eUpgrade waitlisting process explained
 

Here is an explanation about the waitlist process for nominees from ac customer support. It explains somewhat better about the process which Andrew previously classified as an Ac trade secret: my original complaint is below the reply from Ac:

Dear Mr. Allvest

Thank you for your email. We appreciate the time you have taken to contact us and are pleased to address your concerns.

Please accept our sincere apologies for any mis-information you may have received from our agents regarding the eUpgrade waitlist. .I can understand your frustration given that the information online does not specifically address this issue. .I have read the paragraph that you are referring to, (where it states that the Nominee will follow the same eligibility criteria) and I can see how it may be misleading as this does not actually apply to the waitlist at all.

The way it works is that if you are booked on a separate file, then you and your Nominee would be cleared from the waitlist based on your own status (ie: you as Super Elite and your wife as Elite). .If you are booked on the same file, and the waitlist clears in the reservations system before departure, then your wife would maintain your status and you would be cleared together.

If you are .standing by at the gate for the upgrade, the system will prioritize based on the individual's status, even if you are booked on the same file. .So basically the ONLY time that you would be cleared together at the same time is if you are both booked on the same file and the waitlist clears in the reservation system before departure.

Respectfully, we must decline your request for a refund of the 6 eUpgrade credits that were used, however as a gesture of goodwill we will give you 3 eUpgrade credits as compensation.

Once again, Mr. Allvest we sincerely regret the issues you have encountered and assure you we are working hard to earn your continued loyalty. We hope you will allow us a future opportunity to provide you with a more pleasant travel experience.

Sincerely,

Customer Relations



------ ..Original Message ..------

From: allvest
Sent: 04/06/2011 04:38 PM
Subject: eUPGRADE confusion on waitlist


My wife and I were flying from Ottawa to Bangkok via YYZ and HKG.

I had an upgrade confirmed on Latitude fare on my own reservation, and also sponsored my wife's reservation as my eUpgrade nominee.

The eupgrade conditions on the website specifically mention that for nominees, the same conditions and booking windows apply as for the eUpgrade account holder. .I was also assured by AC reservations when requesting the upgrade that her waitlist would carry through under my SE priority.

However, at the airport in Toronto, her waitlist was trumped by several Elites. .Had she been given the SE priority she would have received her upgrade.

Now, I understand that these rules are new, and everyone is entitled to be confused. .But HAD I REALIZED THAT SHE WOULD NOT RECEIVE SUPER ELITE PRIORITY ON THE LIST, I would not have wasted 6 eupgrades from YOW to YYZ.

This was a mistake which was re-inforced by the information on your website as well as TWO reservation agents who both reassured me that she would be prioritized as per my SE status.

I would very kindly ask that a) you explain what the actual waitlist and status benefits are for my nominee and b) that you would really kindly reinstate the 6 wasted eUpgrades into my account.

Allvest

Yikes! 6 credits to upgrade YOW-YYZ!! :(
Thanks for the explanation.

Thanks for posting that!

Very interesting indeed, not only knowing the exact waitlist procedure but the fact that CS is able to credit goodwill upgrade credits.

Now it became 3 credits. Still sucks!:eek:

Thanks for sharing.... Now we know.

So let me see if I get this right, if you and your wife were on the same PNR, then you two will share the same 'SE' priority and will clear both (or nothing?)....

It sucks your wife get trumped by Es at the gate.

Kudos to you Allvest for taking on the "Puzzle Palace"!
First time I ever see and hear of someone getting ANY E-Credits back!

Thanks for the update^

I used to get status mile compensation on mismatched tango+ TG operated code shares (for instance sold to me as s or k or l and posted as v or w) but they now fixed their translation tables so AC advised me to avoid TG! Some alliance they have.

We should collectively attack the practice of fuel and admin barges especially on reward tickets. What a racket that is. Isn't there a lawyer on here who would like to do a class action?

I think you´d need more than a "regular" lawyer to tackle fuel surcharges successfully. And to be honest, I´d be surprised if fuel surcharges were to disappear as a result of a law suit.

Being an optimist I guess the best that would come out of a class action lawsuit would be

a) airlines being forced to advertise all-in pricing
b) airlines/FFPs not being allowed to charge a fuel surcharge which exceeds the actual cost of fuel per person

Isn't this pretty much the same explanation that Andrew had given?

Still with with no detailed information on how gate upgrades are prioritized.

That's what I thought as well - Andrew's explanation seemed clear.

I have asked about the waitlist prioritizing at the gate as well. No answer on that yet.

yes i believe this is the same as Andrew had mentioned, from all the info that he posted it was clear that once the waitlist gets transferred over, everyone gets sorted individually

aren't gate upgrades based on INDIVIDUAL status, followed by fare class, however AY did point out that if a passenger is on a paid J flight on a latter leg they get moved to the top

based on the OP's post i guess connecting passengers no longer trump SEs since it seems like upgrades are all split up by segment

i thought he gave u an answer.....its proprietary

================================================== =============

Followup from Ac Customer Service:

Dear Mr. Allvest

Thank you for your follow-up email.

To answer your question, yes the elites would be grouped together (whether or not they were using their own credits or traveling as a nominee). .If all criteria is equal (ie: Aeroplan status, fare paid, etc) .then it will go by whoever checked in first for the flight, so it's always best to check-in online at exactly 24 hours prior to the departure time.

Regards,

Customer Relations


------ .

Yes that was stupid and arrogant answer.

LOL, back to square one......

1. Status
2. Booking Class
3. Time of Check In

However, one is only allowed to check in 24 hours before the last flight..... so your check in time would be YYZ-HKG and disadvantaged for YOW-YYZ.

If AC associates your HKG-BKK into the check-in 24 hours, then you are further disadvantaged by another 15-18 hours.

On your return, you'd be very disadvantaged because 24 hours prior to YOW-YYZ (which is another 15 hours behind), while others travelling YYZ-HKG can check in 24 hours prior to that flight (15 hour advantage).

what exactly would be etc? i can't think of anything relevant apart from status and fare paid before they compare check-in times

Stupid and arrogant answer, or stupid and arrogant policy?

i guess it still failed to answer the question, if I am a connecting passenger with already an upgraded segment, will I be slotted a little higher in the priority list (perhaps above check in time or booking class)

It's all done by segment now

Although not sure about advance check in. Is it 24 hrs before the first segment? If so I would have checkin time advantage from yow-yyz-hkg over the same fare paying equal status member flying from yyz direct

I don't think its totally proprietary so I refer to the answer and the manner in which it was delivered. Maybe Andrew had a bad day.

they changed that several years ago, its 24 hours of the LAST segment..... dont ask me why.... stupid policy and it puts me in a disadvantage travelling YYZ-SIN as well!

Actually he gave us precisely the same answer a few years back when asked the same question. Additionally, this time he seemed like he tried to avoid giving an answer until he had his back against the wall.

To me it sounds like it's policy.

After watching the available seats (J#) and waiting at the desk and seeing who gets upgrades, I firmly believe there is something funny going on.

Each flight that I do not get an upgrade (as an SE), I see E's sometimes with their non-status companions being upgraded ahead of me at the gate.

Somehow I think it is completely based on fare class and not on status.

This leads me to believe that AC does not care about status and is rewarding higher fares only.

I can understand if it is a Y/B fare. But separating W from V? That is cheap.

More importantly, it should be plainly stated. This way when I am forced on a low fare by my company, I will choose more direct route on another carrier and spread my status around.

Obviously being SE for 6 years and being 25K away from MM means nothing to AC.

And if you ask, I am earning upgrade credits faster than using them. 1 for 7 on my TATL and 1 for 4 on TPAC.

Out of pure curiosity, how can you tell who is SE, E and non-status if you don't know them?

As a super elite I have never missed an upgrade tatl or tpac. That must be well over 100 segments by now.... To be successful upgrading you have to employ some dedication and occasionally a bit of trickery.

What bugs me is that the rule are still not totally disclosed and probably change all the time.

I find this very strange what you have mentioned above. SE's trump E's regardless of the fare paid. I have NEVER had an E trump me as an SE and MM'er....

It's Status
Fare Paid
Connection Point
Time of Check-in
and in this order ONLY.

I listen as the person goes to the desk and asks if his wife can be upgraded. After some hmming and hahing, they relent and give it anyway. When I am in that situation, they usually say no and I either send my wife up front or decline altogether.

This is what bothers me. The European airlines follow the rules to the letter. You know what to expect. If someone flirts better and that gets them the upgrade, then it is time to rethink my loyalty.

With all the distrust of AC and a lean period of high gas prices coming, AC needs to be transparent. In the US, the upgrade list is on a screen for all to see. You see where you are on the priority list and when the cabin is full.

So much good fortune for a lucky few. Long live SE's and MM'ers ! ^LOL:p::cool::D;)

Partially correct.

They would have cleared together as SE's even though she is an E if they were on the same PNR and they had cleared the waitlist before check-in had opened.

Once it is T-24 and check-in has opened, if you are still on the waitlist (i.e. relegated to Aerolotto) it is the status of each individual that counts.

Yep long live US NordsFan!...LOL;):D

Get your UG for the return of your weekendly HKG MR ? ^LOL:D;)

:D^

Just a little humour between "Us SE's and MM'ers" ! ;)

:D

......and mileage runners?:cool:

I have yet another upgrade waitlist order question. (Apologies if this already been answered.)

A colleague and I were travelling on the NRT-YYZ. We were both waitlisted at the 96 hour window (mine about 2 minutes before his). However his upgrade cleared about 12 hours before the flight, I didn't get the upgrade until at the gate. We're both Elite so that shouldn't have had an impact. However, my upgrade request was nominated by Mrs. Lynchpin_yyz (also an E), whereas his was with his own points. Additionally, I checked in online at the 24 hour mark and he didn't. Could the fact that I had checked in moved me out of a position to get an upgrade if R-space opened up, or was it simply a matter of being nominated that placed me lower in priority?

An important detail is missing... were you both on the same fare class?

Yup, both the same fare class.

whats your boarding pass sequence #? and what is your colleague's boarding pass sequence #?

you mentioned he was upgraded 12 hours before the flight, was that when he checked in? or was that still on the eupgrade page?

if i recall what AY said, if you requested upgrade as a nominee you are first waitlisted under the member's status (if travelling together)....if not, i wonder if they just consider every nominee as non status until at the airport when they could physically validate/check.......