same day change and eUpgrade
 

I have a series of flights from LAX-YYZ (AC788) YYZ-YUL (AC400) this is a late night departure from LAX (22:00) and I now can leave early morning and I want to do a same day change to a non-stop LAX-YUL (AC782). There seems to be plenty of executive class seats on this non-stop in the A.M., so it seems I could easily upgrade to executive cabin on that flight. I have multiple questions or clarifications:

1. If I eUpgrade to the LAX-YYZ-YUL on the LAX-YYZ leg only and do a same day change at the counter, will that transfer easily to the LAX-YUL flight?

2. If I eUpgrade, I become executive class and so the same day change shouldn't apply because I am now stand-by and I won't be charged the $75 change fee. Is that correct?

3. As executive class am I able to use the MLL in LAX and do I have the other benefits such as executive check-in, and pre-boarding, etc?

4. I assume since this is a paid ticket, I will still get status miles?

Sorry for the complex quesiton.

Thanks in advance.

1) Yes - subject to availability, of course
2) No - your original ticket's booking class rules apply
3) Yes
4) Yes, based on your original ticket's booking class (so 100% miles if it's Tango Plus, no Z/J class of service bonus)

Thanks for the information, that's teriffic. I looked at some old posts and I found some that were able to avoid the $75 same day change fee, but it is what it is.

Another question is, can I request the eUpgrade when I check in at the counter?

Another finer point...

If Y is oversold on the flight you wish to change to, you will not be able to do so. This applies even if there is room in the J cabin. Note that seats for sale in Y, even on the day of travel, does not equate to the flight not being oversold!

I've learned this the hard way on 3 consecutive Sundays when I attempted to do a same day change YYZSFO. It would be worth calling ahead to AC reservations or the concierge if you have access to verify that the flight is not oversold before heading to the airport.

After midnight on the day of travel, OLCI may offer you the option to change your flight to an earlier one. I am not sure about the particulars here, but believe that you are only automatically upgraded on the new flight if there is R space available at the time you make the flight change. Otherwise you remain on the wait list. If it is not offered at the airport, I believe this is an airport/concierge function.

You will also need to have enough eUpgrade credits to upgrade each itin separately. In this case I think that means a total of 20. Your credits for your first upgrade attempt won't be refunded until the next day.

Thanks for he replies. Calling the concerige is a good idea. I checked and saw about 20 seats available in coach and 6 in executive, but I will check further.

I didn't antcipate the eUpgrade issue. I thought I would just book y on the long leg to YYZ and leave the YYZ-YUL leg as is and that they would transfer the credits, but since they have to refund them, I would have to have enough credits (which I do) for LAX-YUL.

How are you checking the seats? The seat map online is not an accurate indication. Check flightstats.com, kvstool, or expertflyer.com. J tells you how many exec seats are available, but R is how many of those available for upgrade.

I forgot to check another source for seats and the same for seats available for upgrade.

I don't believe there is a concierge number for prestige level, so I will have to wing it.

As an update, I spoke with AC and they suggested I make the same day change after midnight and then do the eUpgrade at the counter. Seats are disappearing quickly, but there are some other flights available.

Thanks everyone for their good and helpful comments.

What if EF shows R space in addition to J/C/D/Z?
Can you same day change and immediately confirm an upgrade in one go?

I don't think you can do both at the same time - same day change and eUpgrade - at least that is what the agent told me. My first priority is to snag a seat though, and then then upgrade.

I always thought that same day upgrade was only available at the counter, but I was told by the agent I could do it online. Is that the same as "Add / change flight(s)" in the "Flight Booking" page?

Don't forget that there is free same day change on T+ for YYZ-YUL.

Just thought to comment from my own experience is that they do need > 0 Y + > 0 R be available in order for you to perform the "Same-Day-Change/Standby" + "eUpgrade" at the same time. 0 Y + > 0 R will not, I was turn down once before at check-in counter. I end up just Stand-By for Y and then got eUpgraded at the gate. But I did explain the situation to the Gate Agent, so not sure if they actually did some magic for me.

It is the OLCI that will show the Same-Day-Change or Same-Day-Standby.

You may want to put your AC status in your profile (AC*P etc) so that advice can be given accordingly. With Prestige, you don't have automatic access to the lounge. Technically all rules are subject to your original fare.

However, anyone (even no status) traveling on an upgraded ticket is currently given priority check-in, executive bag limits, and priority boarding. The lounge is the one exception, and given that your boarding pass will say AC*P, chances are the dragon will pull up your original fare class and you won't be allowed in. This restriction only applies to MLL, as other *Gold lounges will let you in with a J boarding pass without hassle.

In all my recent visits, they also want to swipe my AC*E card while not always "beep" my boarding pass.

same day change and eUpgrade
 

Regarding changes once upgraded, although your original fare rule change fees are supposed to apply in practice you can standby for the flight once confirmed in business.

However, if you do standby you may get on the flight, but you will be last on the list for J after all those confirmed on the flight already looking to upgrade. So if siting in the front is important pay the $75 to be confirmed on the flight and then waitlist or confirm.

When J was wide open I play chicken while they upgraded about 15 people at the gate before confirming my standby. But in this case I was also willing to travel on my original flight. The concierge was next to me the whole time so was aware of the game I was playing. When it worked she told me how smart I was to avoid the fee.