Latitude eUps - specifically YYZ/SFO
 

Hi

So this are probably really obvious questions but I'm struggling to find anything definitive and recent on it. Most of the time I won't buy Latitude because my travel needs don't tend to change, at least not often enough to warrant the cost.

However, what does interest me is the fact that one can apparently upgrade a latitude ticket to J (well, P) right after booking for very few eUps.
And for YYZ->SFO flights latitude costs are commonly 50% or less of P.

So, other than needing 4 eupgrades what's the catch here? Do I get 125% miles instead of 150%?

Or is this upgrade not guaranteed and instead waitlisted which puts me very low on the priority list for what is likely a busy flight? I don't recall seeing latitude flights being this much cheaper before.

Also, can I book and upgrade with this years credits for a flight after Feb next year? or do the eUps have to come from the current year because they'll expire Feb 28th 2017?

And depending upon the above, does it make any difference if I get status next year?

Thanks.

You need 2 credits each way. It upgrades based on Z availability, not P.

You earn 125% miles.

If there is no Z space, you will be waitlisted, and then it will be based on status, then fare class, if it doesn't clear before the gate. If it gets that far, you'd be low on the list.

I'd suggest you buy a Latitude flight pass if you can commit to five round trips in the next year. It upgrades into J space at T-48 hours, and works out to around $1000 each way, and is fully flexible.

If there is R space when you book your B ticket (if you're doing this 2+ weeks out, there usually will be), then yes, you can book and insta-upgrade; and yes, it's often cheaper than P fares.

Yes, you only get 125% AQM instead of 150%.

If everything goes smoothly you'll be fine, but a B ticket is ultimately a B ticket, so if Air Canada decides to change planes or you need to be rebooked (a plane goes mechanical, weather delays make you miss a connection, etc.) you might end up back in the Economy cabin.

You can't upgrade using eUps which expire before the flight in question, so if you're looking at flights in March 2017 you won't be able to upgrade them yet.

Unfortunately my flight plans for NA are probably max 3-4 round trips next year :(

It sounds like my best bet is to check on Z space (there's a website I can pay a few $ for that does that right) and then book if it's clear. Or does picking "list only upgradable fares" only show if >=Z1?

Can I use 2016 eUps to upgrade flights taking place after Feb 28th 2017?

Doh. So I'd have to book short turn then depending upon when next years status clears.

Understood about the potential pitfalls. Would booking a preferred seat first in case it goes of IRROPS be more likely to put me in a better seat on the new plane or are all bets off? March isn't exactly reliable weather.

Thanks.

As Cow already mentioned, for domestic/NA upgrades on a B fare can be confirmed at any time if there is not only R but also Z inventory.

Right thanks. Please could someone point me at the appropriate place to read up on R vs Z? I've tried to find information but it's hard to search for "R" and "Z" and most of what I've found is unhelpful AC pages talking about it without explaining what the differences are!

I guess one advantage, is Lat. being fully refundable along with all tickets within 24 hours means I can always book, try to upgrade then cancel and re-book with flex/tango if nothing is available.

Z fare is just a discounted business class fare. R or R space is a term used to indicate whether there is a reward fare or upgradeable fare available. For international fares you are actually looking for P space to eupgrade a Lat fare (but not transborder is my understanding).
Maybe a more simple approach for you would be to look for the Lat fare you want on the aircanada.com webpage select "fares available to eupgrade". If there is R space available on your flight, that is upgrade space, it will show you that your Lat fare can be immediately eupgraded to a business class ticket with 2 eupgrades for one leg. If there is no R space then you will be waitlisted if you choose to eupgrade - with the potential for eupgrade space to become available later but not guaranteed.

You can also purchase something like Expertflyer or KVS which can tell you which flights have R space available on them.

AC has 6 business class 'booking classes', in descending order:

J C D Z P R I

JCDZP are regular ticket classes with J (usually) being the most expensive, down to P as the most discounted.

R is used for seat upgrade availability

I is used for award seats (i.e. Aeroplan)

To upgrade a Flex or PE Lowest ticket to Business, at the time of the request, there must be availability in R class, or you will be waitlisted.

To upgrade a Latitude or PE Flexible ticket to Business, at the time of the request there must be either be availability in R class, or availability in P class (for international flights), or Z class (for North American and Caribbean flights). This provides for additional availability to those on Latitude/PE Flexible tickets.

Using YYZ SFO for 1 August as an example:

On a Flex fare, you would only be interested in what is showing in R class. On a Latitude fare, you would first look to see what is showing in R class. If nothing is available, then you would also look at Z class. In this example, all flights could be upgraded because there is availability in R class.

If we choose a different day:

On a Flex fare, no upgrades could be confirmed because there is no R class availability. However on a Latitude fare, you could have an upgrade confirmed on AC 739 as there are seats in Z class.

One clarification to add... And this is what I learned here on FT ( ^ ) and confirmed by my own actual experiences.

It is based on Z fare but comes out of R even if R is zero.
So in the above case of AC739, one would get the upgrade based on positive Z space. Once upgraded, it will show R (not Z even though it as R0).

This also applies for international based on positive P but coming out of R regardless of R.

And yes, @mountaintirl, Transborder and domestic are based on Z.

Wow that's great - thanks very much everyone I will be bookmarking this thread :)

Trying my first eUp next week. Well second attempt, didn't realize low PY wasn't eligible.