Aroeder

My wife and I are on AA 80 on a Thursday the beginning of September. We are both Gold. What is the likelyhood of receiving a mileage+copay upgrade to J on this route. Has any other golds had any luck? We were upgraded on our DFW-PVG route earlier this year but I know this is not as popular of a route as DFW-LHR.

Thanks

AATrout

Assuming you are on AA metal, it may depend on the time and 777 variant you are on. I was looking at seats today on EF because I am traveling the same route a week later.

Also assuming the Thursday you are talking is 3 Sep; here's the inventory shown now-

AA50 777ER (dep 1535) J7/U0/C0 - seat map 12/52 open
AA78 772 (dep) 2000) J7/U0 [no C but probably 0] - seat map 11/37 open
AA80 772 (dep 2200) J7/U0/C0 - seat map 15/37 open

So if you are using AAnytime it looks good. I have rarely seen U or C inventory on those flights this far out. Economy on 78 & 80 look pretty open, but not on 50, and MCE on that one is full. So at GLD in the C pot I think you may be better off the later you travel, as AA50 MCE is probably occupied by a few PLT and EXP pax and you'll be behind them.

When I've done this route as a PLT in past years a few times I had better luck on the later departures. But there's no way to be certain. In any case you probably won't clear until T-1 at best. You never know, though - Good Luck!

Kate2015

What's the best airport in the San Francisco area as far as upgrade chances from DFW? It will ultimately come down to pricing per company policy, but should I even be looking beyond SFO?

georgeonbelmont

As an EXP, I am curious to ask anyone as to what are my chances of being upgraded to Business on Sunday, August 23rd with a SWU on AA154 and the new 787 Dreamliner.....it looks like there are still 18 Business seats open out of a total 27 possible.....I also see that there are less Business seats on this 787 than the 777 and no First...are my chances reduced because of that, as well? thanks

cmd320

Definitely. Chances are not as good on a 787 as they are on a non-reconfigured 777.

According to EF, 1A appears to be blocked for one reason or another. There also is a decent amount of seats open in MCE which would give me a little more confidence as these are the people you'll be competing with on the UG list.

Exec_Plat

Hmmm. Hard to say. As I recall AA only flies to SFO and SJC directly from DFW. Both are premium flier heavy routes. I do much better with SMF (home) ...when I need to do SFO it is hard to clear upgrades for an EXP especially if it is only 2-3 weeks advance purchase.

You dont say your status, what dates, etc.

The odds of an upgrade may be so low that you just pick the best airport to make that end of the trip bearable....

cmd320

My suggestion would be to worry less about the airport and more about the aircraft and flight time/load. Avoid aircraft like the 738 and A321, look for 757s or maybe 767s if those are still flying DFW-SFO.

OP are you EXP, PLT, or GLD?

Aroeder

Thanks that is helpful. I figured we would not have any luck until 24 hours prior or at the gate but it's good to know we are on the right flight to give us the best chance.

tramm7

Any experiences on the daily DFW-CDG flight (AA 48) for miles with copay? No status.

metallo

Missed my first AA EXP upgrade of the year today LAX-SFO on a 757 with 24 F seats. Pretty shocked that, of all the flights I've taken this year, this one was the one that didn't clear... random Sunday afternoon shorthaul flight with more F seats than the average domestic aircraft. At the airport, there were 23 elites on the upgrade list -- 4 cleared, I was #6.

On a positive note, I did (eventually) get excellent in-flight service. The first time I asked for my free EXP drink and snack, the clueless Y cabin FA seemed confused by the request. He had to ask the purser for clarification, and she came back and asked him, "Well, is he Executive Platinum?" When she realized the answer was yes, she gave me two minis and asked what I'd like from the snack basket. At first I said chips, then asked for the nuts instead, and she brought them both back from First. Then she said, "We'd really like to thank you for being Executive Platinum. Thanks for flying with us."

Twenty minutes after the above exchange, we were on the ground. It's been a while since I've been in Y on a 757. It's tolerable LAX-SFO since it's such a short hop, but I'd hate to do it on longer routes like LAX-Hawaii.

cmd320

Is there scheduled 757 service between LAX and SFO now or was this just a one-off flight. I was under the impression this was all 737.

ericgdukie44

Flying AA50 DFW-LHR Monday Aug 10 with my father (no status) but I am EXP. My first time trying to use SWU from coach to business. Expertflyer shows F1 A0 J7 C0... just trying to get an idea of what my chances are.

Am I correct in understanding that if we don't get upgraded before T-4 hours then it'll go to airport control and my dad will lose the status he has by being with me? In that case, if I get upgraded and he does not, will they have any problem at all with us switching seats?

Any idea when I might expect to know if we have gotten upgraded? He has a domestic leg (OMA-DFW) on the front end of the flight but obviously only want the SWU to go through if we get the TATL flight... Do I receive an email if/when we get upgraded so that I can ask them to try to upgrade his domestic flight then too?

Thanks for the help!

cmd320

If you're both on the same PNR my understanding is that your companion should not lose status once the flight goes to airport control. I could be incorrect on this though.

How far out did you book this flight? The J seat map looks about 60-70% full and Y+ only shows 4 opens. With this in mind time of request is likely going to play a pretty important role for you. If you requested decently far in advance, I would say there is definitely hope. If on the other hand you just booked last week, I would say it's going to be a bit more of a stretch. No matter what, just make sure you have the seats you want in Y in the event you're stuck back there.

ericgdukie44

Booked and requested in March or April...

cmd320

Looks like you should have a decent shot then. Definitely not a sure thing at this point though.