Originally Posted by
addicoe
As a silver medallion I'm trying to choose between either the 757-200 or the 767-400 flight between LAX and HNL. Which flight gives me a 1) better chance of free upgrade and/or 2) better chance of first class upgrade?
I count 20 first and 27 comfort plus seats on the 757-200, and 33 delta one and 18 comfort plus seats on the 767-400 available on each respective plane (this is already excluding the seats blocked off due to coronavirus). I don't know if there are special rules or if it is harder to get a free upgrade to delta one (compared to regular first class), but assuming it is not it seems like taking the 767-400 flight gives me a higher chance of getting delta one but lower chance overall of getting any upgrade. And the 757-200 gives me a higher chance overall of getting an upgrade but lower chance of getting first.
If you are flying on a 767-400 domestically that has been reconfigured, the "Comfort Plus" seats are actually Premium Select seats (Premium Economy) and the "Preferred" seats are actually Comfort Plus seats in the main cabin with extra legroom and you can select those "Preferred" seats at booking!
I.e. - go for the 767-400! Worst case, you'll have access to selecting "Preferred" seats which will have extra legroom. If you score an upgrade, it will be to C+, which will be like a domestic FC seat.
Conversely, on the 757-200, Comfort Plus seats are exactly as advertised: seats in the main cabin with extra legroom, and you might get upgraded to that a T-24 hours. Again, on the 767-400, you'll be able to select such a seat at booking and maybe get an upgrade to a better seat. I would put the chances of an upgrade to the seats marketed as C+ or to F at low though admittedly have little insight especially since travel numbers are all out of whack, but after booking, you may also get a cheap buy-up offer to Comfort Plus to then be able to select one of those 18 seats marketed as C+ or even to FC for the lie-flat.