Originally Posted by
canadiancow
Because it makes no sense from a business perspective, on a flight that's wide open in Y, to put the P25K on a G fare into J, and someone (any/no status) on a J fare into Y.
I don't even understand how "it's always worked this way" is even an argument. At one point, that was probably said about why women shouldn't be allowed to vote. Things can change for the better.
People buy flexible tickets to make last minute changes (like walking up to a gate before the onload list is processed), and shouldn't be penalized with a downgrade.
I get what you're saying about the business perspective, but you also cannot penalize people who hold confirmed reservations for the flight in question. Can you imagine if a SE on standby trumps a non-status GTE (who holds a confirmed reservation) on a sold-out flight?
As far as standbys go, they've always been prioritized lower than pax on confirmed reservations. I see this as being fair. By purchasing a flexible J/Y ticket, you have the option of confirming yourself on the flight, too, as long as you do it at least two hours before scheduled departure.