AS Award flight question
Jan 21, 2019, 9:32 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Anchorage, AK
Programs: Lifetime AS 1MM & MVPG, AS MVPG100K, AA, DL, HH-G
Posts: 8,250
AS Award flight question
I am sure that, buried somewhere in the AS thread, there is already an answer to my question, but here goes:
I am flying a BA award BRU-LHR-DEN-SEA-ANC in early April. The legs are J-F-F-PE. I am on the waitlist for the SEA-ANC flight. Where does the SEA-ANC class fall in the hierarchy for the upgrade? The AS site says "Waitlist-Main" and the AS fare chart says it is booked into fare bucket D (or maybe A).
I am flying a BA award BRU-LHR-DEN-SEA-ANC in early April. The legs are J-F-F-PE. I am on the waitlist for the SEA-ANC flight. Where does the SEA-ANC class fall in the hierarchy for the upgrade? The AS site says "Waitlist-Main" and the AS fare chart says it is booked into fare bucket D (or maybe A).
Jan 21, 2019, 9:38 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
I am sure that, buried somewhere in the AS thread, there is already an answer to my question, but here goes:
I am flying a BA award BRU-LHR-DEN-SEA-ANC in early April. The legs are J-F-F-PE. I am on the waitlist for the SEA-ANC flight. Where does the SEA-ANC class fall in the hierarchy for the upgrade? The AS site says "Waitlist-Main" and the AS fare chart says it is booked into fare bucket D (or maybe A).
I am flying a BA award BRU-LHR-DEN-SEA-ANC in early April. The legs are J-F-F-PE. I am on the waitlist for the SEA-ANC flight. Where does the SEA-ANC class fall in the hierarchy for the upgrade? The AS site says "Waitlist-Main" and the AS fare chart says it is booked into fare bucket D (or maybe A).
Jan 21, 2019, 10:02 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Anchorage, AK
Programs: Lifetime AS 1MM & MVPG, AS MVPG100K, AA, DL, HH-G
Posts: 8,250
Thanks
Jan 21, 2019, 10:25 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 38,593
I was in W on the AS segment for a recent partner award. The reason we are in PE is because of status seating, not because of award level. I would keep checking for A space on that segment as well as F space for LHR SEA.
Jan 21, 2019, 11:27 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: YYF/YLW
Programs: AA, DL, AS, VA, WS Silver
Posts: 5,950
Does AS consider someone seated in coach on a paid (award) first class ticket to be needing an upgrade to first or just a reassignment (whatever the correct terminology is)? Are they really just upgrading like someone on a coach ticket? I know that on AA, this wouldn't be considered an upgrade but would be cleared into F before upgrades clear. It seems unreasonable me to consider someone who has paid for first class but is seated in economy to be treated like a coach upgrader.
Jan 22, 2019, 12:16 am
#6
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
Does AS consider someone seated in coach on a paid (award) first class ticket to be needing an upgrade to first or just a reassignment (whatever the correct terminology is)? Are they really just upgrading like someone on a coach ticket? I know that on AA, this wouldn't be considered an upgrade but would be cleared into F before upgrades clear. It seems unreasonable me to consider someone who has paid for first class but is seated in economy to be treated like a coach upgrader.
Jan 22, 2019, 7:22 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Anchorage, AK
Programs: Lifetime AS 1MM & MVPG, AS MVPG100K, AA, DL, HH-G
Posts: 8,250
I am flying LHR-DEN-SEA, already in F. It is the SEA-ANC segment that is in question.
Jan 22, 2019, 7:24 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Anchorage, AK
Programs: Lifetime AS 1MM & MVPG, AS MVPG100K, AA, DL, HH-G
Posts: 8,250
Does AS consider someone seated in coach on a paid (award) first class ticket to be needing an upgrade to first or just a reassignment (whatever the correct terminology is)? Are they really just upgrading like someone on a coach ticket? I know that on AA, this wouldn't be considered an upgrade but would be cleared into F before upgrades clear. It seems unreasonable me to consider someone who has paid for first class but is seated in economy to be treated like a coach upgrader.
Jan 22, 2019, 9:19 am
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 38,593
Jan 22, 2019, 9:25 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 38,593
You've got a ticket which entitles you to A space on the AS segments, if and only if, A is available. AS will not waitlist you for A. But AS will put you in A if A becomes available. If A never becomes available, you end up on your regular upgrade waitlist on discounted economy fares, and subject to the U gods at that point. In the unlikely event that A opens up but not U during those 100 hours, you'd be entitled to grab the A seat.
Jan 22, 2019, 11:31 am
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 38,593
With AS, you're at the mercy of the upgrade waitlist with everyone else, even if all your other segments are in premium cabins. One thing that can help is that AS seems to have an unpublicized policy of allowing a free change into the higher cabin when space opens up as long as the ticket is booked at that level, even for non-Golds/75Ks; I just had this happen to me a couple of months ago on a JL J award, where I moved SFO-HND from Y to J after having already booked another JL segment in J. But you have to watch the award space yourself.
The "weak link" is that AS will not WL for A. If AS wants a "no cost" perk for elite pax, it could be to permit WL for A space. (There is a cost in that other pax who just want to redeem their awards for the domestic AS flights wouldn't potentialy be able to burn miles on those flights if they got the seats prior to us, keeping the mileage balance sheet higher.)
Jan 22, 2019, 11:35 am
#12
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Seattle
Programs: AS
Posts: 2,293
We are flying BA F on AS award in March and our final segment was originally booked to Y. Booked April 2018.
LHR-DEN- BA First - DEN-SEA -AS -Y.
Just recently received email that our DEN-SEA segment was upgraded to First. Just had to select seats. So, it is possible it may show up sometime.
LHR-DEN- BA First - DEN-SEA -AS -Y.
Just recently received email that our DEN-SEA segment was upgraded to First. Just had to select seats. So, it is possible it may show up sometime.
