FlyerTalk Forums - Upgrade Processor Glitches

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I love listening to folks behind me talking about how the GA gave them FC because they couldn't sit together otherwise....while there is still an upgrade list that didnt clear. 🙄

Quote:

Originally Posted by rune87 (Post 35699832)

I love listening to folks behind me talking about how the GA gave them FC because they couldn't sit together otherwise....while there is still an upgrade list that didnt clear. 🙄

Oh my. Did you write AS Listens?

Quote:

Originally Posted by anteater (Post 35699843)

Oh my. Did you write AS Listens?

Not yet. Started to think it all goes into a special spam folder. The just straight indifference at this point wears thing. Prolly why Alaskas stock keeps breaking the 52 week lows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rune87 (Post 35699857)

Not yet. Started to think it all goes into a special spam folder. The just straight indifference at this point wears thing. Prolly why Alaskas stock keeps breaking the 52 week lows.

You can opt for an official response, should get you a reply. 🤙🏻🥃

Quote:

Originally Posted by anteater (Post 35699860)

You can opt for an official response, should get you a reply. 🤙🏻🥃

Still waiting on the official reply from the last one when we got jumped on the list. 😅

Quote:

Originally Posted by lensovet (Post 35697291)

I’m at less than 24 hours before the flight and the app wants to charge me for a PE seat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anteater (Post 35698263)

It looks like a system bug then. There are several PE seats available.

I’ve had occasional issues in the past where I’ve done SDC (with new flight departing in <24 hr), but the app wouldn’t allow me to pick a seat in PC without charge. Had to resolve via chat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alaska Airlines (Chat)

so you are checking for upgrade space for gold guest upgrades?

it is a systematic process for the upgrades. it goes based on a bunch of different factors. the list changes when everyone checks in. there is just alot happening with the upgrades. but there isn't anything we can do to change it.

the airport has ultimate control of the upgrades should the system fail

we can't do anything if it does. I spoke with my supervisor just to confirm and I am correct.

I double check to make sure you are not opted out and make sure all the modifiers for an upgrade are on your account and they are.

aside from making sure that your reservation is in order there is nothing we can about the waitlist.

my supervisor is double checking as well

your reservation is okay. she suggested to keep checking

Thank you for choosing Alaska Air Cargo. - XXXX

We then opted to call AS Res. After checking with a supervisor, the agent recognized the failure, *seemed to* issue a push of the upgrade system, and advised to wait another 20 minutes for it to occur. Well.. about 20 minutes later, the upgrade was issued solely for the family member who was dead last on the WL while everyone else remained on the list, J4U4.

And then.. the upgrade processor failed to run at all. The flight went to gate control, but by the time it did the WL was unchanged and J1U1. In the end, only pax #1 was then upgraded while pax #2/3 were skipped over due to the failure. Interestingly enough, while the AS app was not offering a complimentary upgrade to FC during OLCI the website was doing so.

While LAX-GDL had been J0 for a long time and the family member wasn't expecting an upgrade, the entire FC WL disappeared overnight. The GA had no idea what had occurred.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Quote:

Originally Posted by econ (Post 35699987)

I’ve had occasional issues in the past where I’ve done SDC (with new flight departing in <24 hr), but the app wouldn’t allow me to pick a seat in PC without charge. Had to resolve via chat.

No SDC here. Return flight had the same issue, but it became moot when 20 hours before departure the entire waitlist cleared and moved into F. Strangely, at the moment, the waitlist has one person left on it while there’s supposedly still one empty seat in the first row.

I will say that the outbound flight was the first time I’ve seen the upgrade list show proper status in months after upgrades ran. The behavior of the list disappearing after upgrades cleared (vs. showing the person in the list with a “first class seat assigned” checkbox next to it) has been my experience for months at this point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anteater (Post 35703394)

The upgrade professor went out binge drinking this weekend..

It has been a while since I have seen U space open and the UG professor fail to run in a reasonable time period, but it happened today to a family member.

For a SJC-LAX leg of a SJC-LAX-GDL reservation, the upgrade professor failed to run for at least 5 hours after U space opened at T-24. J5U5, and the WL position #4/4.

Upon contacting AS (82008) to explain the issue and request that it be investigated as well as the WL processed (in order), the following was said (with some clarifying information provided in response between messages, and unrelated responses removed):

We then opted to call AS Res. After checking with a supervisor, the agent recognized the failure, *seemed to* issue a push of the upgrade system, and advised to wait another 20 minutes for it to occur. Well.. about 20 minutes later, the upgrade was issued solely for the family member who was dead last on the WL while everyone else remained on the list, J4U4.

And then.. the upgrade processor failed to run at all. The flight went to gate control, but by the time it did the WL was unchanged and J1U1. In the end, only pax #1 was then upgraded while pax #2/3 were skipped over due to the failure. Interestingly enough, while the AS app was not offering a complimentary upgrade to FC during OLCI the website was doing so.

While LAX-GDL had been J0 for a long time and the family member wasn't expecting an upgrade, the entire FC WL disappeared overnight. The GA had no idea what had occurred.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Professor getting sloshed in your case may be similar to my instance a month or so ago, when the prof. was on a weekend bender and the list didn't get processed at all prior to boarding. I asked about it while boarding and the GA mumbled "eventually" and they only started processing it manually after boarding was nearly complete. Until they started coming on with a handful of boarding passes, there was one person in paid F, and the rest was empty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lensovet (Post 35703478)

Strangely, at the moment, the waitlist has one person left on it while there’s supposedly still one empty seat in the first row.

At the gate, this person was showing a PE assigned seat. F still has the one empty seat, though I’ve heard about five times now that this a weight restricted flight and we got a plane with the old school felt traditional bulkhead instead of what was supposed to be a 900MAX.

Wrote in and got, among other things, this in the reply:

Quote:

Regarding the mobile app showing Premium Class seats available, as I am certain you understand, not all premium class seats are released for upgrades, even if seats are available on the seat map, it doesn't mean that upgrade inventory is open. Availability of upgrade inventory will vary depending on multiple factors including the route, date and time of booking and/or the flight, and more.

Sure, the entire PE cabin was empty and seats were being sold for $42 for a 5-hour flight and ultimately everyone was upgraded into F for free, but yeah, there was no availability. Lol.

Guaranteed the real issue is that there were two MVPs on the reservation instead of me alone. At least the upgrade that mattered cleared.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lensovet (Post 35709905)

Wrote in and got, among other things, this in the reply:

Sure, the entire PE cabin was empty and seats were being sold for $42 for a 5-hour flight and ultimately everyone was upgraded into F for free, but yeah, there was no availability. Lol.

Guaranteed the real issue is that there were two MVPs on the reservation instead of me alone. At least the upgrade that mattered cleared.

Uhm...thats exactly what the issue is. If there were two of you, both MVPs, then you don't get "upgraded". You aren't allowed companions. You ultimately got upgraded by the GA because she saw that you both had status and was intelligent enough to go...oh separate they both qualify. The upgrader is not that smart. It will only take the one status, in which you aren't eligible for companions.

I can’t find the post now, but earlier in this thread it was explicitly mentioned that this is simply not the case.

Also, there are no gate agents at SFO at 2 am. Even if there were, they wouldn’t be managing the upgrade list for an 11.20 pm departure.

I am able to document with proof using screenshots of the Upgrade Request List from the Alaska Apps at various times between T-24 and T-0 that the Upgrade System at Alaska is flawed and systematically denies First Class Upgrade to single passenger with an infant-on-lap even when upgrade space is available and while being first on the upgrade request list with available seats in FC outside of Row 1.

I am always number 1 on the Upgrade List.
I have a flat 0% upgrade ratio with an infant-on-lap on 5 flights, where my partner of lower elite status is upgraded despite being further down the Upgrade Request List and on a different reservation. Otherwise, my upgrade ratio when travelling as two adults on the same reservation with or without an infant-on-lap is hovering in the 91.3% on 46 flights this year with Alaska.

I think this is ethically wrong. Alaska has been notified.

For domestic travel, why don’t you add the infant after the upgrade is effective? Not excusing AS upgrading brokenness, but it seems like an easy workaround.