The gate upgrade status screen is BS!!!

 
Old Jul 15, 2007, 7:09 am
  #1  
PHL
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The gate upgrade status screen is BS!!!

I was on a DFW-LAX flight last week. The standby list on the gate display had 72 people on it!! How do 72 people get on a standby list for a plane that holds around 150??!@

But that's a different story. The upgrade list had 6 people on it, and I was number 4. Yet I'm not elite. I was on a full Y and had the request in from my originating flight a few hours earlier.

So I know that I won't get the upgrade, and I'm fine with that especially since I had a good exit row.

But here's where it gets strange. They begin boarding and I look back at the upgrade screen to see only 2 names on it now, and mine isn't one of them.

I inquired at the gate and was told that there are 14 people on the upgrade list and I'm number 7.

Why was my name ever even showing as number 4 when there were that many more people on the list, presumably all with status of some kind that would trump me no matter what!?@

Why would the overhead list only show 2 names when there were still 14 people on it?
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 7:55 am
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The upgrade screen is dynamic. If a few EXPs come to the airport and put their name on the list, but their status (plus checkin time) trump you, your position would slip from 4 downwards.

In this case it may be that the GAs began dropping the lower positions of the list as it became arithmetically impossible to be upgraded, based on who had already boarded. They may have had only two seats for which nobody had come aboard, thus justifying clearing up the others.

Finally, while it does not seem to fit your case, when you board with your regular coach BP, the name can drop off the list, which can explain some of the other removals.

Obviously I don't know what exactly happened in your case, but having the list change rapidly near boarding does happen and at least some of the reasons are legitimate.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 8:00 am
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Originally Posted by PHL
! How do 72 people get on a standby list for a plane that holds around 150??!
easy. the flight before yours was cancelled.

I saw 109 on a list for th 777 ORD-DFW flight 2 months ago
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 8:45 am
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Originally Posted by eightmillionmiler

Finally, while it does not seem to fit your case, when you board with your regular coach BP, the name can drop off the list, which can explain some of the other removals.
Actually, it's not even a can, it's a will: your name will drop off the visible list when the BP is scanned. However, it remains on the list that the GA can see on their screen. This could well explain the apparent discrepancy between what you saw and what the agent said.

Cheers.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 9:01 am
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Originally Posted by DallasAudiGuy
I saw 109 on a list for th 777 ORD-DFW flight 2 months ago
You win.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 10:18 am
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Non revs flying standby also show up on this list.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 10:27 am
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Thanks for all the responses. They certainly seem to explain some things. I doubt there were any ExP's that came along because the flight was already delayed an hour so I think everyone was checked in, and the flight was oversold so nobody was buying last minute tickets. But the GA's moving the upgrade queue around based on available seats/status of upgraders waiting makes some sense as to why the list would change.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 10:40 am
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It is true certain times the upgrade list is at best misleading. In the past month I have been on two flights where my name was not even on the list at all, but I was #1 for an upgrade (and luckily got it both times). When I asked the agent they told me to ignore the list, as it was not correct.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 10:49 am
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Originally Posted by PHL
Thanks for all the responses. They certainly seem to explain some things. I doubt there were any ExP's that came along because the flight was already delayed an hour so I think everyone was checked in, and the flight was oversold so nobody was buying last minute tickets. But the GA's moving the upgrade queue around based on available seats/status of upgraders waiting makes some sense as to why the list would change.
I have flown DFW/LAX many times. If I see that an earlier flight is delayed, I will rush over to the gate to try and get on. I am almost always already confirmed in FC in an earlier flight, so when I check in at the gate, I am added to the upgrade list, bumping others down.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 11:51 am
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At DFW when they are trying to board soldiers on their way home on leave from Iraq, all sorts of strange things happen to those upgrade and standby screens. I have watched Gate Agents work their tails off to get every last soldier boarded to avoid damaging their leave time at home.

I have also seen first class passengers tell the Gate Agents to give a soldier their seat and that they are willing and happy to ride in economy for this to happen.

Bless them!
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 11:57 am
  #11  
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Originally Posted by oldpenny16

I have also seen first class passengers tell the Gate Agents to give a soldier their seat and that they are willing and happy to ride in economy for this to happen.
Although these are voluntary exchanges and don't actually affect the various and sundry manipulations of the upgrade screen. Person who should have gotten the upgrade does, and then chooses to give it to someone else for whatever reason they may have.

Cheers.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 11:59 am
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A week ago I checked in and was fourth on the list. (Too busy to do the 24 hour OLCI so had 3 other EXPs ahead of me.)

The GA told me that if I waiting to board could work in my favor as the others ahead of me on the list would board, and she said she would be willing to upgrade me to avoid having to go back into coach and move someone into FC.

I couldn't tell if she was blowing smoke to make me feel better about my upgrade chances or if she really is that cavalier about conforming to the upgrade process.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 12:09 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by Spyder
The GA told me that if I waiting to board could work in my favor as the others ahead of me on the list would board, and she said she would be willing to upgrade me to avoid having to go back into coach and move someone into FC.

I couldn't tell if she was blowing smoke to make me feel better about my upgrade chances or if she really is that cavalier about conforming to the upgrade process.
I've never seen it clearly stated that going on board to get someone who was boarded for an upgrade it the standard practice. Would be nice, of course. Maybe one of our resident GAs can chime in on the official policy in this regard, if there is one.

So, what happened with your upgrade?

Cheers.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 12:31 pm
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Originally Posted by brp
I've never seen it clearly stated that going on board to get someone who was boarded for an upgrade it the standard practice. Would be nice, of course. Maybe one of our resident GAs can chime in on the official policy in this regard, if there is one.

So, what happened with your upgrade?

Cheers.
It surprises me that AA doesn't ask elites to board, then go and get them. CO does it; it doesn't slow the process down. I have noticed that AA has fewer GA's than CO on any given flight, so perhaps it's a personnel issue. One of the benefits of being elite is access to overhead space--boarding first assures this privilege. I wish they'd let those on the waitlist board, and then grab them later if necessary.
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Old Jul 15, 2007, 12:34 pm
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Originally Posted by ContinentalFan
It surprises me that AA doesn't ask elites to board, then go and get them. CO does it; it doesn't slow the process down. I have noticed that AA has fewer GA's than CO on any given flight, so perhaps it's a personnel issue. One of the benefits of being elite is access to overhead space--boarding first assures this privilege. I wish they'd let those on the waitlist board, and then grab them later if necessary.
Preaching to the choir here, my friend. Seems like a no-brainer, but defintiely been told explicitly in certain instances that they will not do it. Making the elites play Russian roulette with bin space seems like a very bad idea. I hope we'll get some input on the policy, if there is one.

Cheers.
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