Surely they have metrics on how often a particular flight needs a seat for one of these "special people". On those flights, leave a seat. If nobody shows, then

Surely they have metrics on how often a particular flight needs a seat for one of these "special people". On those flights, leave a seat. If nobody shows, then right at the end of boarding, allow another passenger to have that seat. I wonder how many millions all this is going to end up costing United in the end.