UA-How to tell if flight is full??

[siouxi31]

I'm currently booked on a United flight that departs at 9:10AM. I originally booked at that time so my husband wouldn't have to drop me off so early in the morning. However, I have now decided to drive myself to the airport and I don't mind going very early.
There's a 6:05AM flight but I'd like to know if it's full or not. I'm considering just showing up to go stand-by but I don't want to do this if my chances are very low.
Do you know of any websites I can go to so that I can check the availability of the flight?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Um, well, you could try United's website a few hours before you want to fly... or you could even call United and see if there's availability on that flight...

 

[n2mm]

I know that when you check on purchasing a flight through expedia, there is a link under each flight that shows you what seats are available for purchase. This would be a good guide to use.

 

[safetymom]

I would call the airline the night before and ask how full the flight is. Most airlines hold back seats to be assigned at the airport so the flight may look like it is fuller than it really is.

 

[bavaria]

United has same day stnadby confirmed for $25, although it may not be needed in this case. You can standby and CONFIRM for a flight up to 4 hours before/after your regularly booked flight (applies in your case). You can call to confirm w/o going to the airport - check out flyertalk.com or United's website for more info.

Very useful if you don't want to take a chance that you may not get on the flight.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Don't rely on seat maps at an airline's website. The seat map only shows unassigned seats that are available to you for advance seat assignment.

A "completely full" seat map could mean that the flight is completely sold out — or it could mean that there are still a dozen or more unsold seats that are under airport control or that are only visible to full fare and elite passengers. And "empty" seats could simply mean that there are some ticketed passengers without seat assignments, so those seats won't really be available to standby passengers.

As others have suggested, call the airline. If you can get a confirmed change — even it requires a $25 payment — go for it! It's worth it.

 

[siouxi31]

Thank you all very much!