Newish to the NW board, but source? When, exactly, do these seats go to elites? I mean, how many hours before boarding do these go to elites first? Because I would think that any profit-chasing transport co. would purposefully leave open a number of revenue seats exactly for the reason that Janus suggests - last minute F purchases. And I believe you when you say that they give them to elites first, but I would like to understand the specifics, viz. - at what point does this airline actually say to a customer willing to pay for a first class ticket "Nope, sorry, your money is no good here" or "Nope, you're too late to pay $2,000 for a ticket to go 300 miles, we have status pax who we upgraded for free already?"

Quick data point, I was just checking in online for a NW flight tomorrow DCA-MEM and was offered an upgrade to first class for $175, no current premium status for me on DL (yet).

Will