I know this has been discussed many times before. I
wanted to be the 1,001st poster.
1. Yes, it's always possible that the seats are purchased and not assigned. It's also unlikely unless some Japanese tour group on consolidator F fares happens to be flying IAH-MSY at the same time as I am. Besides, at least 9 FC seats are still available for purchase.
2. It is possible that CO feels they can sell these seats. They're going for $211 one way. Good for CO if that's the case. If it's not, they really should tighten up their inventory management.
3. It is not possible, it is a fact. The usual "it's a published benefit and one can reasonably expect..." argument applies here!
Like I said, this is my first time flying CO, but I'm well aware of the difficulty in upgrading on it. I did not expect my red-eye SFO-IAH to clear, but I didn't expect difficulty on IAH-MSY. If the upgrade doesn't clear prior to checking in, do I need to do anything at the airport?