BOB W

Correct first step.

Then I would have called the Gold line and spoke with them before all of the seats were sold.They do have some leeway in making the system work correctly.

PandaMVP

I just called the Gold line to ask about this specific issue and got a very disappointing answer. They told me that because of the way they are selling tickets, there is now much less U space available and that even though there may be a lot of first class seats that have been left unsold 30-60 minutes prior to boarding, these seats may or may not be U class seating and that the gate agents have been instructed to sell these seats for an upgrade fee to generate more revenue and then the Elite waitlist will be accessed at boarding when "no more revenue seats can be sold." They told me that this is the official policy. They said we have the option of paying the upgrade fee to guarantee a seat in that time frame.

Again, what is the point of being an MVP/MPVGold/75K if this is the case? Passengers can jump over you on the waitlist because they can pay for the upgrade fare. My wife was 1/3 on the waitlist yesterday, but the tv screen showed new passengers showing up as cleared and assigned seats from 4-15. According to the gate agent, these were passengers that paid the upgrade fee prior to the cut-off time.

Missy, do you know if this is the case now? I have a flight this Friday, which still shows plenty of first class seats that are bookable with no U space, which may lead to the same situation again.

missydarlin

It is not official policy. I would encourage you to share your experience through Alaska listens.

rustykettel

So that's pretty much the answer that Seattle68 got in May. If U doesn't open, it'll go to the gate to be sold as paid upgrades, and only if there are any unsold seats then complimentary upgrades will be offered by the GA.

As far as jumping the line, apparently Alaska is now viewing paid, whether full price or discounted paid upgrade, as superior to complimentary upgrades.

Frankly, look at how Alaska handles Premium Class for Gold and MVP. Y+ are sold to all takers at any time before the Y+ "upgrade" windows open for those two on the lowest fare classes. No seat left? Too bad. Should have bought a Y+. And apparently no discount for Gold/MVP either.

ETA: I see missydarlin has replied that this isn't the official policy. Respectfully, I'm a bit puzzled why this is happening in multiple locations and the answers coming back from customer care (not once, but at least twice on seperate occasions) are the same. Either it really is the policy or the training folks are slipping with both GA's and care reps and somehow they're (consistently!) coming up with the same wrong answer.

Eujeanie

But if you want to parse semantics, selling them for a small fee is a kind of upgrade, an "upgrade for a small fee" - they are not selling them at full price, correct? so they can't really be considered revenue tickets. Therefore, the space "is" upgradeable, and should be given to the elites on the waitlist.

If what has been written, however, is the new company line (despite Missy saying it is not), these GA's didn't just make this up, this is what they have been told to do.

And it stinks. Whoever said why even bother to spend the money and fly the miles to get status is right - why even bother?

PandaMVP

I have sent an email to customer care. I'll let everyone know what they say. Thanks for the suggestions.

jrl767

can someone please tell me how to contact "Alaska Listens" without bringing up the survey? I'm REALLY tired of answering questions about whether AS personnel "created a warm and caring atmosphere, with a smile"

missydarlin

Alaska Listens is tied to the survey, if you just want to send an email then use one of the other options.

https://www.alaskaair.com/feedback

NWAlaskaFlyer

I have sent feedback with my feelings on the subject. I have been a very loyal Alaska flyer in recent years but this change is a big deal for me. I hope Alaska has done the math and confirmed that the additional revenue generated will offset loyalty losses.

avmba

Please let me know what you hear. If this is indeed the case I'll be voicing my displeasure at what looks like a clear "money grab" by AS. I'm hoping that's not the case.

I've been OK with the significant discounting of F fares to reduce potential U inventory but this potential development doesn't sit well with me at all...

mikexner

I'm probably going to be tagged as the whiner of the week, but my lost seat today for the second time in 2 trips on a long haul has me unhappy enough to be shopping. And I've sent very direct notes to Customer Care.

Even after losing my seat today, after talking to a Phoenix agent (they're the best!), after talking to the check in agent, and after talking to a gate agent, they gave a seat in what will be the future premium class today to a stand by passenger, while I still got stuck in row 27.

I was on and got to see one of the reconfigured planes. First is so much more spacious. The premium cabin will be a welcome spot when I don't get an upgrade to first.

But the way my lost seat was handled goes against everything Missy is telling us, and this was a 6 hour flight.

Avoid Row 6. I'm moving all of my Row 6 to Row 17.

I've had elite status on Alaska for 15 years. Most of it was just MVP. But I'm on track to reasonably soon hit a million (7-8 years with current pattern), and today was just a very sour taste.

JimH64

I checked in for a flight Saturday evening and looked at the waitlist for a Sunday flight. I was listed as 1/11 at the time my wife MVP was 5/11. I called because we booked together and should have been together on the UG list. The CA said that the APP has errors and does not reflect the correct list. She said I was actually 2/11 and my wife was 3/11. I did not expect to get the UG but it is annoying that the list is not accurate.
My wife made Gold on this flight so we will both be gold next year. However, I am not sure it will be worth it in the future if these issues continue.
Why would I be Alaska Gold MVP vs Delta Gold/ Platinum if we never get any UG's ? I would still get premium seating and boarding.

One other point, As an MVP GLD we never see the paid UG option at check-in. It would be nice to see the availability if they aren't going to honor the benefit.

beckoa

During OLCI it shouldn't have any paid offers to upgrade as if U class opens up, you should be able to click a link to upgrade for free. This becomes a bit more difficult at the gate- but if outside the OLCI window, I'd either move to the front of the line, or find another agent who can push thru the upgrade. In the past, paid upgrades meant that U space was open, and one should be able to clear into it.

rustykettel

You'd have access to Preferred/preferred plus seating and F upgrades, but are you sure about access to Y+? I didn't think that was being extended to Delta elites (similar to how DL disallows complimentary access to C+ for AS elites).

PandaMVP

This does not seem to be the case anymore. I called the Gold line and later tried the general customer care line to ask whether Elite upgrades clear prior to the paid upgrades at the gate and both agents told me that it is company policy that options generating revenue such as paid upgrades at the gate, be processed first prior to the elite list being cleared as those are "free." They said that paid upgrades are not the same as U space....