until 4-5 years ago, I used to fly between ORD and NRT a couple of times a year, and I've never had issues with an upgrade, then I stopped flying for a while.
Last year I had opportunities to fly this route couple times again, and none of my upgrades went through. I never held status, so the only thing I can think of is the upgrade availability got worsened. Anyone had the same experience??
This part is key, no status, you are certainly at the bottom of the list. I can only presume you were using gifted upgrade instruments.