capedreamer

Hello All,

Just got off the phone with AC Reservations and received some interesting intel about my upcoming flight.

I'm currently booked on AC016 HKG-YYZ on Aug 4. It is J8 R0, so my chances don't look good.
AC008 HKG-YVR is J9 R2.

According to the agent I spoke to, both flights are oversold in Y. I was planning on doing a same-day change to AC008 at the airport and then requesting the upgrade, but I'm told that won't be possible if AC008 has no space in Y. Is this correct?

For AC016, assuming by some miracle that J space remains by Aug 4, what's my best strategy for upgrading given the oversold Y cabin and my desire to switch to AC008 if possible. Specifically:
1) Should I still request the upgrade at 72 hours?
2) Should I do online check-in at 24 hours? If so, do I need to undo and re-request the upgrade at that point?
3) Should I go to the airport as early as possible? I'm told the check-in counters won't be staffed till noon, but ticketing agents will be on-site starting at 9am. Will the latter be able to handle these requests?

Finally, AC016 on Aug 5 is J9 R6. If both AC008 and AC016 remain oversold on Aug 4, is there any way AC would let me switch to AC016 on Aug 5? I presume that would only be possible at the airport?

Not sure if anyone has experience with this situation, but any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

djjaguar64

If both flights are oversold why would you want to upgrade, you may receive an OP UP depending on how many are already on the upgrade waitlist. Aero Lotto maybe? You are an Elite, what booking class did you book? Check in as early as possible online and then I would arrive at the airport as early as possible also. Unfortunately now the staff cannot see the upgrade waitlists anymore.

highfly3r

I can't address some of your other questions about a same day change but in regards to availability;
AC 016 is showing a few open seats in economy, and is definitely not oversold. I would assume that revenue management would open up R space in a few days if both J and Y remain >5
[KVS Availability Tool 7.0.2/Diamond - Sabre: Availability/FS/US]

capedreamer

I have a lot of unused credits because I usually fly paid J. As such, I don't mind using eUpgrades if it means I can help my chances. I'm booked in H (T+).

I just spoke to another AC agent, and it looks like AC016 is oversold on Aug 5 as well. She advised calling in at 72 hours to see if "there's anything that can be done". Not quite sure if she was hinting that they may be willing to be more flexible in terms of switching to either AC008 on 8/4 or AC016 on 8/5 at that time given the overbooking situation, but I'll certainly give it a shot.

capedreamer

That's what I see as well, but 2 different AC agents confirmed that AC016 is oversold in Y on Aug 4. I, too, thought that was quite odd. Any idea why there would be a discrepancy?

djjaguar64

OK did not know you had a lot of credits, then if flights are oversold and you want to use your credits, I suggest you eupgrade based on your status as early as allowable and then check in on the day of departure on the mark. Not much you can do really and I don't see any point in switching flights, you will only be stressing yourself out.

whytravelsomuch

Just because the flight shows Y9 does not mean it actually has empty seats. It just means they are willing to sell more tickets and further oversell the flight.

capedreamer

That was my guess...good to know!

Jon X-Pacific

I booked AC16 (Aug 5, going to YOW from KHH) this morning as well! Not sure if I should hope for an op-up or burn the credits (if R remains available)... I did pay quite a ridiculous amount for the one-way ticket though. 17 credits is quite a lot

capedreamer

You mean online check-in at 24 hours, right? I recall a while back people discussing the need to remove and re-apply one's upgrade request at that point so as to not lose one's spot on the waitlist. Is that still the case?

ACB777

Although Y9 is suspicious, certainly seats for sale does not exclude the possibility of an oversold flight. Hence the term "oversold".

Either way if the UG is important to you I would definitely throw myself on the waitlist. I suspect there would be enough individuals who were (i) on the UG waitlist or (ii) SE and hence above you on the op-up priority list to fill those 8 empty J seats.

Clipper801

or sell them as LMU.

I saw a price of $998 YVR-HKG on a Tango fare at another thread.

Prestige

I’d say if you have enough Eupgrade credits, get on the list.

thyeri

Don't wait for an OP-UP, use your e-credits.
Flight is oversold and this flight usually has a lot of E/SE travelers.

Upgrades will be given to LMU, e-upgrades, and then if there are still J seats left, to people who don't have a seat in the back (lucky OP-UP) .

AC8/4AUG looks much better than AC16 in J:

• AC16: J9C6D3Z0R0
• AC8: J9C9D9Z9R2

You can do a same-day change in HK, but the same class of reservation must be available on the other flight, which is unlikely unless you bought a Y/B/M expensive fare.
Right now, U class is the lowest available class on both AC16 and AC8.

It will be hard to secure the upgrade on AC16, and hard to change flight to AC8 on day of departure. If your class of reservation is U or above, you could change it now (assuming YVR-YYZ is also available)...

Good luck! ^

capedreamer

Thanks for the advice, but are you sure SDC requires the same fare class to be available? The AC agent and supervisor I spoke to assured me as long as any economy fare is available, I will be able to switch. She says she has noted it as such in my reservation file (because I was concerned the HKG airport agents would not be familiar with the SDC policy based on another thread).