Originally Posted by
EXP100
You are probably onto something. On the surface AA was giving away sticker income but in fact it's a forced incentive to pay an upgrade fee to guarantee an upgrade and those down the list this is the only way they're going to get upgraded.
I flew DFW-ORD back in May. I realize that this is an elite-heavy route, but there were ~55 people on the list. They were offering TOD to me (everyone??) for $200 until about a few days before. If I'm a Gold, and I'm 55 on the list, maybe $200 is an ok value prop for an actual F seat, versus maybe getting one for $80.
I feel like these are the routes that will crush CK/EXP upgrades, whereas on a non-hub-to-hub a Gold may be ok with #5 on the list and hoping for the best.