Hi guys- Newbie to the forum as a poster...I recently upgraded my parents using my miles, or waitlisted them on their trip from Philly to Amsterdam in USAir July 6 returning the 14th. I did this on 6/14. The CSR told me all was full at that time so they would not know if they got upfront until they checked in the day of the flight. It's a big deal to my parents,... anybody know either how to monitor cabin or ensure their seating? Should I try to change their status from regular old FF to silver? How? Any advice please let me know. Thanks- Skip

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USAir Gold, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold, etc...

Welcome to FT!

Are you using USE2 awards(20K each way, per ticket)? Did they deduct them already?

Your dates show 15 unassigned seats on the way out and 12 unassigned seats on the way back. So, as of now, the chances are not too bad. But we've all seen how that number goes to ZERO by the day of departure.

You can log into itn.net, register yourself as an 'expert' user in your profile. Then, when you go to check flight availability you will also see inventory of certain classes. Unfortunately, you can't see the 'O' inventory, which I believe is what is used for upgrades with certs AND points.

J and C class are what you want to look for, as they show the number of seats, up to a max of 7, that are in Envoy/Business class.

So - to see how many seats are actually assigned, since there are 23 available to sell, you have to go through the whole process of booking a business class ticket to the point that you can select seats. Then you'll see the seat map with how many have been assigned. Cumbersome and tedius, at best.

But, according to the Dividend Miles website, a non-preferred member cannot upgrade in advance with points anyway - only on the day of travel. A Silver can upgrade 1 day in advance, so it may help if you can get them Silver status in the next week or so. At least then you can call on the day before the trip. Otherwise, they may be holding their breath up until the minute the door closes as the standby list is cleared.

Welcome to F.T. Skip-
Although not always accurate you can monitor the cabin by using
http://flyaow.com/classavailability.htm
Just plug in airports and dates, and then pick business. Once you find the flights, select- this will bring you to another screeen where you can select seats. On the outbound flight right now it shows 15 open seats, on the return shows 12 open. Make sure they get to the airport early. Since its your parents flying, you can not give them your status, if they are a regular dividend mile account holders they will be last on the waitlist.
Good luck

[This message has been edited by RMINIONE (edited 06-26-2002).]