Positive space = confirmed (normal) ticket. Sometimes you're not saving a whole lot on the buddy pass and it's worth it to just buy the ticket. We did that for my FIL when UA was looking a little questionable to go DEN-MSN at the end of this week. Turned out, Frontier cost the same as UA's extended family buddy pass, we just have to pay an extra $25 for a carry-on bag. And now he can stay with us until Saturday night, no hourly load checking and wondering when to send him home.