Originally Posted by
Xandrios
Possibly, though that would only have any effect if all other factors are the same. For example booking class has a much higher weight in the decision process.
Recently a silver member was upgraded while I as gold was not. Asked the GA how that would be possible, and she indeed mentioned the computer making up the upgrade list - and that booking class supersedes FB status in some cases.
Even though I was not flying on a cheap fare, the other guy may have been using a full-Y fare or the like. Still, as a Gold who never receives upgrades, I was less than amused to see somebody with lower status being upgraded right in front of me.
The automatic upgrade list system is extremely complex and nobody knows exactly how the various ingredients are weighed. Many of us have long had the suspicion (partly confirmed by some AF and BA people) that often, airlines will privilege lower tier people in order to incentivise them to fly the airline further. The assumption here is that a BA Gold or AF Platinum is already "hooked" and there is not much you can gain by upgrading them whilst a new silver who experience an upgrade will be likely to think "wow, that really is worth it, I should fly more to become gold/platinum and I'll get even more upgrades then!".
Overall, upgrade systems include a whole variety of criteria such as origin/destination (ie O/D or connecting), fare paid, status, overall value for the airline (usually a financial figure or sometimes another "contribution score" like CIV on BA), online check in, advanced booking date, recent unresolved travel incidents (not related to complaint, airlines keep track of incidents regardless), recent upgrades, and of course the likes of travel companions on the same booking, special meals, prepaid seat, and more. The weight of all those elements is unknown to any of us.