Originally Posted by
canadiancow
Thank you very much for that.
I'd like to provide an example of why some kind of transparency - whether it's a public upgrade list, or just a publicly disclosed algorithm - would be good.
I was waitlisted for a YUL-YYZ flight on an M fare, as a Super Elite. So certainly not bottom of any reasonable list.
I asked the gate agent about it, and he said he hadn't processed upgrades, but he'd call out names. A bunch of names were later called out, but they weren't all for upgrades. After he stopped calling names, I went up and asked again. "Oh, Mister Johnson?", as he starts to hand over a boarding pass. "No, I'm cow". "Oh, you didn't get it."
But I saw "E35K" on the boarding pass. The discussion got a little intense. The GA said "Maybe he had a full fare ticket", "He was number 1", etc. I ended up calling the concierge, and after she conferred with the GA, the answer was "the system screwed up, you should have been first, and it's too late to fix it now, because it would delay the flight". That wasted the time of myself, the GA, and the concierge, and left a really bitter taste in my mouth about buying a flight pass.
My strategy now is to go pester the check-in agent, MLL agent, or gate agent if I'm waitlisted, ensuring they know I'm a Super Elite, waitlisted, and if the system is saying something else, they should let me know so I can get the concierge involved. This is a giant waste of time for them and me, but it seems to be necessary. (Note: I have not done this yet, because that was the last time an upgrade of mine went to the gate).
Instead, if I could see that I'm #1 on the list, I could just sit down and wait, knowing I'm going to get it. Or if I know how the algorithm is supposed to work, I would at least feel better about making statements like "I should be at the top of the list".
I've missed three upgrades this year. One of them, I completely agree with. Another one was very annoying, but that situation has been rectified such that it can never happen again. But this one described above was not a pleasant experience.
So I'm not expecting you to change your mind from my post, but it would be nice if you could communicate to the right people that the current upgrade system simply does not always work, and leaves high status passengers on high fare tickets feeling cheated.
First, I'm sorry you had to go through an experience like that. It's not our intention for our best customers to have experiences like that when travelling. While in this case you were certainly in the right to bring in the cavalry (and again I'm sorry it had to come to that), imagine a situation where that might not be the case.
If you had indeed not been at the top of the list for whatever reason, you would have gone through the whole charade for naught. You know the basics of how the system works, so you felt confident enough to challenge the GA and bring in the Concierge agent. But what if you didn't know how the system worked? What if we published the system and you misinterpreted? What if it changed? Again, in your case, as an SE on a high fare, you're right in that you hold a very good chance getting your upgrade, but if the system becomes published there are those who may not be as intuitive as you and misinterpret the rules, such that they would be raising alarm bells for no reason whatsoever, ultimately just causing a harried GA and potentially a delayed departure.