Originally Posted by
brettsir
Long time lurker first time posting. Thought I'd chime in on this as I've experienced it a few times before. When booked in first and moving to an earlier flight that only had one or two open seats up front, each time I have been confirmed in Y and listed as DSR on the PALL list. In theory (and in every experience I've had) DSR should have higher priority than UPG1 which is an exp upgrade request. Hope this helps.
Not sure how I was listed on the PALL list, but I've encountered this exact situation twice on domestic flights:
(1) I was booked in revenue A and trying to standby for an earlier flight at a connection airport. I get to the gate around T-15 but am faced with a long line of oversells from a previous flight. Instead, I hoof it to the AC, where the AAngel manages to add me to the standby list and print me a Priority Verification card that says "A" under class, indicating that I'm a standby for first class. By the time I get back to the gate, they've closed the flight; they look at my Priority Verification card and say I would've gotten on easily--there were empty seats up front, so I assume all upgrade requests had been accommodated.
(2) Similar situation except in upgraded A thanks to a SWU. I got a Priority Verification card with "A" on it at the ticket counter, and this time I clear into the last F seat on the plane, ahead of 20+ on the upgrade list. That said, I had been through some IRROPS that required an unplanned overnight stay, so maybe I was given an RI code on the PALL list or something?
Either way, both times as a confirmed F passenger on a different flight, I was able to voluntarily standby for F on an earlier flight, and would've cleared both instances save for 5 minutes on the first one.