US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Conditions Ripe for Operational Upgrade?

Normally, I only obsess about upgrade windows, G availability, and whatever the heck happened to geo1004. However, there comes a time when one must graduate, and proceed to a higher level of understanding. My first task: Avoiding the use NAU's when you would probably be upgraded operationally anyhow.

Factor #1: Transcon leg from PHL-SEA next weekend. This flight is quite full, reportedly pilgrims memorializing the flight that geo did NOT take last week. F7 I7 A7 G7 Y1 B1 M1 H1 Q1 V1 K1.

Factor #2: A321.

Factor #3: Minimal Green. Only 4 out of 16 preferred seats show available in the seating map (read, most likely 12 or less preferred flyers on this flight). The chart shows the rest of the cabin full.

Factor #4: First Class cabin wide open. Seating map shows 18 out of 26 seats available.

Possible complicating factor: Travel companion does not have status.

Assuming the flight oversells this week and there are no system glitches day of travel, is this a shoe-in for an operational upgrade?

I'm always thankful to get the "free" upgrade with NAUs on a transcon - especially with a companion.

I've learned not to get greedy (ie. go for the totally free operational upgrade). You need a lot of luck for these. I would rather have piece of mind and be confirmed in FC.

If you really want to roll the dice, see what happens after the CP window opens. Remember as FC fulls up with upgrades, coach becomes more available thus lessening your chances for the operational.

A week away is a long time in terms of FC.

I've still so much to learn. What is an operational upgrade?

I would never chance flying in coach and would just be happy it will be so easy to use my NAU's. Also consider the earlier flights, they might be oversold requiring bumps onto your flight, possibly into FC.

Do you really have a shortage of NAU's (most Golds don't, but it's certainly possible)?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dingo:
I've still so much to learn. What is an operational upgrade?</font>

An operational upgrade is basically a free upgrade the airline gives you because it's convenient for them to do so. For instance, if coach is oversold and FC is empty, they will operationally upgrade folks into FC if they can instead of bumping them, which is actually fairly common. However, such upgrades are not always done in any particular order, and are often just given to whoever does not have a seat assignment, i.e., a more important factor than status in getting operationally upgraded is the lack of an advanced seat (though both can't hurt). Of course the problem with not having an advance seat assignment is it greatly increases your chances of getting stuck in a middle seat.

i'd never chance an op upgrade on phl-sea in the summer. it's a VERY FULL flight and first always fills up. i did it every week for over two years....

transcon in coach can be brutal esp. if its the evening flight -- you know a t-storm will roll in and you'll sit on the ground in philly for two hours before taking off. i'm doing seattle in a couple of weeks and picked the flights with the most g seats avail. and keeping my fingers crossed -- if g fills up before my 7-day window, i'll pull out two cs0007 certs i've been saving for just this flight.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ATC:
Assuming the flight oversells this week and there are no system glitches day of travel, is this a shoe-in for an operational upgrade?</font>

Not necessarily - I think you may have a case where the discounted seats open up as you get closer - or that maybe, just maybe yield management gets it right, and there is no worry about an oversell. USe your NAUs for you and your friend - if you don't have any, remember you can buy 4 of 'em for $120. There's always the SWU, but only if you're 100% positive you don't need 'em for a transatlantic trip.

Good luck!

Along the same lines.. how about chances for an Int'l Op-Upgrade?

In all of my US trans-atlantic travels, I've used SWU and DM miles to confirm my upgrades. It isn't something I'd want to leave to chance for obvious reasons. For a trip I'm looking to book AMS-MHT-AMS around the holidays, the V class fare is about $125 less than the K fare (and K has much more restrictive travel days). Since I'll already have used my SWU for this year, and you can't upgrade V with mileage, am I crazy to think that an Operational Upgrade might be a possibility?

My father, who is a GM on DL, was operationally upgraded JFK-MAD and MAD-JFK earlier this year while flying on a discount non-upgradable ticket. From reading the DL board, this doesn't appear to be terribly abnormal. But I haven't seen many of us on the this board comment on similar experiences on US. Any ideas?

I humbly defer to the combined wisdom of the Forum Elders, and will forget my hare-brained scheme to gamble for an Operationl Upgrade (plus, Y just went up to 6). At 12:01am on Wednesday I will phone for my upgrade. Then I will sleep peacefully to dreams of cold chicken plates and crusty yellow limes.