Originally Posted by
eddilev
I played around with that, and excuse the ignorance, but what would this show me above and beyond what I can see on the AA seat map? Example? The LAX-SYD flight on 5/18 shows 0 upgrade seats available in business which, while maybe true because you cannot auto upgrade right now, the cabin according to the seat map is virtually empty. Yes I suppose this could fill up, but I also have a strong feeling a number of those seats will eventually clear for upgrades....
So anyway, is there something EF is showing that is more valuable than AA.com that I am missing?
Yes, it shows you the availability of all the fare classes - if J is 5 and I, R, etc are all 0 then your chances are slim unless the flight is the next 2-3 days, whereas if J and I are both 7 then you know there is plenty of room. Combine that knowledge with seat map information and you can make reasonable decisions.
However, there are some routes where I is regularly zero'd out even when the cabin is very empty - but I presume this is an indication that they know they can sell those seats at high prices.