To the OP, one thing to remember is that if you're a GO, it's because you'll be flying less and so will have fewer opportunities to notice the DM benefits you're missing out on. I don't say this sarcastically. While it sounds like you'll notice a downgrade in your experience when you do fly, those DM benefits were most valuable because you were spending so much time on CX flights. Despite all the reports I hear of fantastic DM service, I view the time I spend at home instead of flying as a major "benefit" that offsets the fact that I'm only a GO!
Originally Posted by
QRC3288
To me the most annoying part of the system is what happens if you're still on the waiting list 24 hours before the flight. Then, CX basically throws in the towel, changes the rules to the game, and a business traveler like myself who likes to arrive at the airport an hour or so before inevitably gets screwed in favor of the guy who had time to get there early. Say I've been waiting for a J-F upgrade award for a month, I'm at the top of the list, and it doesn't clear 24 hours before departure. Okay fine....but then you get to the airport the next day, and realize there is a seat available (maybe a no-show, maybe someone switched last minute), and infuriatingly you're told that there are one or two DMs in front of you on the waiting list. Who you specifically knew weren't there on the MPC waiting list. And inevitably you don't get to use your miles to upgrade because you got beat to the airport, despite having been on the waiting list for that flight for quite some time. This is possible because control of upgrades is handed over to the airport on the day of the flight, and the MPC waiting list is irrelevant at that point. Whoever physically shows up at the airport first gets on the new list, which is kept by the airport. At least, this is definitely how the system works at outports.
This is something that also drives me crazy. The one thing that U.S. carriers are generally good about is carrying waitlists right up to departure. I've never understood why CX was so resistant to doing this. If they're going to allow instant upgrades at the airport, why not do it from the existing waitlist? Then again, at least we don't have it as bad as BA, where you can't waitlist for any award, ever.