world888traveler

What happens if someone requests an upgrade to J, but it's wait listed? It's my first time to be wait listed this way. What I did was just upgrade at the 4 day window, but instead of the green light, the one who says that you are eligible for an upgrade, there was a wait list icon.

I asked to be be put on the wait list, but how much time it will take to get a reply? My flight is on Dec 14th. If someone is on the stand by list at the airport and does not have any upgrade, does he have to wait for the next flight ? My seat in Economy is still there, so I guess if I am not upgraded while on the stand by at the airport, I have to get in the Economy class?

Thanks so much in advance for your answers

nave888

This happens alot, with AC being very strict with R (upgrade) space in the J cabin.

You may get an email confirming your upgrade anytime now, but being the holidays, I wouldn't bet on it. You will likely check in normally and notice that at check in, your class will show up as "exec standby", but will give you an economy class seat. Then, once check in closes, the gate agents will start going down the list of upgrades, and call people at the gate. This is because AC wants people to buy LMUs, rather than give out free upgrades.

If the upgrade clears, you'll get a new boarding pass and be on your way. If not, you still have your original economy class seat, and will fly normally without the upgrade.

Jasper2009

Actually youīve been VERY lucky if youīve never been waitlisted for an upgrade. Most of the time thereīs no R (upgrade availability) at T-4/T-7 on intīl routes, so youīll be put on the waitlist. You may clear the waitlist anytime between now and check-in or not all at.

Meanwhile youīll keep your original seat, and if the upgrade doesnīt clear, your upgrade credits will be returned to your account.

world888traveler

Thank you for your reply. You know, last year I left at the same day and got my upgrade without having to be waitlisted.
I have no idea if I will receive an e-mail confirming the upgrade. I have to wait and see if I can get a seat in the Exec cabin without having to stress out at the airport.

My flight is with AC1 from YYZ to NRT. Funniest thing is that the last year the J cabin was almost empty. Just 3 people...

I've checked ExpertFlyer and there was still R space available hmm

If the upgrade does not clear I hope to get my eupgrade credits back or ask to be transferred onto another flight.

world888traveler

Jasper yes I was very LUCKY Maybe the best thing would be to ask to a check-in agent if I can be transferred to another flight. The actual flight leaves YYZ at 12:30pm. But doing this, I'm sure there are some fees, probably the 100$ fee as it was in the past for other flights.

Jasper2009

Stressing E/SEs out is the idea behind this concept also referred to as "aerolotto"

If your upgrades clears, youīll receive an e-mail. until then youīll have to be patient, and the closer you get to the departure date, the more often youīll check online how many seats are still for sale, and become more and more worried about your upgrade as the J cabin fills up. The perfect recipe for heart attacks. Enjoy the experience.

Jasper2009

Well, Iīd definitely check whether any other flights have R class availability. You could either rebook straight away if you see availability a few days in advance or do a same-day confirmed change, definitely worth paying the change fee IMO.

Iīve done exactly this when flying LHR/FRA to Canada (with more than half a dozen flights per day you can usually get some kind of upgrade if youīre flexible routing-wise)

world888traveler

I heard about the aerolotto concept, but I was completely sure that it won't happen to me

Plus, last year the eupgrades were not as we know them. But I was able to get a FREE upgrade on my way back from NRT-YYZ. The check-in agent was very nice to me I have no idea if she will be there on my return date.

I'll try not to stress out and check available seats online. I will become crazy just doing this

world888traveler

Well LHR-FRA is not a very busy route, but that depends. Most of my upgrades were for Asian routes. When I have to fly to LHR or FRA, I rarely use my upgrades because from Canada to there, flight time is less than 7 hours. I can't sleep on such short route

I checked other flughts out of YYZ, but there is no one. The other flighs will stop either at Calgary or Vancouver.

I would buy a LMU if it's less than $500 but I guess it will cost $800 for this route. I better play Sudoku and try not to stress too much about it

Jasper2009

Well, FRA/LHR-West Coast usually is more like 10+ hours, so definitely worth it to upgrade in my books, but Iīd agree upgrading YYZ-LHR is a waste of upgrades.

You should be able to change your routing to YYZ-YYC/YVR-NRT as both the city of origin and destination city remain the same.

With the recent price increase of LMUs Iīd expect YYZ-NRT to be >$1,000.

world888traveler

Originally my real routing is YUL-YYZ-NRT. I can try YUL-YVR-NRT if there is R availability. Right now ExpertFlyer does not tell me if there is R availability on this route. I'll have to call AC Res and ask them if they have seats.

A LMU over $1000? I would call it a real theft. My Tango Plus ticket was $1200. I was lucky to buy it on a special sale on Expedia.

Jasper2009

Why doesnīt Expertflyer show R availability? I havenīt had any issues seeing R availability using Expertflyer. Alternatively, you can make a dummy booking on the AC website and click the "display upgradable fares" option. If thereīs a blue box next to the flight number, thereīs R availability, if the box is grey, there currently isnīt any upgrade availability.

Yes, LMU prices have gone up dramatically over the last few months, plus there no longer seem to be fixed rates, but instead the prices are now linked to the actual fares and booking classes available. There have been reports of LMUs on YYZ-YYC being $700 and YYZ-LHR being >$1100, so Iīd be willing to bet that xxx-NRT will be >$1k (by how much will depend on how empty the flight is, but if thereīs no R availability, itīs probably pretty full already)

world888traveler

Do you use the paid option in ExpertFlyer? If that's the case, you can see R availability. I used the paid option before when I had to fly last year, but this year I fly less.

There was another search engine to show R availability but I forgot its name. I have to search a thread on flyertalk about it.

I'm going to check again the other routings via a dummy booking on AC's website.

If the LMU's are that expensive, then I'm sure less and less people will fly with AC. Many American companies like United and AA offer very competitive prices and same for LMU's. 3 years ago I used a Lmu on United for just $200Us and it was for the routing YUL-ORD-NRT. Pretty cheap

Jasper2009

Yes, Iīm using the paid Expertflyer option. Thereīs a free 5 days trial with all the options, but otherwise one unfortunately has to pay.

I guess youīre referring to www.seatcounter.com as the other free site, unfortunately that site has been down for months, so no more free options afaik.

world888traveler

I had a 5 day free trial with all options but that was last year. Matbe tonight I'll use the paid option just for 2 months.

And yes, seatcounter.com. Already down? It's not that good to hear it

I just did a dummy booking via the iPhone AC app and on the YUL-YVR-NRT route. The price was $8800! I was about to have a heart attack lol