FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Fare Class No Longer a Factor in Upgrade Priority
Old Oct 24, 2023 | 8:30 pm
  #50  
SDQBound
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. / Washington, DC
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Originally Posted by country_boy
My experience pre COVID and in 2022 as a DM, with 80% of my flights being noon- midnight sun, mon, thur, or fri, I got maybe 1 in 10 upgrades to first, and these were often on a late night DCA-ATL that had a pretty low load factor. I swear on DCA flights Diamond was the most popular boarding zone.

This year with flying a short hop in a CRJ-900, I’m about 30% on the CRJ as a S/G/PM- but usually (60%) no beverage or snack, but a modestly wider seat, with limited overhead bins. And about 25% of the “ upgraded seat emails” don’t result in a F seat at time of boarding.

People who don’t fly commuter routes, and fly on tue/ wed probally have better luck.
Same experience for me as a Plat out of DCA. I'm 100% on the JFK route (in fact I've never missed an upgrade since 2017) but on the ATL flights I'm only in the front cabin if 1) I pay, 2) I use a RUC, 3) I fly on a business trip outside the US or 4) I fly on a short business trip booked in economy and get upgraded due to corporate status.
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