Originally Posted by
EXPLAT
Now I know, that upgrades are only from coach to First, excluding PE.
But in practice, if F is full, CK's and EP's are typically upgraded to PE as a consolation. PE is kind of an anomaly on Hawaii flights as it's the only domestic flight where PE is sold as a separate category. So they don't have anything specifically carved out to cover this in the upgrade process. But in practice, they do.
I wonder if this would have happened if we were CK?
You answered your own question: rules are rules. The Gate Agent followed the rules, even if they're customer-unfriendly ones. You can take it up with AAdvantage support to ask them to implement complimentary upgrades to PE with standby lists.
In my opinion, this is a bit of hyperbole combined with DYKWIA, especially given that this is arguing over a
free upgrade.