Originally Posted by
jmottle
I was wondering how rare it is for this (op up) to happen when you have Elite status.
Given that AC's load factor is over 80% and this is peak summer flying season, Operational Ugrades such as the one you received are not uncommon (but don't bet on them). Flying to MAD probably increased your chances since my bet is most people on the flgiht are non-status passengers on vacation.
AC will often oversell Y, especially if J is not full. When too many Y passengers show up the normal policy is to upgrade those with applicable certs first. If they still need more spots they'll look for status passengers to give Op ups - SE's then E's then P's. travelling alone helps your cause although they will sometimes upgrade a status passenger along with their non-status companion.
Originally Posted by
jmottle
Someone was telling me you have a greater change of getting upgraded if you have status and select the bulkhead row normally reserved for child carriers. Any truth to this?
I had not heard tihs before, but it makes some sense - not from a "policy" but rather workload and/or grief perspective. If I'm a gate agent and I have to move people on a full flight, I'm either moving someone from a "premium" bulkhead to a non-premium (could be middle seat in the back of the bus), which will cause grief or upgrade them - which would you choose. The other alternative is to move a passenger from the bulkead to the seats of a higher-status passenger and moving that higher status passenger to J. That requires extra work since I'm now moving two sets of people instead of one.
Originally Posted by
jmottle
Lastly, when I am not in J, how on earth does one actually get an exit row? You can't book it until you get to the airport and when I get there they are always booked. Because of earlier connecting flights, I effectively checked in 5 hours before the actual flight and still they were all full. Other airlines allow you to book exit rows in advance, does anyone know why you can't do this on AC?
Exit rows normally can only be booked at the airport through a "live" agent who is supposed to make sure that you qualify. You can't do it from a kiosk. When you checked in with a connecting flight, were you checking in with an agent and was it an AC flight?
As to why, I think it is simply one of those bizarre "rules" AC has in place for no particular reason. There can't be any legal impediment since WJ allows you to choose exit row seats when you do OLCI - you "self certify".