• How are seats assigned when I am upgraded?
Seating preferences (aisle or window) are not always accommodated and companions are often separated when upgrades clear. Further, many choose their F and J seats based on the FEBO (front even / back odd) priority of meal orders. Thus, it is important to check your seat assignment as soon as possible after your upgrade clears, and select another seat if appropriate. As there are often delays in receiving Upgrade Notification emails from AA, some use the Seat Alert feature of
ExpertFlyer, a paid subscription service, to alert them when their original coach seat becomes available, indicating that their upgrade has cleared. This method has proven more reliable than Inventory Alerts for upgrade inventory (X, R, A, C), which may not be available long enough (or at all) while upgrades are being processed for the alert query to detect.
FT:
Recorded AA.com seat preferences vs. upgrade seat assignments (consolidated)
FT:
Upgrade cleared but no seat available