Originally Posted by
colpuck
She's not in the lottery, she is a displaced F passenger. This means that if any availability opens in the "F" bucket (where upgrades and reward tickets come from) she will be first in line.
No, the reward ticket does not book into the "F" bucket, that's just upgrades. I believe the free ticket books into "E". If F opens up and no E then an upgrade will be processed, but the free ticket will not clear into First class.
However, when you get to the airport and the flight is turned over to the gate agents, the reward ticket will be prioritized higher than any upgrades on the
standby list.