Originally Posted by
dgilman
I'm Plat on a M fare.
Sitting in the P-Club at 35 minutes out, I check the upgrade list, and while I'm still #5, I notice that F is now showing booked 18/20.
So I check myself in again online, and low and behold, I'm offered a $70.74 "Difference in Fare, Upgrade Fee".
Now, while that may be the difference between my M fare and a F fare, it still stinks.
Well that definitely sounds fishy. I can't imagine how $70.74 is the difference between an M fare on this route and any other fare that would allow unrestricted access to first class seat. Now, if when the flight went to 18/20 revenue management made one or both of those unsold seats available in ZF inventory (or is it ZE?, I can never remember) then you technically should have been able to confirm your upgrade on the spot for free. If it wasn't made available in ZE/ZF then you probably would have had to be buying up to either a full Y fare or possibly a D fare. The difference from M to Y/D is about $450/$678 one-way.
The evidence does seem to be piling up that CO is selling out its elites, and yet CO management has remained silent.