Their RM is ridiculous. I had a SFO-ORD I needed for award (connecting to Europe), was in Y with the upgrade requested on a Business award. 0 seats sold, never opened A or U. 2 hours before departure, they dumped the entire F cabin (8 seats) to upgrades, including us, who were given scattered seats despite being on the same PNR and
#2 and
#3 on the list for a wide open cabin.
I get there's a last minute component to some markets, but all 8 seats, all the way to 2 hours before departure? They're leaving partner award revenue on the table, MVPG upgrade revenue (buyups to higher classes to get instant-ups or use certs), and possibly increasing their costs by pushing awards to other carriers when their space isn't available, etc.