Mar 11, 2014, 7:48 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Systemwide Upgrades / SWU Reflected on AAdvantage Account Online
(formerly eVIP, VIP) as of 2013
(formerly eVIP, VIP) as of 2013
System wide upgrade (SWU) availability is shown when booking flights on AA.com. If available, the words "Systemwide Upgrade" will appear below the flight number of the first leg of an itinerary. For an example of the notation, please see post #5.
False positives: Reports argue, however, that there are reasons why SWU may not actually be applicable for a given flight even if listed:
- SWU availability will appear if any possibilities are applicable: two-class economy to first upgrades (A inventory), three-class economy to business upgrades (C inventory), three-class business to first upgrades (A inventory). This creates on confusion on three-class international flights because C inventory is often desired, but A inventory is more available.
- With connecting flights, if any segment has SWU availability, the complete itinerary will be flagged as having SWU availability. This creates confusion as the desired (long) segment may not have availability.
False negatives:
- The person searching must be logged into the AAdvantage account and have a valid SWU for availability to show.
SWU Availability Showing on AA.com! (2013 onward; consolidated)
Dec 5, 2013, 8:17 pm
#61
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NYC, USA
Programs: AA EXP 3MM, Lifetime Platinum, Marriott Titanium, HH Gold
Posts: 10,968
IIRC you can use SWUs to upgrade certain BA flights, but only with really full (of it) fares that most people wouldn't buy.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...age-miles.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...age-miles.html
Nope. eVIPs are valid on AA metal flights only:
Q. Can I use my Systemwide Upgrades on British Airways and Iberia?
A. No, Systemwide Upgrades may only be used on American Airlines marketed and operated flights. Only the AAdvantage Participating Airline Upgrade Awards may be used to upgrade British Airways or Iberia flights.
http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/jba-u...servations.jsp
Dec 5, 2013, 11:29 pm
#65
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: NY/CHICAGO
Programs: AA Exec Plat; SPG Platinum; Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 373
hey callmedtop: it's now been 48 hours since the "phantom upgrades" (or dummy bookings in C) appeared in the separate (we're both EXP) reservations for me & mrs soho, and they still have not been upgraded.
so perhaps it was just a fluke that the previous ones all went thro within 24 hours of the "phantom upgrades" appearing.
or perhaps those previous ones WERE legit, but now the phantom upgrade really is just a "system error" as some other posters are suggesting.
what IS odd is that in each case over the past 4-6 weeks the phantom listings have not appeared right away but anywhere from 2-4 weeks after i made the original reservation. but whereas each time it appeared previously, the upgrade was confirmed within 24-36 hours, this did not occur as yet. it wont be a disaster, just jfk to cdg, but would be nice and festive to get the upgrade. will post if it does convert to a real upgrade this time as well...
Quote:
Originally Posted by sohony
i have been getting that same "phantom upgrade listing" every time i get evip upgrades for the past month or so (4 international legs so far). it's always come thro as a confirmed upgrade within 24 hours tho annoying you cant get a seat assignment til it does...
actually it just now happened again, for a trip to europe later this month. i had previously been waiting til the 'phantom upgrade' became 'real' & i could get a seat online. but this time i'm traveling with mrs soho and called the exp desk to make sure that we get seats together.
i got a very irritable person on the phone who told me i must be mistaken and was not upgraded. when i told her that this was the 4th time the phantom listing had appeared in this way and it became active (for seat selection) within 24 hours each time, and i had read this was happening to other people too, she went from merely irritated to positively pissed and said that she'd never heard of such a thing from any other exp's over the phone and anyway it didn't matter as i wasn't upgraded, and she couldn't see any evidence of any phantom listing in "C" class in my reservation in her system ...
so perhaps it was just a fluke that the previous ones all went thro within 24 hours of the "phantom upgrades" appearing.
or perhaps those previous ones WERE legit, but now the phantom upgrade really is just a "system error" as some other posters are suggesting.
what IS odd is that in each case over the past 4-6 weeks the phantom listings have not appeared right away but anywhere from 2-4 weeks after i made the original reservation. but whereas each time it appeared previously, the upgrade was confirmed within 24-36 hours, this did not occur as yet. it wont be a disaster, just jfk to cdg, but would be nice and festive to get the upgrade. will post if it does convert to a real upgrade this time as well...
These dummy bookings just popped up for me and my travel buddy (on a separate PNR) for a trip to PVG in February/March. I called the EXP desk and they said the upgrades have not been processed and I am still waitlisted - and unsurprisingly called it a "systems" issue. You're telling me that whenever this has happened to you over the past month, the upgrades have indeed cleared? If so, hopefully I'll see some good news tomorrow!
Originally Posted by sohony
i have been getting that same "phantom upgrade listing" every time i get evip upgrades for the past month or so (4 international legs so far). it's always come thro as a confirmed upgrade within 24 hours tho annoying you cant get a seat assignment til it does...
actually it just now happened again, for a trip to europe later this month. i had previously been waiting til the 'phantom upgrade' became 'real' & i could get a seat online. but this time i'm traveling with mrs soho and called the exp desk to make sure that we get seats together.
i got a very irritable person on the phone who told me i must be mistaken and was not upgraded. when i told her that this was the 4th time the phantom listing had appeared in this way and it became active (for seat selection) within 24 hours each time, and i had read this was happening to other people too, she went from merely irritated to positively pissed and said that she'd never heard of such a thing from any other exp's over the phone and anyway it didn't matter as i wasn't upgraded, and she couldn't see any evidence of any phantom listing in "C" class in my reservation in her system ...
Dec 6, 2013, 12:27 am
#66
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: AA EXP; HH Diamond
Posts: 68
First time this happened to me, the "phantom" upgrade appeared about three weeks prior to my flight, perhaps even a bit earlier, and the upgrade was processed exactly two week prior to my flight. Between the two events I e-mailed aa.com regarding the phantom segment - I was more concerned that its apperance represented a messed up itinerary (given all the aa.com issues recently) than whether or not the upgrade would be actually processed. The folks at aa.com responded that the phantom segment was a placeholder for the upgrade request. Without their encouragement, I then took the appearance of the phantom segment as evidence that I had been short listed for the upgrade.
The second time I saw this the phantom segment appeared two weeks prior to the flight and it was several days before the upgrade was actually processed. Neither this one nor my first one were processed within 24 hours of the appearance of the phantom segment.
The second time I saw this the phantom segment appeared two weeks prior to the flight and it was several days before the upgrade was actually processed. Neither this one nor my first one were processed within 24 hours of the appearance of the phantom segment.
Dec 6, 2013, 2:15 am
#68
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Hellsea - NY, NY, USA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K, Marriott LT Titanium
Posts: 1,994
"They are much more focused on structure and process, and the US Airways team less so. The American team makes sure everything is really, really ready to go before they pull the trigger. We have a bias for action with less preparation."
CEO Doug Parker
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...32100811998912
CEO Doug Parker
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...32100811998912
Personally, I'd much rather be a part of an organization that goes for a try, measure, improve and try again approach over a let's study, analyze then build the perfect, full-featured/kitchen-sink product for v1.
In this case, they probably wanted to get the SWU message out to see what pax engagement was and whether there was a drop in calls. Did it cover all cases up front? No, but at least it's a first shot.
The key will be how quickly they can push out enhancements to address the perfectly valid points raised in this thread.
And trust me, I'm sure that the relevant parties have already read through this thread a few times to see what the reaction has been.
Dec 6, 2013, 3:48 am
#70
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA Explat, UA 1K
Posts: 389
This is related to the site upgrade right? Previously, if these phantom segments show up, it usually meant the SWU cleared.
Dec 6, 2013, 5:29 am
#71
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 15,227
Must be nice to actually have SWU info available. Good job to AA for making this available.
Delta recently stripped all upgrade inventory for SWUs or complimentary upgrades from external sites such as EF, and their website functionality is horrendous so nothing helpful from there.
Delta recently stripped all upgrade inventory for SWUs or complimentary upgrades from external sites such as EF, and their website functionality is horrendous so nothing helpful from there.
Dec 6, 2013, 6:29 am
#72
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
I'm in the same boat as sohony....the "phantom upgrade" only appeared weeks after I booked. Sounds like it really just is showing the wait list but it didn't do that immediately after booking. At least I have 31B on the 777 in case it doesn't clear.
Dec 6, 2013, 6:41 am
#73
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
Oh Cool, now i can see my waitlisted segments. I'm a general member who was gifted EVIPs. Although it only shows the international segments. Shouldn't the domestic segments show waitlist as well?
Dec 6, 2013, 6:47 am
#74
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,731
My guess is that this is AA's way of holding on the domestic portion, and clearing them only if you have cleared your international segments. That's why until your international clears, you won't see the domestic segments listed.
Dec 6, 2013, 10:34 am
#75
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 205
Not if this is due to the new design or not.
I used one of SWU to upgrade the itinerary NRT-ORD-MSP. Now the flight NRT-ORD shows twice in my reservation, one is "S" and the other is "C". The ORD-MSP is still "S". "S" is the original booking fare code. I could not choose a seat in the business class as the seat map still loads the economy class.
Anyone has the knowledge about this?
Thanks,
Yi
I used one of SWU to upgrade the itinerary NRT-ORD-MSP. Now the flight NRT-ORD shows twice in my reservation, one is "S" and the other is "C". The ORD-MSP is still "S". "S" is the original booking fare code. I could not choose a seat in the business class as the seat map still loads the economy class.
Anyone has the knowledge about this?
Thanks,
Yi