Originally Posted by
RAD_PDX
Have you called Alaska to see why you don't show up on the upgrade list, or do you now? There are still a few things to rule out before assuming that you were "skipped". For example, you say that the "cabin filled up in the past 48 hours and there is no one on the UG list". That could simply mean that there were 75Ks on the list in front of you who were upgraded (and wouldn't show up on the list now).
I did call AS. The agent was able to fix it and put us on the upgrade list. We died at #1 and #2 on the list. The list was really short, like only 5 people on a transcon that was full. I'm 75K and +1 is Gold. It's highly unlikely that all the upgrades went to 75Ks. It's much more likely that something about our reservation caused us to get skipped. The agent said there was something she had to fix. The tickets were purchased during one of the great fare sales (I think the discount code was LETSTRAVEL.)
And to add icing on the cake, today we are returning on. On a separate reservation but using the same discount code. And the exact same experience. We checked in at T-24 and there are still 4 seats for sale. We don't show up on the flight standby list. Called twice. First agent says everything is fine. Second agent says that the reservation was marked for upgrade to Premium Class, but not for First Class. Says she fixed it. Ran checkin again. We still didn't show up on the upgrade list. At about T-22 the remaining 4 F seats get filled but we don't get them and we still don't show on the upgrade list.
I don't have any direct evidence, and it's impossible to get it. But it seems strange to have the same behavior on two separate reservations. I try to avoid booking two people on one reservation but some of the offers including the companion fare make that impossible. So this is either due to have two people, due to the discount code, or else something to do with the OneWorld integration - but something is amiss in the upgrade processing. I wouldn't whine so much but this flight is blocked at 6:30!