Originally Posted by
Lllahim
In one of my telephone conversations with an AC executive who was assigned to seek out my opinion on the new upgrade changes, I was told that the major reason for the upgrade request being made at T - exactly time of departure at the window was to ensure that connecting flyers do not have an advantage over others. In the previous incarnation when you could request an upgrade at midnight of departure window, a YYZ pax would trump a YVR pax for AC33 upgrade. He said that the new system evened the playing field for both paxs. He repeated the "policy" in a letter to me concerning difficulties with timing I encountered booking a return flight from PPT through SYD and YVR. I still have the letter but I don't think I should upload it in this forum without his permission.
Well for AC33, the YYZ pax can request upgrade four or five hours sooner than YVR pax because it's the same flight number, no one can dispute that.
Also, I don't think anyone can dispute that time of upgrade no longer matters on day of travel, I think AC may even have officially admitted that on day of travel the Waitlist is transferred to the airport system, and that time of upgrade no longer matters. At that point, other factors come into play in more or less of the following order 1) Status; 2) Fare class; 3) Time of check-in. The only missing variable is connection, and no one knows for sure where that falls on the list. I think it is either right before, or right after status - so very very important in my opinion. I'd bet money that it definitely trumps fare class.