pitz

They were literally 2x3 seats. Kind of a tan colour to the seats. And the J section went back literally to the wing root.

Easily gamed by reasonably senior public servants, simply by being rather clumsy with booking tickets (ie: 'decide' you're going to a meeting/conference at the last minute, and voila, only Latitude fares are available!). The Pro-Active Disclosure sections of the various federal government websites are full of civil servants taking $2800 round-trip trans-con flights for conferences literally booked/confirmed months in advance. I think I even saw someone who managed to book a $400 YOW-YUL roundtrip when I reviewed one of the sites.

jaysona

I flew on FIN457 last night - my first flight on the reconfigured A321.

Row 2AC appeared to be slightly more cramped (although I have never sat in row 2) that what I recall for the A319/320 and there is hole to place you feet under like there is on some of the current fleet. Also, it seemed to me that row 3AC had slightly more room than is available of the current fleet. This is just based on how I fell when I rest my ankle on my knee - it just feels like there more room.

I'll see if this sense holds true for other reconfigured A321's as I fly on them.

YOWgary

At the other end of the spectrum, the rules become bizarre and arcane. My wife had to fly last-minute to a meeting last week. Two flight options available, a Flex fare through Calgary that didn't get her there in time, and a direct Latitude fare that did - both priced within $50.

Because the rules said Latitude wasn't bookable, it took her four extra hours of emails and runaround to get the ticket booked.

We've been keeping a rough tally since the start of the year, and she's spent a minimum of 100 hours this year simply booking travel, generally to save $100-300 per trip. Multiplied by her hourly wage, it's come to a considerable net loss for the taxpayer.

guessaaa

That's not true, they are on flight passes. If their "home" airport is within 2 hours of YOW, they fly in Y (up to Latitude). Otherwise, it's J. While their staff can only buy up to Flex.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/smartweb/mas/D...A074&sbpid=pdf

Mauricio23

These rules are designed to save money for taxpayers on average, not in the exceptional cases. Sure, maybe once a week somebody books a flight last minute and it just so happens that latitude is oddly close to flex. However, the vast majority of bookings will happen with a lot more lead time, and the flex-latitude gap would be much larger. It therefore makes sense to ban latitude outright and incur the extra cost in the odd cases like the one your wife experienced. Flexibility, when it comes to the public purse, is a recipe for expenditure bloat.

YOWgary

The point in this case is that the new system is so slow and difficult to navigate, one plane ticket can often take another 2-3 hours time, spread across various employees, thus wasting $150-200 in lost productivity to save $45 on airfare.

yyz_aeroflyer

Just had my first missed upgrade due to the new 321 configuration. I of course had missed upgrades before, but this time the reason is pretty clear.
YVR - YYZ
The 14 J seats were booked full at time of check in, myself and a few more SE did not get upgraded.
Since I am booked on this same aircraft and same route several more times in the coming weeks, I assume this won't be the last time.
Thank you AC for another enhancement.

jaysona

Another way to see it is that you didn't lose an upgrade due to a down gauge.

CloudsBelow

I don't follow .... What's the enhancement from AC you're sarcastically referring to?

Daring to actually sell their products to willing, paying customers?

superangrypenguin

The enhancement that he can now no longer eupgrade because they've removed the seats for him to eupgrade to? As a loyal elite member?

After Burner

Oh the humanity! The horror!

jaysona

That's not true, it's still possible to upgrade, just need to pay for the appropriate fare class. I don't see this as an issue at all, I think it's better actually, since we know subs happen all the time. Now we won't have to hear the incessant whining because an upgrade was lost due to a change from a 321 to a 320.

I still don't get this loyalty thing though, AC doesn't care about loyalty, they care about how $$$ they can wring out of your wallet. They attempt to do this by making people "feel" like there is some sense of "loyalty" and sadly most here are falling for this hook, line and sinker, instead of seeing this for what it really is - a business transaction.

People need to remember, business is war and all is fair in love and war.

PLeblond

Hmmmmm. SO if I understand, its not because all seats were paid J, or because all other passengers upgraded before you, or because others bought higher fares?

Its a change on the part of AC to hinder Frequent Flyers?

Edit: Is it written in the Altitude package that SE's are supposed to get upgraded?

acysb87

The rules have changed. Latitude fares might be difficult to u/g from based on availability or number of J seats.
I have always maintained revenue was the right way to go. I recently had a long haul flex ticket that looked good for u/g to clear. It got too close to call at 7 day window so I paid the difference outbound In discounted J to "guarantee" my J seat. The J cabin went out full.

PLeblond

So should an airline determine the number of J seats on a plane according to potential revenue or according to the number of SE's who may way to purchase Y and eUp to J?

I believe, in essence, the question at case: Is buying Y and eUping to J considered a right for SE's? Do they consider it a 'fait accompli'? Maybe buying Latitude almost is, but do they consider Flex the same?