Strange happenings for DCA 1900 today
 

Very weird things leading up to this flight (which I'm sitting on now)

I was monitoring the flight for X availablity has no UGs cleared at 100 mark, while EF showed 6 seats, as of Sunday morning it was down to 3F, so I was waiting for the 4hr mark (11am).

At 10:48 EF notified me that X was available, successfully grabbed that seat.

At 10:50 received a flight status from AA saying flight was canceled.

At 10:52 received a flight status from AA saying the flight was departing at 3pm.

Logged into AA.com, and the flight was still showing it was going, but since I had no asssigned F seat, I tried to select one of the 5 open seats. Got a message that seat was unavialable.

Called EXP desk, they said seats were under someone elses control and they could not assigne a seat. This was 3-4 hours before the flight, and they tried to tell me this was normal (yeah right), but to keep trying as there was nothing they could do.

Never could get an assigned seat, on AA.com, so I waited until I got to the airport to get my BP and took the seat they gave me as there were no choices left.

Quite strange, I guess there will always be new little events, even after flying for 10 years solid.

This is normal. There is nothing the EXP desk can do because the seats are under airport control. It's been this way since I started flying AA in '99.

I thought most FTers knew that at 4 hours prior the upgrade list goes to Airport Control ...

And since this flight was classed as a 'problem flight' (I think the cancel notice was incorrect as the flight was delayed out of DFW not MSY) Airport Control could have taken over more than 4 hours prior to flight (again not uncommon) which would prevent you from getting an assigned seat on aa.com [IAH-DFW last week an exit row opened up like at 8am for the 3pm flight and aa.com would not let me make the change).

You still got your upgrade right? Be thankful for that!!

Uh, ok, then it's quite strange how I can call in at the 4 hr (more like between 4 hrs and 3:55) mark (which I learned here) and grab an F seat via the automated phone system and then select a seat on AA.com.

And to be specific.

1. I got my UG at the 4 hr mark.
2. the AA.com seat map showed 5 seats that had no one assigned to them.
3. AA.com would not let me select a seat.
4. The message was 'seat not available' even though the seat map showed it as such.
5. The message was 'not' check in at the airport
6. EXP desk said they could see the unassigned seats and could not assign a seat.

Based upon actual experience I have no idea about a 4hr airport control on seat assignements. I know at the 2hr mark all seats go under airport control.

I've had a flight go to airport control for seating 24 hours before the flight. That's uncommon, but it does happen. 3-4 hoursis very common.

Cheers.

Then it must have been a personal vendetta AArpy has against you. :)

What others have said is entirely accurate. Flights go to airport control at the various times indicated by JGR01 and brp.

The UG process does not change just because a flight goes to airport control. The automated list still chugs along until 3 hours to flight time, then the airport list is used.

Finally aa.com is not well known for returning meaningful error messages. Not much we can do to change that.