ehe123

I was flying back the other day on NW 53 from AMS to DTW. Upon checkin at the front of the airport I asked the agent if the plane was full. She said that it was oversold by 18 in coach and there were only 9 passengers up front. To a Platinum traveling in Economy, these were wonderful numbers (WBC on the 330 seats 34). I therefore got to the gate early, showed the gate agent my Platinum card, said that I heard they were oversold in coach, and asked about the likelihood that I might get an upgrade. She said that they were also oversold in WBC, and that there would be no upgrades. I was now confused about how WBC got filled so quickly, but I went on the next question: "So, you will be asking for volunteers?" She said no. I thought that she misunderstood, so I asked the question more clearly, "You will be asking for passengers to volunteer to fly later today or on other routes?" She said "NO, we choose who will not fly. It is a matter of security."
I then boarded in coach, and within 10 minutes of boarding the same gate agent that I had spoken with came on board and gave me a boarding pass for my new seat in WBC. I just thanked her (what was the point of saying more).
To me, this highlights the differences between KLM ground agents and NWA. At NW, an agent might have said initially that my chances looked good for an upgrade, or it was too early to tell, but at KLM the rule seems to be to just lie.