United Gets Smart By Allowing Economy Plus Upgrades Anytime

(MoneyWatch)  United is finally getting the hang of this whole "Economy Plus" thing. After years of making it very hard for the average person to get that extra legroom, they've now made it so you can upgrade to Economy Plus at any time before your flight. This is a smart move, but in terms of marketing, they could be doing more.

I received an email from United last week with the details. You can go to the itineraries section on the website and upgrade any itinerary from any time after you first book until shortly before you fly. This makes a lot of sense. Previously, if I wanted to upgrade to Economy Plus, I usually had to wait until I checked in for my flight to see if it was available. This new system allows United to make it easier for me to do it before I travel. This gives me more options and can generate more revenue, exactly what airlines should be trying to do.

There is always the concern that this could take away from elite members, the ones who are supposed to benefit from Economy Plus first and foremost. But spokeswoman Robin Urbanski confirmed for me that they will be blocking seats in the Economy Plus cabin solely for elite members. So this is a win-win-win situation for the airline, elite members, and the average traveler.

That being said, as I mentioned, they could work on their marketing. I received an email that was targeted toward travel from LAX, my home airport, but it led off with an upgrade on an LAX to Oakland flight. The airline stops flying that route completely in a month. They really could do a better job of making this more relevant. I have a flight to Indy in November, so why haven't they shown me the upgrade cost for that flight? Send me something reminding me how excruciatingly painful that redeye is going to be without those extra few inches.

People simply need to be reminded that they can do this. The benefit is clear, so it should sell itself.