As Seattlenerd so aptly suggests, anecdotes one way or another aren't indicative of any trend. They're just a few stories out of thousands.

It is statistically undeniable, however, that with fewer F seats overall on AS flights, there will be fewer seats available for upgrade. It is equally undeniable that AS, like every other carrier, continues to curtail the availability of complimentary upgrades and other benefits to its elites at every level through a range of strategies, some more transparent than others. Maximizing profit and "shareholder value" through a reduction of FF program and elite benefits is the new reality at all the airlines. If AS is "better" than UA/AA/DL, it's only a matter of degree (and time).

Like others who love to travel and/or fly a lot, I try to be a steely-eyed realist, and if I really want a comfy seat in F, I pay for it. My other hedge is to own a few shares in AS, the results of which leave little doubt that AS is not exactly your struggling mom-and-pop airline next door. (For those keeping score, AS's stock price has more than quintupled over the last five years. For fiscal year 2015, ALK reported net profit of $848 million and EBITDA of $1.67 billion on revenues of $5.6 billion. 2016 results are set for release on February 8.)

In the end, I don't have a beef with AS acting like every other major corporation on the big board. Rather, my disdain is reserved for (a) AS's continued marketing of its FFP without making full and fair disclosure that the availability of the touted benefits may be illusory in many respects, and (b) the armchair airline execs and mavens on this board who feel a constant need to defend the motives of this multibillion company and belittle the legitimate gripes of those misled by AS's adroit marketeers.