<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Billiken:
Unlimited upgrades from any fare is why I direct almost all of my flights to CO.
I do believe that similar OnePass status passengers should be upgraded based on fare class (e.g. a Silver with a Y ticket gets upgraded before a Silver with a B ticket).
HOWEVER, if I'm ever in coach on a CO domestic flight that takes off with empty F seats......Adios, Gordo.
In addition I'll go on the "lecture curcuit" in CLE doing whatever I can to get other biz travelers to fly out of CAK.</font>
Great points. I left DL because they'd rather fly an empty FC seat than upgrade me if I was on a fare they deemed too low. At least with CO I had a chance at the upgrade.
And, as mentioned, CO is especially vulnerable to defections from low-yield flyers over this point because its coach product compares poorly with others. You've got cramped planes like the 737-800 (or the 777s where you lose legroom to the boxes), thin seats, bad seat pitch, and more routes being taken over by RJs.
CO also gets more than its share of complaints about award availability for redemptions. So if they pull out that free-upgrade rung or rule it out for some elites on some fares like Delta, it's a long plunge in comparison with other airlines.