wrfrhiannon

Before anyone gets upset, this is a rhetorical question. Reality is: Elites on an upgrade list were denied upgrades & non-status persons granted them with a cheap co-pay. My husband I are both EXP & on our last three flights we were the top of the upgrade list & denied upgrades even though at T-24 EF still showed several seats. I am not saying that LFBU's happened for sure on our flights, but I have to entertain that possibility after reading this entire thread. Yes, we bought the tickets months out & requested the upgrades then & at T-24 (exactly.) What is the point in ANY loyalty if it is worth nothing? Oh, I forgot AA may have made $90 for an upgrade at OLCI non-status. We'll make EXP again this year. But unless AA addresses this in one of its almost constant emails, not go for it again. I hope AA misses our abt. $50K to make EXP. So AA, was that $90 really worth it?

laxconnorw

Since you're EXP, it would be ridiculous to expect that you wouldn't have put yourself on the UG list immediately during booking a ticket, since you don't pay for the UG.

laxconnorw

Agreed. And even more outrageous, Elites were not even given the option to pay for upgrades.

The fact that the OP has not returned to this post is suspect - and that AA has not responded is ridiculous.

On another - completely different note - AA needs to stop using 737s to fly BOS/LAX, (16 tiny, uncomfortable seats in F). They are REALLY alienating EXPs by doing this. Every time I am stuck on a 737 BOS/LAX or LAX/BOS, which is quite often, I have to use a SWU or miles/+co-pay to UG at time of booking because the possibility of a complimentary UG is less than zero and my father and mother who are LT PLT never get UGs using stickers and now just buy YUP fares on that route. A transcon flight - one of the longest flights in the U.S. (LAX/BOS) - should have nothing less than a 767 at all times; not just seasonally!

KtownTraveler

Less than zero? Really? New math?

beerup

I meant it was highly unlikely that vail and mrs vail were the only elites on the upgrade list when the LFBU was sold (taking the available F seats down to 2), given that the upgrade list had 10 PAX on it at the time of departure.

Max M

Be prepared for AA flying trancons on A321's:

http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/newplane...itle=newplanes

Microwave

Compared to 737 F seats on other airlines, AA's are actually quite roomy--they're obviously not as large as the premium seats on AA's 767s, but for domestic narrowbody premium seats they're quite nice IMO. I'm not sure I get the argument that any market "deserves" a specific type of aircraft, but everyone's entitled to his or her opinion.

Since AA do not currently sell three classes on LAX-BOS, I wouldn't hold my breath that they will do so once their new transcon-dedicated aircraft enter service. My guess is that the Transcon A321 will not see any service to BOS in the long run (teething routes and occasional one-offs aside).

richarddd

Flyertalk math

JohnDCA

Still nothing from OP?

gemac

Still nothing.

Things that make you go "Hmmmm...."

wrfrhiannon

And where's AA? In a thread that's caused this much angst/anger among their top tier flyers, one would think they are aware of it and would want to refute it before it goes viral. Their silence is deafening.

richarddd

What is there to refute?

It appears that AA's policy is to give priority to elites over LBFUs, based on their revenue management models, but not guarantee priority. Their models seem to work in almost every case.

mach92

OP report please

wrfrhiannon

From AA's site:
Q:Will the Confirmed Upgrade option (LBFU) reduce the number of premium class seats available to full-fare and AAdvantage elite customers?
A: No. Upgrades via Self Service will be offered only after we've determined that sufficient premium seats are available to accommodate customers who want to buy full-fare tickets and to AAdvantage elite members who wish to upgrade.


"...seem to work in almost every case." Really??

Unfortunately, if you have read this entire thread, you will see that is not, in truth, what has happened in more than one case. This forum is a very, very small part of the entire EXP base. It's shown up here like an iceberg. 2/3 or more of it is underwater/unreported. Is there a point in remaining loyal by flying 100,000+ miles a year if non status/non AA members are being upgraded ahead of EXP? I'm pretty sure that all the EXP's who've missed upgrades repeatedly in the last few months would be unhappy if there was even a hint that this was happening.

The OP needs to report back.
AA needs to verify or refute if this is a new policy. All I want is the truth. I know. Fat chance.

Mark_T

Actually , quite easy to deal with that one ...

http://www.travelingbetter.com/forum...7&postcount=34