elite or not (im CO gold), i would never let an airline inconvience me without asking for an upgrade. they will almost always give it to you. that is a cheap and easy way to keep people happy. that's also one of the reasons that CO holds a seat or two open. sometimes it sells, other times it may give them some leverege when dealing with inconvenienced customers. as an elite, i dont think i would be upset. i did however miss an upgrade, and instead, saw three uniformed flight attendants sitting in FC. I also was once downgraded after the EUA came through and noticed that the agent had sat two little hooker looking girls in mine and someone elses seat. that kinda irked me. the agent insisted i never had the seat even though i had the boarding card in my hand.