Hello Im Flying on UA002 this winter from HNL to ORD, Its going to be a 777 and I have seats 1a & 1b. I know United Changes this Aircraft from a 777 to a 747 when its in the Holiday season or If they are really busy. So id like to know if they do change the Aircraft will I have the same seat? and If they do when can I find out?
I had that happen once actually. For me, they put me in the same seat, but I guess for some they put them in or around the same seat in which they were assigned.
I’ve had trips reassigned different planes/flights/etc. and they just dumped me wherever. I normally don’t care much but once they split up my group of ten. I’m guessing a computer does it. I got an email indicating the change so I just called up and they fixed it. PITA but…
Since you have seat assignments, I assume you’re not non-rev. 1A and 1B don’t sound like 777 seats (in 1st I think they go a-d-e-g) unless it’s a 2 class config. Go to the United site and look at your res, it should show the actual aircraft you’re on.
United does not change to a 747 when the loads get higher. The crews and the airplanes are committed, and to change airplanes would disrupt the schedules of both fleets and all of the pilots. It just is not worth it to do so.
The flight from HNL to ORD is United 2, not 002. Only Air France puts zeroes in front of their numbers. Why, I cannot imagine.
Many, if not most, non-USA airlines place leading zeros in the flight numbers. Here’s a few:
Japan (JL006, NRT-JFK)
Korean (KE012, LAX-ICN)
British (BA0112, JFK-LHR - the go further and make their flight numbers 4 digits)
China (CI003, SFO-TPE)
FlightAware eliminates the leading zeros.
It has to be because of some archaic system where flight numbers all had to be the same length (e.g., ABC003 to match ABC123).
FlightAware considers the numbers to be integers.
Based on the old timetables I have (1940’s to present), it may also just be tradition. Like the military, many airline related items are based on tradition. Why the tradition started, I don’t know.
They would have already built in the equipment change from past passenger volumes. I would imagine if they get an overwhelming demand for tickets early enough, they could make an equipment change to meet demand without disrupting their schedule.
The first class seats on this flight are lettered AB, EF, HJ. They are showing it as a 777 throughout the Christmas season, so I don’t see any indication of a 747 on the route during the busiest week of the year.
yep - this confirms that there is 1A and 1B
seatguru.com/airlines/United … -200_D.php
Also, they can’t upgrade to the 744 because that would mean going from a 2-class to a 3-class and they haven’t been selling 3 classes, meaning one of them would end up empty.
maybe they can work out something
It’s possible the F (first) class would be sold as a C (business) class seat or people would be able to upgrade using the frequent flier miles.