I am speaking in the case of a redemption ticket outside connectmiles. I argumented in the scene OP presented. If you get an redemption ticket from Aeroplan (air canada) and no airline status (Copa), you are not elegible for courtesy upgrade even if you are star alliance gold. That was the point i was trying to explain. The only point I missed, is that award saver can be elegible for upgrade but only if you got presidential status in Copa. After that, no award saver ticket can be elegible for courtesy upgrade.