OLCI purchased upgrade offer to non-elite before elite upgrades processed
Aug 22, 2012, 11:14 am
#211
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Aug 22, 2012, 11:14 am
#212
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Their risk is that if the elites lose out too often then we may get upset and go elsewhere.
Right now though we seem to be having a hard time coming up with many (any?) verified examples where an elite really has lost out due to an LFBU sale.
Even if we manage to find a few here and there it is going to take a lot more than that to get me concerned.
Aug 22, 2012, 11:18 am
#213
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,433
That is what I presume the OP is asking AA to investigate. What is clear is that LFBUs were offered. If they were accepted, then elites did not get upgraded because of LFBUs. If nobody accepted the LFBU, that's even worse - because of what it says about AA's ability to predict. AA predicted that there was plenty of room for elite upgrades and LFBUs also, but the actual situation was that there was no room.
Aug 22, 2012, 11:20 am
#214
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 526
...or alternatively "Great news! We are so confident that we can give you yet another complimentary upgrade on this flight that we are letting Mr. Kettle try it out too. In the process we are collecting $45 towards improving the service in the future."
Despite all the discussion and speculation in this thread and others, AFAIK, there has not been a single veritable instance reported on FT of an elite missing an upgrade when an LFBU had been sold on that flight. Maybe the OP of this thread came close, but unless he comes back and claims otherwise, the evidence suggests that he was upgraded (and no LFBUs were sold).
Despite all the discussion and speculation in this thread and others, AFAIK, there has not been a single veritable instance reported on FT of an elite missing an upgrade when an LFBU had been sold on that flight. Maybe the OP of this thread came close, but unless he comes back and claims otherwise, the evidence suggests that he was upgraded (and no LFBUs were sold).
Perhaps I was not clear.
My wife and I--both elites-- were on the same record and we OLCI and were put on waitlist.
My grandson on a different record OLCI and was asked to upgrade--not an elite--and received the upgrade.
At the gate there were at least 10 people on the upgrade list--and 2 empty seats--which neither my wife nor I received.
So no matter what you think--AA is upgrading non elites for the revenue.
Aug 22, 2012, 11:24 am
#215
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,433
Not at all, I read that as RM taking a gamble in an effort to earn more revenue.
Their risk is that if the elites lose out too often then we may get upset and go elsewhere.
Right now though we seem to be having a hard time coming up with many (any?) verified examples where an elite really has lost out due to an LFBU sale.
Even if we manage to find a few here and there it is going to take a lot more than that to get me concerned.
Their risk is that if the elites lose out too often then we may get upset and go elsewhere.
Right now though we seem to be having a hard time coming up with many (any?) verified examples where an elite really has lost out due to an LFBU sale.
Even if we manage to find a few here and there it is going to take a lot more than that to get me concerned.
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."
You read this as "as "AA will gamble in an effort to earn more revenue"?
RM seems to do a good enough job that this is rarely an issue, but that's a different question from how the vast majority have interpreted the Q&A and their reactions to AA appearing to have another interpretation.
Aug 22, 2012, 11:27 am
#216
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Absolutely, and that is the nub of the problem. That is why I would prefer that AA take requests for LFBUs (as they do for sticker upgrades), upgrade all the elites, and then fill as many LFBU requests as they can at the gate.
Aug 22, 2012, 11:31 am
#218
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 3,049
I do agree that it is not how I originally understood that text so I can clearly see why others would also read it differently.
Now I am clear on what it means and what they are doing I'm still not really all that worried about it.
The sky is not actually falling yet
Aug 22, 2012, 11:32 am
#219
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,433
Alas, those who manage AA appear to have made a different decision. Given how few reports we've seen of LFBUs trumping elite upgrades, they may well have made the right decision. They certainly have more data with which to make a decision.
I'd settle for AA making clear disclosure of its policies, as the published Q&A and other publicly available material do not make it clear what AA is doing.
Aug 22, 2012, 11:35 am
#220
Join Date: Nov 2011
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AA has been upgrading non-elites for the revenue for quite some time now. However, your particular situation (as well as the OP's) could well have been a result of irrops.
Aug 22, 2012, 11:38 am
#223
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 526
How do I know--I checked him in and paid for it.
My wife ended up in his seat--we sat in the back.
Aug 22, 2012, 11:39 am
#224
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 526
If I do not book F or use miles and co pay at the time of my reservation--long transcons--than I always request the upgrade before I finish the reservation.
Aug 22, 2012, 11:40 am
#225
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Bay Area
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Posts: 3,851
No, I got your point. My point was that the irrops could have happened between the time your grandson got the upgrade and departure. This seems to have been the case in a few other purported instances of LFBUs trumping elites.