I know it was on a holiday, but flew JFK to DEN on July 4, got an upgrade for myself and my companion, and there were six empty F seats. I'm not sure how much longer this route will last, especially given they don't offer anything but a redeye back. At this point, my main reason for trying to keep AA status is fairly easy upgrades on certain routes I travel. Many of these upgrades are achievable with Gold status.