Why dont I get comp upgrades out of SFO as 75K
 

I'm a new 75k and have never received a complimentary upgrade on a 2 Row first class ex virgin plane. I'm always number one on the first class waitlist. But when they clear the general waitlist I always see three or four people getting first class assignment. Who are those folks?

Maybe just people checking pretty close to departure time? Names don't appear on the waitlist until the person checks in.

I ran into this as well earlier this year. The GA cleared nonrevs into F before clearing the revenue upgrade standby list.

After I went up and complained, she fixed it and handed me my F boarding pass.

Normally its people who changed from a different flight or didn't select a seat ahead of time.

If you're at the top of the upgrade list, see U space open up and you don't get upgraded I'd definitely go ask the gate agent.

The AS operation at SFO is a terrible mess. They haven't really integrated the VX acquisition well.

I've noticed this as well, and if I want F going out of SFO I either purchase ahead of time or use an upgrade instrument. Being that SFO was VX headquarters, those operations will be the last to fully adopt the Alaska SOP. It doesn't help that the VX configuration only has 8 F seats.

No problem clearing SFO-IAD about 2 hours before departure this morning. I was #1 on the upgrade list and the flight showed F1 before I cleared. Seat assignment changed in the Alaska app. This is the first time for me up front on an Airbus.

I'm glad others report similar issues at SFO. Per usual I did receive an upgrade back from LAS and received it about 2 hours before my flight (thanks AS). This never happens for me out of SFO.

I don't really frequent FT much these days but was reading a lot on this forum last week and I thought you might be interested in how I wound up a 75K and my thoughts.

I've mainly held my elite at AA, sometimes UA, too. Back in the AS/AA partnership days I would use AA miles to go on family vacations to mexico and hawaii via AS and we always had great service and AA does not serve them from SFO non-stop. When VX opened up I would fly them exclusively to LAS...way better than WN. I buy mostly last minute fares and would sometimes buy F on VX as it would be the same or even less than main cabin. Met some very nice employees at VX.

I did a status match with AS to AA and have diverted most of my flights to AS as I could. I was very optimistic as AS goes to most of the destinations I need with the VX purchase. However it hasn't worked out that well...it feels like they have cut back on the number of flights out of SFO. Some of the routes have really strange times (SLC, DEN)

I'm not sure which gate agents are ex-virgin but I can tell you that I fly mainly on VX steel and whenever there's been a hiccup (delay, something screwy with my itinerary, etc) it never goes smoothly. I have to get on the phone. I totally understand there's only 8 F seats on the VX planes but it seems they always clear a bunch of people, but only at the gate and never me ;)

FYI things seem to go much smoother at other airports, especially LAS and DEN. I'm in a quandary as I want nothing to do with UA and Terminal 3 at SFO (especially when they send me to Int'l for a 60 minute flight). The new seat on their 737s is a torture device. I don't care what row you are in.

Without the AS/AA partnership AA doesn't go where I need them. I don't mind WN but with the money I'm spending it's nice to get a big-boy seat every once and a while.

SFO-DEN no longer exists

Making the upgrade even more difficult:)

Regarding upgrades, you're welcome to try life at United.
You'll find yourself number 93 on a list of 139 eligible for upgrade, though.
On basically ANY route.

And that's because, I think, SFO has no trouble getting PAID F ticket sales. There simply aren't a lot of F seats left unsold, compared to, say, Topeka.
And, you're flying out of a hub for either carrier that has TONS of high-ranking elites vying for precious few seats.

I've noticed the same thing about weird flight times, though. Out of LAX and SEA sometimes, too.
I traveled last week and the plane at the next gate was AS680, boarding for DEN, scheduled to arrive after 1am.
Who on earth wants to arrive at Denver at 1am?!?

IIRC, VX didn't offer complimentary upgrades for elites into the F seats. I'm sure they filled those seats with non-REVs.

I wonder if the SFO ex-VX gate agents are just 'doing what we've always done.'

Appreciate the feedback here. It helps us bond as a community. Yes there are some bumps in the road for ASVX. However overall things seem to be going ok. Imagine as AS gets more data from routes and shuffles around the fleet, it will begin to stablilze. Will take 18-24 months or more I'd imagine. And sometime in that timeframe AS will decide to 86 the Airbii. Heck, by then maybe Boeing with launch the 797 (middle of market) aircraft. Could AS be a launch customer? That'd make DL happy. :D

Cleared tonight's SFO-RDU at the 2 hour mark, same as my SFO-IAD four days ago. Tonight's flight was at F3 when I cleared.