<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bry99:
Anyone have any experience with an agent at a non-hub airport issuing a first class boarding pass on a connecting flight when the EUA didn't go through?
My experience with HP (which only EUA's their own), is that the agents at IAH or AUS will issue the first class boarding passes on the connecting flights (even to me, a lowly CO Silver for another two weeks) out of PHX even though it's much earlier than 2 hours before the connecting flight's departure time.
I'm curious if CO does this, because this -- plus the "capacity controls" on EUA seats -- would really screw Elites in the hub cities.</font>
Yes, I can attest that CO indeed does this. In fact, it happened on my very first elite upgrade ever, back in June, when I turned Silver.
I was on a trip LAX-EWR-BUF and back. I was only in BUF for a few days. The segment EWR-BUF put me over the top for Silver qualification. My Silver status was in effect less than 24 hours before my return trip BUF-EWR-LAX. Therefore, I did not get an EUA since I was not yet a silver at the 24 hour window.
When I checked in at BUF, I asked about upgrading to FC. The agent checked both flights. FC was full for BUF-EWR, but he upgraded me for my EWR-LAX segment,
which was three hours away.
That means that any Gold or Platinum that checked in to EWR, who didn't get an EUA, could possibly have lost a FC seat upgrade to a newly minted Silver.
I have taken many flights since then (I am now a Platinum) and I can recall many instances of this.
So what does this mean? It means that if you don't get your EUA by the day of the flight, then it is possible for a Silver who checked in earlier in another city, to be sitting in FC while Golds and Platinums are sitting in the back,
especially in hub cities. But I think it rarely happens.