Originally Posted by
YOWgary
Maybe some of the better-known blogs were asked to push the idea of latitude-fares-as-discount-business, I'd personally find that surprising.
The simplest explanation here would be that AC management decided it wanted fewer J seats to go to eUpgrades 6 months in advance, keeping them open to generate more income. Costs them next to nothing to eUp somebody at the gate.
I didn't mean I thought AC had promoted that via blogs, just that blogs had promoted the idea, specifically for latitude redemption fares. Like you I would find it surprising if AC had pushed for them to do that.
I get that AC might decide it doesn't want to offer any R space many months in advance. But that doesn't explain why (on international routes, or at least many of them, all the ones I've been watching) clearance windows have become pointless because even when a flight is P9 no R space opens even at the clearance window, and flights are going to the gate with up to half of J available for gate upgrades.
I suspect there is something unintentional going on behind the scenes that AC is working to fix, but if the new normal is for no R space to open before clearance windows, or even before the gate, that should be a significant benefit for SEs.