Need systemwide or North American?
AC call centre staff and certs differ in opinion.

Thanks!

NAmerican upgrade certificates are only useable within continental US and Canada, plus Mexico, on AC and CP metal flights. Hawaii is not included and requires System-wides, which for Elites means Y or M fares, not V and up. Same holds for Cdn+ stickers still useable through the end of this month.

Shareholder is correct.. Airlines treat Hawaii like an international destination in terms of upgrades probably because of its distance from most NA cities.

Right, but they tend to treat it as a domestic destination when it comes to service.

I have been lucky in trying to use coupons to standby to J class at the gate over the last couple of months (i.e. I know I don't have the correct fare, but is there any chance in using a coupon for J).

I tried to upgrade on Monday coming back from HNL - YYZ and was told my the agent their that HNL is the number one destination for the System Wide Upgrades and that they are VERY careful in upgrading people who have the proper fare class. Even though the back of the plane was full and I believe there were seats in J, the agent wouldn't consider moving me forward. Not a problem though as I sat beside a very delightful person on the way home.

I had no luck at all with sticker upgrades on the HNL trip this weekend. However, on the way home, the check-in agent somehow reassigned me to Row 33, back from my original Row 13. When I spoke to the Empress Lounge agent, she referred me to the gate agent who was able to move me up a few rows. By the time I got back to the Lounge, the gate agent had left a message that she'd found my original seat. Just a couple of minutes before boarding, she came over to me and said that she might be able to get me an upgrade. 3A back to YYC . Sometimes small miracles happen.

YYC immigration were a little supspicious. When the agent saw I had only been away for two days, and that I'd flown through YYC rather then YYZ, her comment was "Well, you've got some explaining to do". When I told her that it was a for a weekend away and for the FF points, she was clearly very sceptical. Nevertheless, she didn't flag me for a secondary, so I guess it was OK.

On another note. I didn't have my new Elite card, but had absolutely no problem getting Lounge access on the strength of my boarding card showing status.

I agree with backseat. I wouldn't want to do this as a regular mileage run, even with the seat sale. A late night departure time is pretty wearing,

Academic: Were you on an eligible fare for the HNL - YYC upgrade. I spoke with a number of people (never want to assume the first No is the final No), but not the lounge agent.

By the way the HNL lounge is pretty useless. I went to the RCC lounge to stretch my legs. They have an excellent view of the runways.

"Right, but they tend to treat it as a domestic destination when it comes to service."

This service is provided by 767-ERs configured in the international cabin. It is also a feeder service to SYD from YYZ, YVR and even YYC now, so why do you say this? One cannot preclear customs and must do this upon arrival in HNL. Granted, it is likely that more than half the people travelling are just going to HNL, but the route serves two purposes and my experience is of service that would be expected on any long haul flight, international or otherwise.

Hawaii is not exactly next door, nor similar to most transborder flights. I see nothing wrong in not honoring it as a NAmerican destination for awards and upgrades. You'll note too that there are no Award Sales to Hawaii, other than as a stopover on the way to SYD.

Hawaii is unique. Let's leave it at that.

Shareholder, the 767ER service to Hawaii is the exception. And those are the flights that I travel on (YYZ-HNL). However, AC operates flights to OGG (and to HNL) from YVR on domestic 767s. These are horribly uncomfortable for such a long flight. So I've eliminated that as an option.

I've been looking for alternatives to AC's YYZ-HNL service on other carriers. I'd be happy to travel on connecting flights (AA/UA?) to avoid this flight. However, the other carriers appear to service this route with domestic 1st class configurations. Since comfort is my priority, I'm stuck with AC3127/3128.

My remark about the domestic service to Hawaii is in reference to all carriers.

backseat: I didn't have eligible tickets - L all the way - although I always make a practice of asking at every desk. In this case I didn't ask at the gate because I thought it so unlikely. I'm not sure why I was given the upgrade. Maybe someone with a higher priority than mine didn't show and my politeness was being rewarded?

As an Elite for these flights it's just not feasible to pay full Y or M for upgrade eligibility. The real advantage of SE

I've found the agents at HNL pretty nice and friendly. Everytime I give them my upgrade stickers {4 trips in last 2 years} and they give them right back to me with a smile.. not sure whether they just not taking it or they didn't know about it.

Talk about upgrade, I think the agents at YVR "patrolling" flights to Asia {especially HKG} are the stirctest. It seems that a lot of people travelling on those flights are CLB/GLD and they tend to rush to the gate and ask for upgrades... but i never see any of them end up in J class. With the rules being even tighter now, i think only ones who could upgrade is SE since one could get a Y class ticket from chinese travel agent for so cheap.

Academic: Maybe they rewarded you with J class for screwing up your seat assignments?

I must admit that my experience with HNL agents has always been pretty good. Even the check-in agent who screwed up my seats seemed genuinely disappointed that she couldn't do the upgrade after she had consulted with a supervisor. When you use YYZ as your main gateway, agents at a place like HNL are a breath of fresh air. Mind you, they probably don't get the hassles that the YYZ people get.

Although I just said that I didn't relish the prospect of another HNL trip, just over $500 is a pretty good deal for 10K Q miles. Then I can at least guarantee my E status for this year.