Originally Posted by
Adam1222
I know everyone on FT thinks they are unique, but there is a strange assumption that leaving 1 or 2 seats open until close in would avoid this happening. If a flight with 16 F passengers is canceled, it is possible that more than 2 "paying first class" passengers will need to be rebooked.
Upgrading passengers to first class before takeoff also opens up seats in the back of the plane, including for "paying coach class" passengers who may have missed a flight. It's always impossible to predict the future, of course, but there's a balance between accommodating the possibility "paying first class" passengers will have irrops on another flight, a timely departure for all passengers, and sending planes out with empty seats.
Even when there aren't any IRROPs, the current flow is suboptimal for a paying First Class passenger.
My experience -in particular with Alaska, my main carrier- is that attempting things like a same-day change in First Class are very, very hard. I have usually not had any problems to make First Class changes 2 days prior to the flight, but once you are within the 24h - 48h before takeoff, almost all First Class seats disappear. It's undeniable that the selling-out of First Class seats -and the resulting less flexibility and solutions in case of IRROPS- detracts from the experience of a paying First Class passenger.
As you point out, the airline is free to upgrade folks when and how it pleases. But I am also free to point out that for me -and seemingly a handful of other folks on this thread- it worsens the First Class experience and as a result it reduces the amount that I'm willing to pay for First Class.