Originally Posted by
JJeffrey
Definitely not true. I'd say what you're seeing is the exception, rather than the rule. Far more common to see say 15 people on the airport upgrade list with 1 or 2 open seats, etc.
AA never assigns all of the seats for upgrades well before the flight. They will typically always hold at least 1 or 2 seats for sale and not release these for upgrades until right before departure at the gate. If you're looking at the waitlist in the app and it shows 0 seats available, that means there's 0 seats available for sale in business class. The only way that AA could release any additional upgrade space is if a confirmed passenger cancelled or changed flights, which does happen.
Got it - thank you! Last question which I know won't have an exact answer - roughly speaking, what's normal for upgrades prior to day of departure? i.e. if there are 7 seats available for sale, will they start upgrading people a few days before the flight (depending on their status) until only a couple seats remain, which they hope to sell?