Its called get to know a ticket/gate agent. They can just rebook your award in Y or F class if they want too and bypass the whole capacity control nonsense. I worked in the business 10 years ago, and perhaps things are tighter with e-tickets and the airlines losing money, but still front line agents have extremely broad powers and discretion. If I am wrong, and you *are* or really know well a front line agent than post, but I think if a ticket counter/gate agent wants too they can hook people up like that, and just document the record with some BS remark like "pax reprotected due to wx on prior flight and due to cust svc," etc. I have even had agents tell me in the past they they juyst have to put a creative remark in the record and that then they can basiclly do what they want, and justify it with the creative remarks.