mary. Once a map is displayed, agents can either name select or select multiple s at the same time once names are separated. 24. Does every customer in a PNR have to have a assignment, if any one customer has a assignment?, if any one customer is assigned a, whether an or non-, all other customers must have a assignment on the same flight. 25. Can s be purchased for itineraries that have been booked prior to United s purchase release?, you may purchase s for the customers at booking or after ticketing as long as s are available on the map. 4
26. Can I divide a PNR with s?, however, all s must be cancelled prior to the divide function. 27. If I book 3 customers with the same last name in a single name field and the PNR contains 1 and 2 non- s, and the is not paid for within the payment time limit, what will happen? United s auto-cancel process will cancel the that was not paid for within the payment time limit as well as the non- s associated with the same last name (even though they are non- ). This can be avoided by entering individual name fields for each passenger. 28. How do I get more information on how to reserve / purchase s in Sabre Red Workspace? Visit the Air Extras page in Agency eservices for more information on Air Extras and United s. Tools include a Quick Reference Guide as well as updates to Format Finder and a presentation outlining the booking and purchase flow. Additionally, refer to Sabre Advance Notification (SAN) number 7832 for United s and SAN 7101 for the Direct Fulfillment of Air Extras. 29. My corporate customer uses GetThere. Will they be able to reserve s online? At this time, travelers will need to call their travel agent or visit united.com to book an. GetThere is planning enhancements to support the online purchase of United s s; however, a release date has not yet been determined. Changing Seats 30. Can I exchange an that was purchased for an on a new flight? No. s are not refundable for voluntary changes, e.g. moving to a new flight. 31. How are change requests managed? Seat Change Request Resulting Action Free to free Seat change processed as today. Free to Old free is cancelled and new request is processed and payment is required. to a free Agent cancels and assigns new free. Seat fee is not refunded as the paid change is voluntary. No AE for free. Original AE will appear in history. Seat Change Request Resulting Action to another Agent cancels original and AE with an HI status for original amount, regardless 5
of lesser or equal value assigns the new paid. There is no cost for the change (and there is also no refund for the difference in prices). of what new fee is. to a more expensive If ticket number has not changed, United refunds the full price (post departure) of the old. Agent cancels original, selects new, and makes the appropriate EMD fulfillment entry for the full price of the new. Once payment is received, AE updated with HI status. Schedule Changes 32. If I have purchased an for my customer and there is a United schedule change, what happens to the paid? During the schedule change process, status of the AE will be updated as follows: HN PN SN HD PD SD HI PI SI HK PK SK In certain cases, if the cannot be moved, the AE status will be updated to CX. Once schedule changes are accepted via.hkall, Sabre will update the air segment and the AE field with the new flight number, HI1/FULIFLLED status and number. Please see the table below for specific examples: Seat Type Schedule change resulting action Complimentary Seat change processed as today Original is cancelled and new is assigned and identified by the P indicator in the *B field AE updates during schedule change of a flight number: HI>PI (upon receiving the flight schedule change) PI>SI ( received) SI>HI (once schedule change accepted with.hk entry) Seat Type Schedule change resulting action 6
to free Original is cancelled and a non- is returned. United will issue an automatic refund for the original after the flight is flown. AE updates during schedule change of a flight number: HI>PI (upon receiving the flight schedule change) Seat reaccom with free received is HK, AE is associated to new flight and AE status is updated to CX. No Original is cancelled and new must be requested. AE remains in HD status but cannot fulfill. Must cancel and request a new one that will create a new AE. to One flight segment to two flight segments with 2 new s. New s identified by the P indicator in the *B field AE updated to CX status, and remains associated to original segment. When original segment is cancelled, AE will be removed. No One flight segment to two flight segments. Original is cancelled and new Economy Plus s must be requested. AE updated to CX status, and cannot fulfill. Must cancel and request a new one that will create a new AE. Same flight with new date. United will return a new as noted by the P indicator in the *B field. AE updated to CX status, and remains associated to original segment. When original segment is cancelled, AE will be removed but remains in history. No Same flight with new date. Original is cancelled and new must be requested. 33. Can an be changed after a schedule change if my customer desires a different?. If a different is desired, agents must cancel the new display map and request new. If an is booked, ensure it is purchased within the required time limits. Change of Gauge Flights 34. Can I book an on Change of Gauge flights? No, the ability to book and pay for an on Change of Gauge flights is not supported. If an is requested, United will reply with an alternate non-. 7