Recently, I have had a number of trips come up with just a few hours notice and I have been forced to book on the phone for airport pickup and ticketing the next day. The fares are usually unrestricted Y fares.

As a Silver, I cannot confirm a Y fare upgrade to F at time of booking, even though it is within the 2 day window. I am told that the EUA system has to handle this at its next running. Two weeks ago out of DFW this led to a situation where I called at 1am to make the reservation for a 7am flight, but was told that they could not confirm my upgrade DESPITE availability and that the EUA system would process it at midnight the next night. I told them that I would have already completed my journey by then, but received only "I'm sorry sir, but that is the way it works" as an answer. Fortunately the flights were wide open and I got the upgrades at the airport.

Anyway, on Sunday I flew PHX-EWR-BOS on another Y fare booked around 8pm for a 9am departure the next morning. I went down to the PHX airport to ticket on the night before, but the counter had closed early because the redeye to EWR doesn't operate on Saturday nights. This meant I was stuck with having to ticket at the airport on the morning of the flight.

When I called before leaving the hotel at 6am to check if the upgrade had indeed arrived, I was told that I HADN'T been upgraded, despite availability of upgrade seats. The agent explained that since I had not ticketed the reservation yet, the EUA system would not consider it. I rushed down to the airport, but was placed as #3 on the standby list for the upgrade behind a Gold Companion and a Platinum Companion. Both of their upgrades cleared, but I was stuck in 25B for the 4.5 hr transcon.

This is a serious flaw with the EUA system. When an Elite on a Y fare is stuck in the non-reclining middle seat of the last row of coach while Joe Gold's bimbo friend making her first CO flight on a $198 RT rides up front, there is something that needs to be changed.

<end of vent>