Howard

I think that's a good idea AC*SE, but as you said, the requirement to issue the MCO on paper would be a significant drawback. Doing so would require substantial time investment on the part of airline staff and travel agents, and would limit the convenience of e-tickets.

I'd really like to open up this topic for discussion while we're trying to design the perfect airline.

One idea is to sell at airport counters some kind of certificate, which when used in conjunction with a SE or E upgrade, would allow the upgrade to be from any fare. SE could therefore confirm upgrades at the time of reservation from any fare, and E could confirm 72h prior from any fare. If the fare is Y/M/B/H/V, no extra certificate would be required. If the fare is Q/L, one of these extra certificates would have to be presented with each regular upgrade certificate. In this way AC would still collect additional revenue when upgrading from Q/L fares, but the system would be fairer for E members.

The most important issue would be the price of the extra certificate, which should be something like the average difference between Q/L and V fares for the average distance flown per certificate. Any suggestions?

CPwingwalker

Howard, I think your first idea is "right on": follow AAs fully automated upgrade program which has been in place for at least two years now. At time of booking (web, telephone, travel agent) you indicate you would like to be put in the upgrade (electronic) queue. Based on your status your request will be processed at the appropriate window. BTW AA and I understand most US carriers allow upgrades from any paid fare. However, if AC wishes to continue with what in my mind is their petty attitude to fare class status (how is it that the american carriers offer it on ANY paid fare?) then an electronic system could handle the MCO issue as AC*SE noted. Say take double the number of upgrade units if from a low fare. Also, we would be able to check our upgrade "balance" of our account on the web site and purchase additional units (either on-line, in person at CTOs/airports/lounges, or on the phone).
This automated system also addresses the issue of fairness -- let the computer be the judge if you will. My guess is that there is also a marked improvement in gate handling as agents no longer have to fuss with hard certs/stickers.

I'llMissCP

I don't believe all US carriers allow upgrades from any fare. Seems to me that DL does not allow from L, (and possibly others). I would expect the same for AA and UA, considering the number of high tier FF they have.

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BlondeBomber

UA stopped allowing upgrades from special web fares.

Ken hAAmer

AA does allow upgrades from any fare, barring the usual exceptions. (Free travel, industry fares, etc.)

BlondeBomber

Not sure what I'llMissCP was thinking would hurt his ability to buy a seat "If AC were to implement all this upgrade stuff for their SE, the I would not be able to buy a J seat 24 hours in advance."

SE get to do time of booking upgrades now (as they did last year). I had 100% success last year (and this year so far) so didn't notice capacity controls (I am sure there are some). I also didn't notice people having problems buying a J ticket.

MD

BB, I am an elite member that has recently had trouble buying J class on transatlantic flights. On my last trip (week of 15 May) I had to connect in YUL to get any seat on my outbound to FRA. On my return 19 May from LHR, I was waitlisted for J class (to be paid for), while I was booked in Y. Despite booking more than 2 weeks in advance, the waitlist did not clear and I rode in Y on the return. I had caled several times to check on my status but noone could tell me where I was on the queue. At arrival at LHR, I made a point of paying for the upgrade to ensure that I had priority over those using certs. Finally, three people did not show for J class and the FA's got three others from economy to move up to J. Presumably they were not using certs, but as I did not ask them myself, I had no way to know for sure.

My payment for J class was refunded within 24 hours with no action on my part. So on at least some flights, purchasing a seat in J can be very difficult indeed!

To get back to the point of this thread, the airline should be able to provide a status upon request of the length of the waiting list for those waitlisted. This would allow the traveller to plan accordingly.

AC*SE

But MD, I don't think that is an issue of excessive upgrades. The airline uses yield management on upgrades just as they do on discount fares. There are relatively few 'C' seats on heavy traffic routes where they know they can sell J.

You are more likely the victim of heavy demand from people willing to shell out for J.

Ken hAAmer

Bringing forward for one last kick at the can.

BlondeBomber

Not sure where this fits or if I have already put it down somewhere:

AC/CP seats on codeshare flights on other non AC/CP partners (especially alliance) should be under AC booking control for reward travel. Right now, AC will not/cannot? release seats from UA flights on which it codeshares even though there are spaces available. If this was a true AC flight, the seats would be available to Super Elite and Elite for reward travel provided the flight is not oversold.

Also, in a similar vein, the bottom line is that we should be able to make itinerary changes on these AC/Cp codeshares for reward travel. In addition, I would like to see all reward travel itineraries eligible to make changes whether codeshare or not--UA can do it, there seems no reason why AC/CP can't as well.