TravelPhotographer

Am econ vet, never flown busn, but increasing
plethora of miles has me wondering...

Used 60K miles to reserve r.t. AA62 & AA63 econ.
50K bus SAAvr award seat were unavailable.
Will there be upgrade opp at airports?
20K miles each way? More?

Also being used to getting that little bit of
extra space by lying against window, am I losing
that in busn window seat? Both arms are higher
up than econ arms & immovable?

Any comments on what "positives" are "lost"
by upgrading appreciated! Thanks!

Antarius

None.

Business on AA62/63 gives you a bed. The space against the window is easily forgotten.

P.S Why the iambic pentameter-esqe posting?

MAH4546

There will be no upgrade opportunity at the airport. Check availability on your flights constantly or sign up for Expertflyer and get an award alert, and you can switch your award to business before the flight (but not at the airport).

No positives are lost upgrading. You have a bed, why worry about leaning against a window? Armrests do flush into the seat, however, if you want to lower them.

carlosdca

No oppurtunities to ugrade at the airport. An empty buisness class cabin does not mean that they will release a saaver award seat for you, as illogical as it may seem to you. Only way to get to bus is to cash in extramiles for an Aanytime award. Switch to aanytime award is much easier done over the phone than last minute at the airport.

In general , I can't think of anything positive you lose if upgrading other than the value of the upgrade instrument you used.
Perhaps an empty 3 row is better than the 738 F seat, or for some an empty 5 row seat better than the angled lie flat seat; but that's not a fair comparison and no way to know If you will score a full row for yourself.

brp

In the FAQ at the top of the page (where it says "Please check here first") there is a lot of discussion about the seats and service for the various aircraft. I'd suggest looking that over to compare the Y and J seats so that you will be in a good position to determine for yourself whether there's anything that you would be losing. I know that I would be losing nothing, but you should determine this for yourself since all the data are available.

Cheers.

kg07

There are all sorts of positives to be lost. Some of the most relevant:

1) The passenger next to you overflowing into your seat
2) The smell of McDonald's wafting from the seat behind you
3) The broken vent blowing on you for 2 hours
4) Sitting in a puddle of spilled coke from the previous flight
5) Putting your suit jacket into the overhead and pulling out a crumpled rag because someone has put their luggage on top of it
6) Listening to an annoying video game soundtrack from someone who didn't plug in their headphones
7) Getting nailed in the knee by the drink cart
8) Trying to type on your laptop as the person in front of you reclines
9) Need any more??

Save your upgrades and eVIPS and enjoy the back!

QueenOfCoach

If you have a bunch of miles, why not just experiment? Use some of those miles to upgrade on your next trip, then decide for yourself if it is worth it to you.

Personally, I only upgrade when as LT Gold they give me 500 mile upgrade stickers. Yes, it's nice in First or Business Class. Is it worth it to me to actually pay my own money to sit there? No, not really.

But, then I'm 5'4", so no legroom worries in Coach. I never drink alcohol, so free booze up front is of no interest to me. I always bring my own IFE (book, Kindle, etc), so don't need IFE supplied to upgraded passengers. When I fly with MrQ, he doesn't care one bit. All he needs is a window seat and a pillow, then it's ZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz from takeoff to landing. That guy can sleep anywhere. I envy him!

If you are tall, like alcohol, can't sleep on a plane and/or would rather not lug along your own IFE, then upgrades might be just right for you.

aktchi

The only positive lost is lower price, in cash or miles. If you can afford the difference, go with Business.

Caveats:

1. You can't count on airport upgrades. When possible, arrange in advance. (Heck, if this is the case for an aisle/window seat in coach, which it is, why wouldn't it be for an upgrade to Business Class?)

2. For international flights of 8+ hours, upgrade is always great. Of course, if I had just one SWU, I'd rather upgrade a 14-hr flight than a 8-hr one.

3. As an EXP I get a chance at free domestic upgrades. That is appreciated and welcome. However, for 2-3 hr domestics, I probably wouldn't have paid to upgrade.

carlosdca

Not an issue with the advent of MCE:

Yup, sometimes it makes sense!!

TravelPhotographer

Thanks for expert responses!
Made 1st call & still no busn award seats.
Not doing this often enough to add ExpertFlyer
to my workflow. Typically, any openings in AA62
busn AAnytime seats will be "instantly" gobbled up?
Is there any specific #days or hours before flight when
those seats would open up in one big mass release.? Thx!

ChrL

You do lose the thin blanket - it gets replaced with the thicker duvet. It has also been warmer when I have sat toward the front of the plane in business class compared with the back of the plane in coach (either this is coincidence or it is because the warm air rises and the plane is tilted upwards).

If the heat bothers you I'd suggest wearing shorts and a fairly thin t shirt. On a lot of AA flights from the US to LHR I have noticed that business class looks 'chavvier' than economy - so no need to worry about wearing a suit.

If you have booked a special meal you will probably lose that (although letting the FAs know soon enough can help them to find it).

alhcfp

If you like to meet people when flying, I have found that J or F pas are less likely to want to schmooze then Y pax.

I personally find that unfortunate, however not enough to justify sitting in Y when premium is available.

JDiver

All the abbvn mks it hard for ppl to srch. Retitled.

metallo

This doesn't really apply to your flights, but I have experienced at least one downside in a premium cabin vs Y...

On domestic flights that do not have proper meal service in F, the buy-on-board food options in Y are actually often more extensive than the "snack" or "refreshments" in F. In particular, I had a recent ORD-SAN flight that departed around 9 PM. In F, only warm nuts and drinks were provided. I unfortunately didn't have the opportunity to grab dinner before my flight. Meanwhile, Y passengers were actually offered a more extensive menu of food options from the buy-on-board menu, although they of course had to pay for them. The purser ended up taking pity on me and got me a snack box from the back. Again, of course, this scenario wouldn't necessarily apply to any three-class and/or international flights, as the OP described. I can't think of any reason why I would prefer to sit in Y vs. J/F on a long-haul flight, with the obvious exception of wanting to save miles/dollars.

metallo

Ah, thank you for reminding me why I prefer F/J.