My data points: almost every AA flight I take departs with First/Business class 100% full with people still remaining on the upgrade list. This includes peak and off-peak flight times. Domestic and international. I can count on one hand the number of AA flights I flew which had empty first/business seats.
Originally Posted by
SJWarrior
Just another data point. Friday had four empty F seats on a regional. No one on upgrade list, but one guy jumped up from MCE as the FA prepared for take off. So it flew 3/4 empty seats.
Maybe that guy was a commuting crew. Or a friend of the FAs or pilots.