confusion re: open seats and reward seats
 

Hi - I redeemed miles for an executive first ticket Vancouver to Turin. The routing goes YVR-YYZ-MUC-TRN. All the segments are in executive (including the return flight) EXCEPT the Toronto to Munich, still in economy. I can go stand-by at the airport (it's an AC flight) or, preferably, have the segment changed to executive before I go.

If I go onto the Air Canada website now and pretend to buy a ticket on that segment it shows a lot of open seats - 16 out of 37 are free. So I'm guessing as the date gets closer I'll be able to convert it to exec, assuming the seats are still open.

However...if I pretend to buy a ticket for the same flight for tomorrow, or the next day AC.com also shows plenty of open seats BUT the Aeroplan search engine (as well as Flisea.com) doesn't.

Why? If I already have an executive class reward ticket and there are plenty of seats available 24-48 hours before the flight, why won't I see an option to "upgrade" the segment in advance? Will they not do it? Is stand-by the only option?

Thank you.

You would be at the bottom of the list to be upgraded at check in, after LMUs, and eupgrade passengers. I would suggest you keep an eye out for Business class availabilities and if you see a seat opening up, call aeroplan and make the change without fees (fees and surcharges would be recalculated). Alternatively, look for other routings and make the change (but you'll have to pay the $90 change fee)

May 21 YYZ-MUC shows J4.

[KVS Availability Tool 7.1.8/Diamond - Galileo: Availability/ETR/JP]
[KVS Availability Tool 7.1.8/Diamond - Amadeus Seat Map: 21 May 2013/AC 846/YYZ-MUC/333/C-Business]

Thanks guys. So what I see on aircanada.com and what you see on the Amadeus seat map is different. Even so, if there are 4 seats open in J class for the May 21 flight, why are they not available for an award ticket at this point? Do they hold them for airport upgrades and last minute purchases?

Milageking - any chance you could run the same query for the flight on May 30?

OP, you can fly YYZ-ORD/EWR-MUC on UA Biz Class tomorrow.

I'm sorry, I forgot to say in the post that my flight is on May 30.

Below is for May 25
[KVS Availability Tool 7.1.8/Diamond - ITA: Awards/AC-StarAlliance/CA]
...and May 27 through Rome or Montreal

[KVS Availability Tool 7.1.8/Diamond - ITA: Awards/AC-StarAlliance/CA]
...and for May 30
[KVS Availability Tool 7.1.8/Diamond - ITA: Awards/AC-StarAlliance/CA]

The seatmap only shows passengers who have selected seats, there will be people who has not selected seat.

AC want to sell business class seats last minute, and upgrades will be offered first to elite passengers who wants to upgrade using e-upgrades, and if there is still space, you will be upgraded at the gate.

And why are J award the lowest priority? There really isn't any, just the way it is.

Good luck!

Indeed. Not so long ago J Awards had highest priority. Just saying.

If you keep that booking, you must request the upgrade at check in and again (to be safe) in YYZ. If there are seats left after everyone else has had their upgrades you will get the seat in J. There are still 4 seats for sale in J on your flight, at this point all the upgrades would have been given away, so you may be in luck if no one else with higher status comes to grab those seats. If you are successful the upgrade will given to you at the gate.

I have been quite successful doing something similar to this. ( on J award redemption with some legs in Y)

If you subscribe to ExpertFlyer you can enable a search that will email/text you when "I" space becomes available on your desired flight.

Hey Rowill64 - sounds like you may believe that Aeroplan exec seats are limitless until all the seats are filled in exec class. Nothing can be further from reality. There are usually only 1 or 2 exec class seats available on any flights for classic exec Aeroplan redemption ('I" class). Some are assigned as "R" (status e-upgrade space) and the rest are J and Z class (full revenue fares). The only chance you have before the travel date is if the current Aeroplan seat holders change their reservation, freeing up some "I' seats. So check the flight on Aeroplan every day because if that happens Aeroplan won't automatically take care of you either.

As stated by others you may get your exec seat if there's any left after everyone else gets a crack at it. Also, as noted, they will not come looking for you - you have to ask for the upgrade as an Aeroplan exec redemption in economy. Especially ask at the gate, that's where sometimes a missed connection or fail to show in exec frees up an exec seat at the last minute!

Good luck!

confusion re: open seats and reward seats
 

Is at least one J seat offered on every flight or are there AC flight with no J rewards at all?

Theoretically 2 are opened on each flight I think.