Originally Posted by
BlondeBomber
Good ideas Snow Goose but buyers be careful on what to expect for free upgrades on Latitude fares.
Cabins have been getting fuller. I just ended up buying low or full business class this year to avoid the hassle on transborder flights. Flights are mostly short so even if you don't get an upgrade, you will survive
. The good thing about Latitude passes is the ability to easily change/cancel with no penalty and without phoning in. If you have tools like ExpertFlyer then you can see business cabin loads and plan accordingly. The problem is the greatly reduced flight availability to western US destinations (if any exist for some city pairs).
I have only missed a few (relatively inconsequential) segments on latitude passes this year. One nice thing is that assuming your routes offer multiple booking choices (like any YYZ-YVR segments), you can often check Expert Flyer at the 48 hour upgrade mark and rebook your latitude flight when necessary (still arriving at the original booking time on a multi-segment journey). Having said that, there is no question that planes have been a lot more full this year.
Using the current 20% discount on Canada/US destinations (promo ends tonight) means the OP could net 2 round trips from Central Canada to OGG in Comfort class, netting >22k SQM for <$1800. You can do 1 hour turns if you cannot afford the time to visit Maui properly!