Originally Posted by
johnnyappleseed
It's definitely a tricky game to play, and I'm still trying to figure out the best strategy. With status, you'll obviously be one of the first to clear the list. You will usually get middle seats that were never sold.
The problem lies, however, in the fact that there will be people who A. are not at the gate 10 min prior to departure, and B. those people have E+ or window/aisle seats.
So now you're already seated in your not-so-comfy middle seat, and the person waaaaay down the standby list from you (possibly not even a MP member) will now get that nice E+ aisle seat.
It's frustrating to watch, but I can't figure out a way around it. Risky idea to turn down a seat assignment hoping that someone else won't show.
When one stands by for a flight, unless the GA is willing to break the rules, you
first clear standby into your purchased COS and only
then are you added to the upgade list. If they follow the rules, all upgrade requests of pax originally scheduled on the flight should be accommodated first. Then standbys, then upgrades of standby pax. In the situation described here, if it's important to get a good E+ seat, then just politely ask the GA if there's anything better and that you're willing to wait by the gate to see if anything frees up at the 10 minute mark.
The key -- at least for 1Ks -- is to use confirmed standby whenever possible. This gets you a seat -- any seat -- in time to rise to the top of the upgrade list when that time comes.