Originally Posted by
Captain Schmidt
If you spent 5 minutes perusing the BA forum zoo would know that BA protects the integrity of its premium cabins and does not hand out upgrades unless it actually needs to, so despite me being BA Gold/OW Sapphire, had I been on the same return flight as you and booked into Y, that is exactly where I would have flown and exactly where I would have expected to fly.
US carriers devalued their premium cabins long ago by dishing out upgrades to all and sundry and the result is that the "premium" product is far from premium. Airlines in the rest of the world have wisely resisted following the American example.
While American carriers allow free or really cheap upgrades to first, it's only the case for domestic flights, and I believe that U.S. domestic first class compares quite favorably to BA's Club Europe.
And for international long haul, I actually consider BA's premium classes to be easier to get into. BA lets you upgrade from WT+ to CW for a mere 20,000 avios roundtrip. American carriers charge more miles and a hefty co-pay of $700+ round trip to upgrade to business class. While BA does require you to be WT+ to get an upgrade, WT+ is often available for only slightly more than WT, and you can get the upgrade confirmed at booking.
I do think that BA's long haul premium cabins are superior to their U.S. equivalents, but I don't think your explanation is the reason, although it may have been the case in the past.