There was no local boarding passenger at YVR to YYZ.

One could not book to fly that flight starting from YVR to YYZ unless arriving on an international flight.

CP4 was from NRT and CP8 was from HKG and the 2 flights consolidated at YVR, plus any other international connecting passengers.

Thanks much! I guess that keeps things easy.

Except.......... who gets the upgrade in YVR? Pax continuing on the flight, or those connecting from other international origins???

Below is part of a message I sent to AC today.

We have been having lively discussions on flyertalk concerning upgrade protocol for AC33. This is the most sought after upgrade because of distance and low flight frequency. Previously you assured me that the reason for shifting the upgrade request window from midnight to exact departure time was to maintain an even playing field for all potential upgrade seekers. AC 33 begins in YYZ with a stop at YVR. According to your previous statement, the window for the YVR-SYD leg cannot open before departure time at YVR. There are passengers who swear that they have received confirmed upgrade for YYZ straight through to SYD at the opening of the window for YYZ-YVR portion of the flight. They argue that this is so because they are on a "direct" flight to SYD, the YVR stop notwithstanding. Clearly this practice gives passengers with identical top tier status and fare class booking upstream of Toronto a more than five hours advantage at securing an upgrade over those downstream of YYZ. An even playing field could require (a) opening the YVR - SYD window for all travelers at Toronto departure time or (b) ensuring that for upgrade purposes, all upgrade requests are consistent with that even playing field specified in your previous message to me - separate windows for YYZ-YVR and YVR-SYD.

I look forward to hearing from you. I am sure you will check your with those charged with operating the protocol because I intend to share your answer with your frequent flyer community.

Thank you.

truly,

Lllahim, who did you send that too?!

Going back into the archives, looks like most of what`s been discussed here, has already been covered by good ol Simon (AC Mod)

Possibly very bad change to upgrade priority list

Also FT Zorn created this example on how the wait list priority worked during the days of certs (and not upgrade credits)

Past Upgrade Wait-list Example

So here's a question for you (I don't know why I just thought of this - I had to dig around for the thread):

Let's say I'm flying YYZ-YUL-YVR-SFO. YUL-YVR is confirmed, the other two are waitlisted.

Am I connecting passenger for YYZ-YUL? I was in that situation once, and they called my name at the gate, and then said "oh sorry, we didn't mean to call your name".

---

Sorry bro, beat ya to it.

Your example is a lot more clear than Hydrogen. And saying she paid to be upgraded the whole way added a layer of confusion

But to answer your question, I have no idea. Logically it makes sense that she would - I've never actually ran into that issue. I.e. all my short flight upgrades always clear. Since moving to Eupgrade I'm pretty sure that the only flight that I haven't been successful on is YYZ-PHX, so I don't have any experience with your example. I suspect it would, but really have no idea.

I can`t believe that you would try to steal a seat from a deserving crew member. For YYZ-YUL and YYZ-YOW flights you should just assume that all upgrades will be going to crew. They seem to clear in the opposite direction though...

It is obvious that AC does not have a clear policy on this issue. Here is the first response to my three messages:


Thank you for your email.

I have sent an inquiry off to the Loyalty Program Manager for his input. I will respond once I have heard back from him to let you know what the policy is regarding upgrades on AC33.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while awaiting my response.

I will keep you posted when I hear from them.

you sent three messages?!?!?! whY?!

Which email addresss did you write to?

Because I did not receive a response to the first two. They are normally reliable people who have attended to my questions fast.

I got the following response to the query:

Dear,

Sorry for the delay in my response.

I have spoken to the Manager of the Loyalty Program regarding the way in which the upgrades are applied for AC33.

They have taken all things into consideration regarding this particular flight which begins in Toronto and has a stop in Vancouver for the continuation to Sydney. Our records indicate a great number of passengers actually take the flight from Toronto to Vancouver and terminate their travel there. This opens up the availability for upgrades for those passengers who are beginning their travel in Vancouver, for travel to Sydney.

There are no plans to make changes to how the upgrades are being handled for this particular flight and hope you will understand our position. Thank you for allowing us this opportunity to review, document and respond to your inquiry.

We value your loyalty and your business and look forward to many future opportunities to welcome you on board.

Sincerely,



I have asked her to restate the present protocol that they have no plans to make changes since that protocol is the source of the confusion.

I will post her reply when it is received.