Originally Posted by
JJeffrey
I was under the impression (but I could be wrong, I'm by no means an AA employee travel expert) that once any D1/D2/etc. were confirmed and checked in, that they could be added to the upgrade list, but would be sorted below any normal elite revenue pax from a priority standpoint. Similar to how it works for normal pax, you can only be added to the standby list at first, but once that clears, you can then be added to the upgrade list.
I have some experience with D1/D2 travel. We are never added to the upgrade list, only to the standby list. If and when we clear the standby list, which is after all the upgrades had already been processed, we are assigned the best available seat. There was one time a few years ago in the morning of the 4th of July, when after boarding was complete, an agent came on board and moved me and another NRSA passenger up to F. On the handful of occasions when I had positive space passes, my name was added to the upgrade list below the revenue passengers.