Originally Posted by
Livyer
4/4 so far this year on domestic longhauls (2 on Lat fares, 2 on Flex).
The big test is coming soon, YYZ-SYD. Currently waitlisted with J9 (according to flightstats - although the ac.com seatmap shows only six unassigned seats).
I noticed FlightStats doing some strange things a week ago (J and R kept jumping up to 2 or 4 or something and down to 0). ExpertFlyer had different numbers than FlightStats, but matched what someone at AC told me was available. So now I don't trust FlightStats.
As for upgrades, I'm E35K, and I'm 4/5, with only one of those being a gate upgrade. The failed was YYZ-YUL, so it wasn't a big deal.
These were all on a Flex (M) flight pass, so my bookings were made within 10 days of the flights, but always outside my window.
All my flights are for leisure though, so I'm not typically flying when business travelers are (yesterday was an exception, but I still got the upgrades on the 2 longer segments of the 3).
This is my first year with status, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm liking it so far. If this keeps up, the flight pass was definitely worth it for the ability to book close enough to the window to have an idea of how both J and R look, as well as the ability to upgrade with 40% of the credits.