Originally Posted by
Ryzon9
That is not how the program is marketed or advertised.
These are from the Air Canada website which, in addition to the e-upgrade clearance PDF, in my view, are not in line with your claim of multiple buckets. A latitude fare is a latitude fare. Your claim may be how it actually works, but that is not what any of their publications say should be happening. That is what people find frustrating…all of a sudden PY flex can instant e-upgrade but latitude can’t or in your suggestion that one latitude can and another latitude can’t. So no, I am not conflating anything.
The text you've quoted is a broad generality. It's a simplification to provide a two-sentence answer in a FAQ. It doesn't say that upgrade availability is the same for all fares or passengers - you're inferring that. Your interpretation is not illogical, but we know, based on statements from the head of Aeroplan, as well as extensive experience of FTers, that your interpretation is an over-simplification and not a reflection of how the program works in practice.
If you don't like the FAQ, you might consider writing in to AC and suggesting that they change the text. But what's described in the wiki and has been reiterated now in several posts is how it actually works.