callmedtop

I'm currently booked on BOS-JFK 256 at 7:35pm on 12/30, but want to do same-day-standby for the 2:50pm 178 flight. Expertflyer is showing this for AA178:

F7 A6 P6 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M6 L5 W3 V1 G0 S0 N0 Q0 O0

I called the EXP desk a minute ago and they told me that there are currently two unsold seats for that flight, so my chances aren't looking great. Obviously I'll check in on Monday morning, but I'm curious about the discrepancy between the two sources. FWIW, there are also only 5 seats assigned in F, although I know seat assignments don't mean much when it comes to availability. I just have the feeling that when the agent said 2 unsold seats available, she was referring only to coach.

Is the EXP desk not "counting" oversold seats, while the EF data is?

PainCorp

Not sure what the EXP agent was looking at, but I see available inventory. You also can't standby until 24 hours before the alternate flight, so that's an issue too.

callmedtop

No, I realize that I can't actually stand by yet, but I just want to get an idea as to what my "chances" are so I can plan my day accordingly. Based on the EF data, I thought it was pretty good, but now I'm not so sure...

PainCorp

I would try. You can't get it if you don't try. ;-)

callmedtop

So true . So I can call AA 24 hours before my scheduled flight and get on the standby list for the earlier flight? I always thought it was same calendar day, and that I actually had to be present at the airport. But I have very little experience in this...

TWAL10114Ever

Currently there is 16/134 capacity on the flight and it's booked 9/132.

Hoboken1K

Hi callmedtop,

I'll be on that flight, in one of the 4 reserved seats in F - 4F to be exact! If you end up going for it, let's meet up in the Admirals Club. Let me know if you need me to guest you in.

Regards,
Bob

callmedtop

Edited to remove a stupid question!

Hopefully there's not a lot of elites on that flight...sounds like that's my only hope.

callmedtop

Awesome, hopefully I'll be able to get on the earlier flight. I'll PM you if so, luckily I have AC access, at least until March 22nd...

Upgraded!

Sounds like the EXP agent was telling you how many unsold seats there were in coach, not taking F into the equation at all, both of which make sense in this case: technically speaking, neither matters for the OP. First of all, OP isn't trying to buy a seat, so it doesn't matter how many seats AA is willing to sell, only how many are there for the OP to potentially take. Secondly, F availability technically doesn't matter since according to the rules the OP has to find a Y seat in order to get onto the flight (hopefully if Y were full with all upgrade requests processed the OP would be cleared directly into F, but who knows).

callmedtop

That makes sense. I guess I'm confused as to why EF is showing Y7, but I suppose that's to compensate for overbooking.
It seems ridiculous to think they would let the plane go with an empty F seat and not let me get on it. Certainly hope it doesn't come to that...

ijgordon

I'd love to be part of this conversation.So apparently the 7 unsold seats in F + 2 unsold in Y = Y7 on ExpertFlyer (could actually be 9 Y seats). Presumably if someone buys a coach seat, the flight will go down to F6.

FWAAA

Exactly.

Are the exit rows wide open or heavily booked? That's usually a reasonable indication of the number of elites who are probably on the upgrade list.

I have been successful at standing by directly into F on a flight where economy was fully sold yet had open seats in F - it was a short flight. Presumably either no elites or cheapskate elites not willing to spend a sticker to gain some leg and shoulder room.

callmedtop

Luckily, the exit rows are wide open except for 2 seats. Since this is such a short flight I can't imagine anyone wasting a sticker on it. 40 minutes barely gets you drink service in F. Then again, who knows. My 7:35pm flight the same day cleared into F exactly at 100 hours, but that doesn't really say anything about this flight.

I wish there was a way to see the upgrade list other than a few hours before departure, but oh well.

Last question - do I need to be at the airport to request to be on the standby list, or can I just call EXP desk? And will they give me an indication of where I stand on the phone, or do I need to actually go to the airport and risk wasting my afternoon if it doesn't go as planned?

I'm not normally this neurotic, but getting into the city 5 hours earlier would be a huge boon, but I'm too cheap to pay the $75 for a confirmed flight change (if it's even available T-24!) .

Upgraded!

In reality I don't think that the plane would go out with empty F seats with EXPs on standby.

The thing to remember about EF is that it shows how many seats AA is willing to sell, not how many are actually available. AA can predict the level of no-shows as well as ticket changes and is also willing to deny boarding (VDB or even IDB) if it can sell a few more full-fare tickets.

I've seen times where AA will stop selling F to accommodate an oversell in Y, so at some point I'm sure it would reduce the number of F seats for sale to handle a potential Y overbooking. However I don't think that happens the minute the number of actual Y seats available becomes zero.

That used to be the case, but I now think that MCE is as good as the exit rows on most planes so you really need to cast a slightly wider net when looking. I got upgraded a few hours before a fairly short flight on a 763 this week and realized that, since I wasn't sleeping, only reclining a bit, the seat I'd booked in row 11 really wasn't that much worse looking than the one I ended up with in row 6.