Originally Posted by
Knobbgb
I'm not really familiar with Aeroplan so I usually check upgrade availability by searching for business class redemptions directly with A3. This method does indeed show that 'I' class IS available on your dates.
I would try calling tomorrow - in "normal" office hours. Several people have reported having problems getting upgrades at weekends (but I'm too lazy to find the posts) - indeed some have been told to call back in office hours because "the Miles and Bonus department have to deal with it themselves". Maybe the agent you spoke to just couldn't deal with upgrades at that time and didn't want to explain.
I bet if you call on Monday it will all go through right away. Also, if you are allowed to upgrade ATH-BEY even though MAN-ATH cannot be upgraded then that would debunk the rumour about all legs of a journey having to be upgraded, so feedback would be most welcome. On the other hand, maybe the agent couldn't see availability for exactly that reason.
Thanks for the tips. I did indeed call again today and the agent said that there was some IT issue given that my first flight MAN-ATH is economy only. She mentioned that there was indeed availability for the other three but it would take time for them to sort out their systems to deal with the upgrade. I've just looked again on my reservation (about two hours later), and the other three flights ATH-BEY-ATH-LHR are all now in I class, so it looks like the upgrades have indeed gone through. My MAN-ATH flight is still showing as L class. As such, it seems that you don't have to upgrade all the legs of a journey, but it's requiring some effort in dealing with their systems to allow it to process. The agent was very helpful and did seem frustrated, so hopefully this problem will be ironed out soon.