Originally Posted by
ac4m2
the JFK-LHR and LHR-DFW parts of my trip are the ones I am interested on upgrading with my existing miles (actually for another person as well, who is also a platinum status member). I have checked by phone with AA yesterday and they claimed they couldn't do the awards miles because business was full. I checked the sitting availability on their site, and business shows only 50% full on the JFK-LHR part, and 10% full of the LHR-DFW part.
Welcome to FT.
I have a feeling that what they told you was not that "business was full" but that there was no upgrade space available. Those are different beasts. There can be seats available, but no upgrade inventory.
The only way to see the upgrade availability is to use a site called
www.expertflyer.com. It has a paid subscription, but you can get 5 days for free to check it out. For the flights of interest, you'll want to look for 'C' inventory (under Awards and Upgrades). That is the upgrade inventory, which is independent of the open seats.
Good luck!
Cheers.