salut0

I have been op-upped three times now from JFK-LHR (and always on AA142)but never in the opposite direction (on AA105, AA131 or AA107). While this may merely be a function of the plane loads, I wonder whether it is due to the employees at the respective airports.

What are your experiences?

Have you had an international op-up recently and if so from which airport?

Do you get the sense that at some airports it almost never happens?

JDiver

Not really, I just get the sense it almost never happens. If it does, it is likely to be for the convenience of the airline, or maybe because your status card is cusping in the house of Mars with a waxing quarter moon, or something like that.

andrzej

3 years - EXP
1 year - Plat
6 months - Gold

Many, many flights to/from London, Manchester, Tokyo, Honolulu, west coast, Chicago, Buenos Aires, etc.

One op-up as a Plat - MIA-TPA.... WOW! I was very impressed.

FlyMeHomeAA

I've been op-up'd once in seven years of flying and 1.25 million miles with AA. We're hoping for an op-up on our honeymoon trip out from JFK-LHR on the way to Italy in October. We are in J but would LOVE to be in F. The Ex Plat agent actually noted on our record that it's our honeymoon as she needed to pull some strings to get the upgrade to J cleared since there was only one seat available and I'd feel really bad if my fiancee had to sit in the back.

Mike

clacko

i can think of only 2 op ups since 1987 when i stopped business trips ....1 on aa eze-[mia or dfw, can't remember which] from c-f and 1 on ua den-dfw where i had an empty seat next to me and was asked by the fa to get my stuff and come w/her with a whispered that i would like the result.....a lady and child then got the 2 seats, i had no status and have never had on ua...both occured after boarding..

oops, there was another dfw-den on either ua or co [when they flew den-guc] and i was sweating out getting on, having no seat assignment...

then, way back [can't seem to be able to carbon date it] ord-lhr i think , me on paid coach, wife & daughter on y awards....i was called and op uped, then told them about the family and we were all in j....great deal, but established a norm because they both liked it.....so now wife won't [and hasn't had to] fly across the ponds or equator in steerage....

edit to get on topic....my brother made many trips on ua [i think] sdf-lon on full y and was in j on all of them...

a co worker did a few trips dfw- taiwan [probably ua, but don't remember] and got the op ups...

perhaps these were like y ups rather than op ups....

my feeling is that flying full fare enhances the chances of op up.....good luck to all..

sprwscht

I've been Plat for two years now and, out of maybe 20 flights BOS-LHR, I have been op-upped maybe 6-7 times during that time - more luck at LHR than at BOS. No such luck with JFK/ORD-LHR. Once BOS-LHR op-up w/BA from WT to WT+.

DrBeeper

Only once to LHR from ORD, several times on the CMH-DFW route. But most of my domestic flights are on 145s (yeech!).

AAmerican_in_London

I have been op-uped on AA142 from JFK > LHR twice. Interestingly, it has never happened the other way.

I have also been upgraded LHR > ORD once, and ORD > LHR once... all of these as PLAT since 2002.

I just earned EXP in 2005, and have taken 4 AA flights, but no Op-Ups (but free domestice upgrades!).

olimaspecto

I got the mythical double op-up a few weeks ago BOS-LHR from Y to F on a cheap ticket too. By far my favorite flight on AA metal ever.

Peatisback

I came just shy of a self-made op-up on an US LAX-CLT flight. There were about four different families with two or three kids each. They were spread out all over the place, and kept yelling at the FAs because they weren't together. I came up with a solution that moved about 7 people around, and me into F. It would have worked except for the fact that the seat in first that looked open to me was occupied by someone taking a long time in the lav.... But they seemed more than happy to do it.

It seems that flights with lots of families wanting to sit with each other might be the way to go domestically.

AAntares

I've been doing this route (BOS-LHR) for a bit longer, perhaps 4 years. I've had 3 or 4 op-ups LHR-BOS (usually AA156), usually during "tourist season". I've also had 1 op-up on BA (although I've stopped flying BA). I've never had an op-up going eastbound. These have all been Y-J upgrades, never to F.

A few years ago, during the great blackout, JFK was closed, and I was routed LHR-JFK-BOS (in Y) on a Saturday morning. The local staff, much to my disgust, was handing out pieces of paper with the phone number of the local (London) ticket office, with instructions to call in 2 hours when the office opened. I called the reservations number in the US on my mobile phone. After the aagent asked me what time it was in London, she said "can you get on flight to ORD in 45 minutes?". Of course, and I was rewarded with a J seat to ORD. Best £5 I've ever spent.

oiRRio

I've got an op-up 3 times ex-LHR usually to JFK. 2 oversold and 1 thru being pleasant and having a chat at check-in. Also DFW-GRU on another oversold flight. All as Plat. Most of my AA travel since then has been to Rio using VIPs so my % is pretty good compared to some experiences here. It's still not something you should ever expect.

sprwscht

I escaped Thanksgiving 2004 by taking a cheap flight to London, was op-upped *both ways*. Otherwise it's been really random when I've been upgraded - high/low season, AA155/109 etc. no difference.

PresRDC

Three op-ups on AA (all from J to F to/from LHR while in J on VIPs).

One op-up (Y to J) on BA FRA-LHR.

Tango

It happens everytime I fly on Eagle---I buy coach and sit in first all the time since every seat on those planes is First Class.