So what happens if we upgrade a Latitude fare now using the 2014/15 schedule and we make a N/C change to the dates - are the eUpgrades used returned and new ones used using the new 2015/16 schedule OR are the flights simply just changed with no additional eUpgrades required?

Are there any interesting (meaning good value) Y/B fares available?

For me, 32 eupgrades just expired. Unused, and useless.

Oh Air Canada, why do I bother with you?

Look at your expiry dates for E-u/ps/ They will answer most of your questions but do not assume you can get these upgrades only because you have them. They are alll subject to availability and where you are on the pecking order. Welcome to the new world of Status. It is complicated and nothing is for free.

Can you send me details via email at [email protected]? I will personally follow up. I'm sorry for the issues you've had.

Oh. By the way and while you are at it. I am still waiting for the promised resolution of my confiscated eUPs from a few weeks ago. ...

Ben: While Air Canada has always been quite clear that you can't use eupgrades which expire before the flight you're upgrading, and we certainly don't have any "right" to anything else, I'd like to suggest changing this to "eupgrades can't expire before you request the upgrade" in future years, because I think it would be an easy way for Air Canada to increase revenue.

For most tickets, the effect of such a change would be to extend eupgrade validity by at most a week; the only way flyers could "exploit" such a change significantly would be by buying O/Y/B fares -- and Air Canada makes plenty of money on those tickets. Moreover, by being upgraded far in advance using expiring eupgrades, these flights become effectively "inflexible" (since passengers are less likely to take advantage of the flexibility if it will lose them their upgrade) thereby reducing Air Canada's costs.

I guess another way of saying it for me regarding my OP to this thread... because of the eUp devaluation starting today, my buying habits were altered drastically to pony up a whackload of $$ upfront so that I could buy many, many Y fares to be able to upgrade at the lower requirement (regardless of where my eUps were pulled from i.e. 2014/2015/2016).

If I waited until on or after the start of the new benefit year (today), then I can guarantee I would not be booking as many Y fare 014 tickets and would be shopping elsewhere for sure.

Now that we are in the benefit year and I can no longer redeem eUps at the lower requirement, I will be doing some careful shopping for my TATL and TPAC flights from July and onward.

(the only "saving grace" right now is that TATL and TPAC P fares during the summer are quite reasonable)

Isn't it obvious that AC wants zero eUPs. You are talking to deaf ears here. IKK died last year. eUPs are already scheduled for their funeral. AC thinks we will all pay to sit on in J.

Of course they matter!

That's why, as I've said many times before, Air Canada will spend any amount of money to make sure that no customer gets an undeserved benefit.


He he he... Ben Smith recently complained to me that my posts were "biased", presumably because they made Air Canada look bad. But my posts don't hold a candle to Air Canada's actions in that regard.

Drugs and cheap makeup?

Those P fares are indeed quite reasonable. Must be because nobody is upgrading so instead of selling 20 eUP lottery tickets for each J seat, AC now gets to sell them at a steep discount to any Tom Dick and Harry who wants them. But wait a minute...I thought Tom Dick and Harry only buy the lowest fare regardless of comfort. Oh well... Fly J empty then. Or dump them cheaply. Or just rip J out and replace with standing-room only seating under the new Economy-minus fare class.

I am sure revenue Management have this all figured out.

I truly do appreciate that you care Ben, I have sent you an email as you requested.

Because I know others will ask why I haven't bothered Ben as of yet, I will head this question off right now:

It's because I don't think it's fair to send completely unrelated things to Ben, he has a job he is responsible for and what I have been dealing with is completely outside his responsibility. Instead I have been dealing with it via the official channels that AC has setup for these types of things.

Interestingly, I find that using a combination of UA first, cheap P fares on AC, and a few upgrades on a Latitude Europe pass, confirmed before yesterday's deadline, I will very likely spend significantly less to renew SE status this year compared with last. All in front except for a couple of short flights on LH and one short range NA for which I bought flex when the J cabin was already full. My yield so far is less than 20 cents/Q mile on over 60 k miles already bought. With all flights either in P or confirmed R except from those mentioned above.

I also suspect that with the changes upgrades will be much more available. Already, my last two 17:10 FRA-YYZ had quite a few empty seats in front.

We may end up seeing more P inventory too, I suspect. So it seems, what Ac wants is a shift from Flex upgrades to P? For those of us who are able to do creative routings, it's actually good.

Plus, I'll save maybe $3000 or more on YQ on rewards.

I too have noticed, leading up to the new benefit year, a lot less pax in J TATL. I was on AC882 a couple weeks ago and there were only 6 of us in J (25%).

Let the shopping begin. I have given AC a majority of my business until mid-year, and after that it's free rein

(as a side note, the J crew wasn't very attentive even though they had 75% less pax to look after)

This whole thing brings to mind the old phrase "if it ain't broke..."

I think AC had a pretty decent system going which satisfied their customer base. But some geniuses decided they need to fix the system in an attempt to squeeze more revenue out of J class. I somehow think this is not going to work out well at all.

AC should

- reinstate additional eUP threshold credits
- make IKK unconditional but not unlimited
- leave YQ as they just fixed it. In this case they actually fixed something that was quite rotten.


And finally, AC should show some bloody appreciation for their customer base instead of lambasting anyone who doesn't shell out for full list price on fares. It's an insulting and inappropriate attack on those who pay premium
Dollars for fares already (at least since eUP lottery Flex requirements).

At the moment, empty J cabins, backtracking on PY and their obsessive guarding of eUP credits (including the Feb 28 expiration of recently earned ones) is showing that AC is operating somewhat in panic mode.

They should focus their attention on clean planes, friendly crews, on time performance and better IROP handling.

Shareholders will ultimately benefit and meanwhile shareholders are not the only, nor the most important, stakeholder in AC.

This is usually the case. The rules keep changing (usually for the worse) but creative minds will find ways to maximize the benefits associated with the changes. I was already in the minority in that the e-up changes don't affect me particularly, whereas the elimination of YQ on reward tickets will save me $2k+.

SG