Dallas49er

4/7 OKC-DFW Flight 382

I was #1 on the upgrade list and got cleared at the gate just before boarding. The GA just before boarding announced "If you are waiting for an upgrade, first class has checked in full. Please take your assigned seat." As the door was being shut, I noticed that 5A was unoccupied.

Even though its a short hop, if I was #2 on the list, I would be slightly miffed. (The degree of miffed-ness would be/is proportional to distance.)

Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things, are there any defensive strategies for when one is next on the list? I ask only because it looks like I may doing a 30 day business sprint away from DFW in May/June, and I like to know how things work. Or in this case how things don't work.

Fly safely.

AA-Flyer-SAN

The seat more than likely was broken or unserviceable. It actually showed two seats unassigned for that flight. Was 5B occupied?

Dallas49er

Yes.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

Checked in full doesn't mean that everyone shows up for the flight or at the gate. If someone doesn't show up and the seat is operable the GA should come onboard to get the UPG list number 1 pax. Of course some GAs won't.

msv777

Bingo!

If there isn't enough time to process the upgrade, they most likely wont do it and risk not having an on time departure. The on time metric is a huge deal for the airlines.

Cheers.

RogerD408

Yes, all ticketed passengers could be checked in, but that doesn't mean they are all present to board. If 5A was on a connecting flight, they could have checked in 24-hours before their first flight departed (or scheduled to depart).

The GA making the announcement cuts off people pestering her for upgrades and sends everyone down the jetway (how do you spell less work). You've gotta expect them to be willing to do their job and there's nothing you can do if they just don't want to.

dia1

This is another of the many things for which it seems a pleasant but inquisitive and dissapointed note to AA might be appropriate (and useful in the long-term if many of us do it).

pdog02

Since you were scoping out the cabin,were there any unusually large people in first? Could have been weight and balance issues also.

Ready2Go

True for the most part, but it doesn't cut me off if I'm literally #1. In that case I will ask if the agent wants me to board or wait. They are almost never bothered by that question - they'll usually either ask me to wait or promise to come get me if something materializes.

(Note: if you're going to do this, be sure that you're really #1, and not just appearing to be #1 on the monitor because the people ahead of you on the list have already boarded.)

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

In this situation if the F cabin is checked in F I will just board. On a few instances, the GA has told me that there might be misconnects so stick around. For the most part GAs are could about going onboard to get the number 1 pax in case of a no show.

ijgordon

I think that's reasonable. You can also ask if First has boarded full, although obviously that's only possible some time after boarding has commenced.

I was on DFW-EWR a couple of weeks ago and as I was approaching the gate to board (in F), I overheard #1 on the W/L ask the agent the status, and, as expected, the response was "F has checked in full, there's no chance." Of course at least two of us in F hadn't boarded yet. Now, we were connecting so maybe she knew that we were in the airport, but it still seemed a bit premature to quash his hopes. Especially since it was a late evening flight that was delayed an hour, so it's possible someone could have just given up and gone home.

Then of course it was funny to watch him walk through F with an "evil eye" on seat 1B which was still unoccupied at that point. Someone did end up taking that seat toward the end of boarding though...

beachfan

Excellent advice (and the route I take). I have found they are good about getting me (primarily LAX, 'cause that's my home base).

steve64

Completely NOT how it works.
While MD-80s can be touchy on the balance, one Passenger of Size isn't going to make that much difference. The number of passengers in each cabin can make a difference.

When was the last time an airline weighed you anytime before boarding ? Never.
Airline weight-n-balance planning is a system of averages. For every "Passenger of Size" on-board, there's also a "waif". The rest of us fall somewhere in the middle.
The FAA has approved average passenger weights for use in weight-n-balance planning. We all weight the same. The limits all have a "fudge factor" built in to account for the fact that averages are simply ...averages... usually the actual will have a variance.

The other explanations of likely last minute no-shows/mis-connects is by far the most likely situation.

<signed>
Steve : Ex AA Gate Agent / Load Planning Agt (and other positions spanning 20 years at AA, tho from a period that ended 15 years ago ... old data points, but I still know more than you )

nrr

Even though F has checked-in full, anyone on a full fare F ticket (do these really exist?--based on other threads here, it is questionable); such a pax can decide at the last minute to go on a later flight and just NOT show up for his scheduled flt. (no penalty since it is a full F ticket).
I've had several instances where the "check-in full" was announced; minutes before t/o the GA (came on the plane) gave me my "new" F ticket and moved me to F.

pdog02

1994-2008, Resolution Service Desk, Executive Platinum Desk, CK.
Talked to a gentleman once looking for compensation for his kid and wife getting downgraded onboard, for guess what, exactly. Verified with OC and GA. Easier to move people than bags. Oh, btw, an s80. And yes I am anal about these kind of scenarios. Don't see it every day but happens. Ask JonNYC