7+ full-fare Y 75K on 17 person F waitlist ?!
Apr 17, 2019, 9:13 pm
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
As for time zone of the flight... are you sure? I'm sure that I've selected premium seats "early" when leaving from Hawaii before.
Apr 17, 2019, 11:28 pm
#18
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 223
I fly BOS/NYC/WAS-SFO often, and I'm always able to pick a PC seat at midnight ET, which is 3 hours earlier than midnight PT.
It's possible that the actual algorithm is something like earliest(PT, time zone of departure) which would explain the ex-Hawaii case as well.
Apr 18, 2019, 8:34 pm
#19
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: SEA/ORD/ADB
Programs: TK ELPL (*G), AS 100K (OWE), BA Gold (OWE), Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat
Posts: 7,763
Apr 18, 2019, 11:12 pm
#20
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SEA
Programs: AS 100K, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 876
Chuckle. Im doing this flight tomorrow, but the redeye airbus @ 9pm. FC has been sold out for 5 weeks. Only time I ever actually pay for FC. 736 still has about 5 seats open. Going home Ive already cleared.
Apr 19, 2019, 11:38 am
#21
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I booked right before the 75K upgrade window opened, so about 5 days before flight.
Thanks for sharing those! I did consider posting this there, but I figured a separate discussion thread might make sense given how rare this is. I do fly SEA<->BOS very often (1+ times a month) and as a 75K I've been upgraded every time, so seeing this really surprised me, making me even think it might be an AS bug, so I wanted to get input from the community. Could ask there instead if that makes more sense.
Thanks for sharing those! I did consider posting this there, but I figured a separate discussion thread might make sense given how rare this is. I do fly SEA<->BOS very often (1+ times a month) and as a 75K I've been upgraded every time, so seeing this really surprised me, making me even think it might be an AS bug, so I wanted to get input from the community. Could ask there instead if that makes more sense.
Apr 19, 2019, 12:59 pm
#22
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kirkland, WA
Programs: AS 75K,UA Gold 1.6MM, Hilton Dia, Marriott LT Plat, Hyatt Glb, Natl Exec, Hertz 5*
Posts: 3,657
Hmm... I need to buy more H fares to get me farther up the list and beat out Y fares purchased AFTER me.... esp. on my 60+ long waitlist flights!
#ASWaitlistWarfare
For reference:
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/membership-benefits/complimentary-upgrades#class
Under: How do complimentary upgrades work?
#ASWaitlistWarfare
For reference:
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/membership-benefits/complimentary-upgrades#class
Under: How do complimentary upgrades work?
Apr 19, 2019, 1:22 pm
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: AS 100K, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 298
The Airbus hasn't been good for upgrades on that flight for sure. Haven't flown it to BOS for that reason.
Apr 19, 2019, 1:30 pm
#24
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Hmm... I need to buy more H fares to get me farther up the list and beat out Y fares purchased AFTER me.... esp. on my 60+ long waitlist flights!
#ASWaitlistWarfare
For reference:
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/membership-benefits/complimentary-upgrades#class
Under: How do complimentary upgrades work?
#ASWaitlistWarfare
For reference:
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/membership-benefits/complimentary-upgrades#class
Under: How do complimentary upgrades work?
Apr 19, 2019, 2:17 pm
#25
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SEA
Programs: AS 100K, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 876
Apr 19, 2019, 2:42 pm
#26
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kirkland, WA
Programs: AS 75K,UA Gold 1.6MM, Hilton Dia, Marriott LT Plat, Hyatt Glb, Natl Exec, Hertz 5*
Posts: 3,657
My previous thinking has been why pay for an instant upgrade fare when no upgrades are available, and the holdback on U on my flights is very strong. I didn't think about the breakpoint at H on the advantage on the waitlist during the clearing window. On those huge waitlist flights, generally only instant upgrade fare classes have a chance at clearing. Of course the cost difference between H and my typical R is probably pretty high....
Apr 19, 2019, 3:15 pm
#27
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
My previous thinking has been why pay for an instant upgrade fare when no upgrades are available, and the holdback on U on my flights is very strong. I didn't think about the breakpoint at H on the advantage on the waitlist during the clearing window. On those huge waitlist flights, generally only instant upgrade fare classes have a chance at clearing. Of course the cost difference between H and my typical R is probably pretty high....
H is an expensive fare class.
I just did a quick fare search for SFO-JFK on EF. The cheapest R that actually books into R (not X) is $134 (not including taxes) and has a 21-day advance purchase requirement.
The cheapest H is $410 and has a 7-day advance purchase requirement.
The cheapest fare that books into the first class cabin is an I fare (surprisingly, not an economy cabin underlying fare code -- you can book this even if economy is sold out, so long as there is I space) at $484
If there are R space, and you are 21+ days out, I don't see much value in paying $410 for the H fare unless there is U space. Once you are paying that much you might as well pay the extra $74+tax and guarantee yourself a first class seat.
If you are closer in and/or there are only more expensive economy buckets available, the value proposition might change. Eg, at 7 days out, with only Q or more expensive fares available, the cheapest Q might be $362, the cheapest H might be $410, and the cheapest fare that books into the first class cabin might be $664 (if I space is still available) or $714 (if it's not). You might be able to justify the extra $50 to get H instead of Q and jump ahead of all the 75Ks already on Q fares, or who buy after you (although I probably still wouldn't).
The problem is that if you do this when you book early, it's really expensive to get H compared to other options, and if you do it close-in, it loses a lot of value (since it becomes more likely that there are people ahead of you who bought full Y for the refundability). And of course you can't actually see how many people are ahead of you on the list so it's hard to make an informed decision.
Apr 22, 2019, 8:07 am
#28
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kirkland, WA
Programs: AS 75K,UA Gold 1.6MM, Hilton Dia, Marriott LT Plat, Hyatt Glb, Natl Exec, Hertz 5*
Posts: 3,657
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