Originally Posted by
JayJ
If JFK is your airport, I would suggest first and last flight out of the day for upgrade. Last flight (41) to SFO is best because there are no connections in SFO at Midnight to AS. One way to read the tea leaves to see what AS wants for a discount first class ticket. The lower the price, the best chance for an upgrade. Best fares seem to occur 4 to 6 weeks before departure. Buy one way tickets for maximum flexibility.
No connections on AS and no connections on BART!
Yeah scoping which flights have the cheapest first class is probably a good indicator which ones they're having the hardest time selling seats on, good thought.
Originally Posted by
NoLaGent
It will help you a lot if you read the data correctly, and don't rely on the seat map.
For example, on Flt 27, next to Available First Class Seats, it says Not Available. This means none are for sale, and the cabin is full.
On Flt 41, it says 3. While you may see 4 seats on the map, someone hasn't chosen a seat yet. (likely an upgraded pax)
And yes, off-peak times will be your friend. Mid-week and Saturdays in business markets usually carry a lighter load, but summer travel will be here before you know it and that will make a difference too.
Yep, I wasn't solely relying on the seat map, just using it as a way to confirm that I was interpreting the "Available First Class Seats" thing correctly. I'm assuming without Expert Flyer or something like that there's not a better way to know for sure whether a seat on the seat map is unsold or just unselected, but I suspect there's a pretty high correlation, too. I'm guessing summer leisure travelers have different flight day preferences, but are also less likely to have status, so I'd be interested to see what sort of pattern you see with that.
Originally Posted by
Bellerina
The eligibility for upgrades even at the lowest levels of elite is a real perk IMO.
For sure! Alaska low level elite status seems a lot more worthwhile than that the other airlines and is a big factor to my AS loyalty (and it's achievable without the high level of spending some of the other carriers require...)
Originally Posted by
anteater
While the unlimited complimentary upgrades are a great benefit (on paper at least), I have come to not expect them given how often I see the UG professor fail to operate properly.
If you can book into a seat that you’ll be comfortable with, that’s a good start and then you can hope for a good roll of the UG dice.
🤙🏻🥃
Hah, yes probably the best tool in the toolbox is a good attitude with a dash of pessimism and skepticism.
