Originally Posted by
DLfan
But, this philosophy still couldn't possibly satisfy everyone. The number of available seats is finite. Given the level of satisfaction with the AAdvantage upgrade program expressed here, it appears that if you want an upgrade on AA and have the cert to "pay" for it, you'll get one. It just doesn't seem possible that there would be enough seats to go around to move everyone up, everyday...not even factoring in the idea that they might still sell some of them. I know Delta routinely leaves many in the back and I know for sure that they are selling some.
I'm sure I'm missing something, but I can't make the numbers work.
People suddenly get very cheap when they have to pay for their upgrades. Many GLDs and PLTs will not upgrade if they have to buy stickers (upgrade units) at $30 per 500 miles. This reduces the upgrade-seeking population significantly, and satisfies a good percentage of the people who are willing to fork over some form of currency for their upgrades. Of course, I'm referring to domestic flights here.