Originally Posted by
fastflyer
For my flights at least, I believe AA has already successfully monetized the domestic First Class cabin. Of my 35% "misses", most are flights where no upgrades clear at all, implying that the cabin has been entirely filled with paying customers (miles or dollars). About 1-in-3 of the misses, or 10-15% of my total upgradeable flights, one or two upgrades are processed, and I miss out because of my EQDs.
So to recapitulate:
65% domestic flights I get my UDU, usually one or two days in advance (rarely four days out aka T-100 hours)
25% domestic flights nobody gets a UDU -- first is sold out
10% domestic flights, a couple of higher value EXPs get upgraded, but not all EXPs including me.
I figured this is how the eggheads at AAdvantage want the upgrade program to work, and I am OK with it. Why change it again now, just a couple of years after its last overhaul?
My sentiments exactly. When I miss the upgrade, I'm somewhere between #1-4 on the list and no one gets upgraded. And I'm just happy with my exit row aisle seat just the same. My employer is being "liberal" lately, as I noticed I'm either allowed to book Y/PE outbound and J/F inbound (vice versa at times too). This is a recent change as I now cover "The Americas" and am all over the place.
I'm outbound to SFO from PHL in two days booked in J on A332. Slowly the cabin has started to fill-up I've noticed. Rarely has there been a seat open in the PE section too. Guess that means lots of others (especially elites) are monitoring the flight.