Originally Posted by
enviroian
So someone would have to have EF for this to know there is C inventory and if so a non status flyer can get an upgrade with no regards to status?
What happens if someone who is gold but doesn’t have EF where will they be on the upgrade list at the gate at T-4?
Someone wouldn't
have to have EF, necessarily. They could just call and ask.
If it's C7, there are
at least 7 confirmable business upgrades available. It's not unlikely that a bunch of people have already cleared off the waitlist. If a non-status flyer calls in and asks about doing a Miles + Co-Pay upgrade at this point, it will clear. I've actually found AA to be reasonably good about clearing the waitlist into C inventory as it is released (i.e. minimal lag between release of space and system confirming upgrade requests already made...of course there are exceptions), so if EF is showing C7, there are likely more upgrades available than there are people who have requested them at that point. A Gold or non-status passenger can grab the space, and most likely
wouldn't be taking it from a higher status passenger already on the wait list (because they have likely cleared or will in the matter of a few minutes when the system processes the upgrade).
At the gate, someone who is Gold would be in their normal priority spot on the airport upgrade list, which is prioritized largely the same as the pre-airport upgrade list, but which is a totally different thing, and has nothing to do with whether the flight was C7 a week out. I mean, if the flight is still C7 up to T-4, there's no one at that point who has requested an upgrade and hasn't gotten it.