Originally Posted by
ronp101
I would suggest a cash gate upgrade option. I did this once when I was booked on AA marketed (thus AA stock), AY operated, and there is no way to upgrade in advance. Sure, it is a few hundred dollars, but it worth it for me and I used by AA credit card so at least I got some loyalty points for the purchase. The only catch is that it's day of flight option, and it may not be available if it's booked full.
I've done that before on AY, back when they had SFO-HEL in the summer. I remember that it was quite cheap... $450 or $500 IIRC (I've paid more than that to go from PE to J on other airlines, so it was a no-brainer coming from Y, especially eastbound). This was back in 2016 though; I'm not sure how prices have changed.