Dr Mark

Hello everyone. I have a question regarding complimentary upgrades for EP's and the airport upgrade standby list. On a recent flight from JFK-LAX I was number 3 on the upgrade list (using comp EP upgrades). Just prior to doors closing they cleared 3 passengers from the upgrade list - numbers 1, 4 and 6. My understanding is that the ranking on the airport list displayed both at the gate and on your smart-phone app takes into account status, time when upgrade requested and fare paid, so why wouldn't the upgrades be allocated in rank order? I have had occasions when my rank has altered due to new passengers being added to the list, but this was not the case. I remained in position 3, but they skipped me and upgraded numbers 4 and 6 instead! I enquired with the purser and he gave an excuse that 4 and 6 must have had higher fares, but doesn't the automated ranking take that into account. What is the point of a ranking if it doesn't mean anything?? Has anyone else experienced this?