wrigleyville

I will state upfront that this is speculation, with the following caveats...I am a longtime ExPlat, former Global Services, with 15 years experience in the airline industry and a pretty good understanding of how the system works.
I have seen a dramatic decrease in upgrades on flights that I have typically had great odds in the past, and some pretty strange behavior with inventory of late. Most recently, I saw the 1 remaining F seat "disappear" from inventory between 2AM (when I checked on ExpertFlyer) and 5AM, when I arrived at the airport. I had bought the ticket and requested the upgrade 11 months in advance, and checked in at the 24-hour mark. I asked the agent how this could have happened and she insisted that it had not been given away on the airport upgrade listed and that someone "must have bought it" at the last minute...implying someone decided after 2AM to buy a first-class full fare ticket for a 6:30AM flight to Orlando on a Friday morning. Sounds suspicious.
So, I watched the inventory for my return flight. At the 100-hour mark, I was not upgraded, and there were 5 seats open. I called and was told that no inventory was available for SWU or mileage upgrades, only for purchase, so I felt I had a pretty good chance. I checked again at 36 hours out, still 5 seats. Then my father-in-law, who doesn't even have an AAdvnatge account, but is traveling on my flight tomorrow, received an email offering an upgrade from his discount fare to FC for $129. i checked seats 6 hours later (20 hours out) and all 5 seats are gone. FC is full. so much for the upgrade sales not stealing inventory from e-upgrades.

PainCorp

I'm going to ask, since you didn't state this previously in your post. You did request the upgrade, right?

There is also the possibility that someone in a F inventory moved to the earlier flight, that someone ahead of you cleared into that 1 seat (more than one EXP on a flight, what are the odds?), etc. Let's not jump straight to assumptions.

ty97

My brother (no status) flew AUS-ORD mid-week. The kiosk at check-in offered him a FC upgrade for $90.

Is this new? I thought it was SOP and commonly known that AA did this? Or perhaps I'm just used to it on other airlines so assumed it had been SOP at AA too?

krlcomm

You can do the $75.00 + 15k miles upgrade very late in the process at F1, I do it all the time if I think my comp UG might not happen.

wrigleyville

Fair question. I requested the upgrade in May of 2013, and confirmed multiple times with the ExPlat desk that it was still my request priority date. So, if 5 other ExPlats all requested upgrades 11 months ago and cleared ahead of me....

wrigleyville

Not new, they announced this program last year. But they claim that the inventory will not come at the expense of AAdvantage upgrades for elites.

Madison Guy

Regarding the outbound F1: You stated you checked for SWU/Miles upgrades for the return, but did you for the outbound? Even if yes, I have successfully been upgraded using miles + co-pay on domestic segments when the inventory is F1, A0, P0 on EF. I am assuming this is a demonstration of the "expanded inventory" that may be available on some flights to EXPs. You can't see it on EF, but an EXP can nail it. Perhaps one did? Or for F1, I'd but a full-fare switch as well.

Your return scenario does make me more nervous. Clearly, if you are current EXP and was told no SWU/Miles+Co-pay was available, there was no A or expanded/hidden A open. But that was 100 hous out. Did you call again and try for that type at 36 hous, or just check EF? (If they opened only "expanded EXP inventory", EF would not show it.) The inventory does change all the time - but still this does sound wrong. 5 seats gone - and you state "proof" of offers for purchased upgrades - and this is not even the kiosk (expanded to online) checkin offer from what you state. It was an emailed offer. I do find this one a bit harder to ignore. (btw - did he accept the offer? If so, what was the booking class on the BP?)

EDIT: I do recall an email offer program being tested - but I thought was for a solicitation for an offer rather than a stated amount??

cova

That was the same message UA (then CO) said a few years back.

cova

This is $30 more than what a Gold/Plat would pay for upgrade - 2 coupons @$30 each.

beerup

The salient point, as presented in the OP, is that a paid upgrade was offered (to FIL) on a flight where all elites requesting upgrades (before that point) were not ultimately accommodated.

One reason could be that another flight on that route was cancelled and those confirmed in F on that flight were reaccommodated on the OP's flight. Under that scenario, the upgrade offer to OP's FIL may have come before the IRROPS when RM believed they could accommodate upgrade requests.

In the past, all the similar scenarios that I know of have ended up being something 'legitimate' when they were checked out on Sabre even when it seemed at face value that elites were intentionally being short changed. I don't know if that's the case this time, but I wouldn't read too much into the situation without confirmation of who occupied the last seats in F. On the other hand, if AA were really selling upgrades with the intent to displace elites, one of the biggest concerns is that the paid upgrades were not offered to those elites.

PainCorp

Not with F1 you can't, A has to be open.

mmgm

In my experience, and others as well, there are times when there is a glitch in the system and, in spite of doing everything right, you get out of the queue. The record still shows upgrade requested.
I am one who also purchases tickets 10 or 11 months in advance.
The glitch has happened rarely on the LAX- JFK route and more often HNL- LAX.
the problem is confirmed when I arrive in the AC and find PLTs have been upgraded before me.
The glitch is known to IT and has been blamed on a schedule change of even a few minutes or Daylight savings time affecting HNL flights.
This happened to me from HNL two weeks ago and I was told a few EXPS were bypassed.
Unfortunately there seems to be no way of knowing when it will happen.

BoeingBoy

Once they got the paid upgrades in the kiosks and OLCI, they effectively admit that paid upgrades beat elites. All one needs is one elite buying a walk-up ticket who doesn't get upgraded because the available FC seats have been purchased earlier in the check-in process.

Jim

Dieuwer

I love it when Kettles snatch the last F seat under the nose of over-entitled elites
Elites should know by now that "loyalty" is a hollow word. Especially after the gutting of most mileage programs.
When are elites going to learn that from a financial point of view, it makes more sense to buy the cheapest fare with the best schedule across all airlines and jump at the low upgrade fee at check-in, then playing the "I might get upgraded" waiting game?

wrigleyville

I have had that glitch happen to me before and that is why I checked multiple times with the EXP desk about the priority date of my upgrade request. Even after all that has transpired, they still confirmed 2 hours ago that I have a May 25, 2013 priority date. Bonkers.