Mar 5, 2015, 10:12 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
A321T / 321T / Transcontinental JFK to/from LAX & SFO: Upgrade Success & Assistance
American flies the transcontinental A321T with three classes including solo First and Business pairs that fully recline horizontally. (Note the "32B" designation applies to all Airbus A321-100 and -200 - aircraft with "Sharklets" blended winglets in accord with ICAO standards, including two and three class A321s used by AA.)
It appears demand in J is high, supply less so, making this a tricky upgrade from coach to business. First sometimes looks like there’s good availability until close to departure, and it’s common that this cabin is filled deadheading.
Upgrading is challenging, and Y to J SWU or miles + copay always trumps 500 mile or DODU / courtesy upgrades within an elite tier. (500 mile and courtesy upgrades from Business to First is not allowed).
Remember, upgrade priority for these flights is:
*Y to C/J only; C to F not allowed
Cabins will generally not be “rolled” forward (e.g. J to F) to accommodate upgrades.
Those confirmed in Flagship First on these (between JFK and LAX or SFO) can access Flagship Lounges as well as Flagship First Dining at JFK or LAX, or the Admirals Club at SFO (or the LAX TBIT Qantas First lounge).
Related threads:
Aircraft guide: Which Airbus A321? (including “321”, “32B”, A321neo)
A321 Transcon / A321T / "32B" 3 class began service Jan 2014 (consolidated)
Best Business / First seat on AA transcon Airbus A321 / A321T / "32B" (consolidated)
Best Economy / MCE seat on AA transcon Airbus A321 / A321T / 32B (consolidated)
Posts from 2014 through 2016 have been archived, and may be read here.
Signed in members with 90 days / 90 posts can edit this Wikipost; wiki contents may be printed by using the
(lower right wiki corner)
American flies the transcontinental A321T with three classes including solo First and Business pairs that fully recline horizontally. (Note the "32B" designation applies to all Airbus A321-100 and -200 - aircraft with "Sharklets" blended winglets in accord with ICAO standards, including two and three class A321s used by AA.)
It appears demand in J is high, supply less so, making this a tricky upgrade from coach to business. First sometimes looks like there’s good availability until close to departure, and it’s common that this cabin is filled deadheading.
Upgrading is challenging, and Y to J SWU or miles + copay always trumps 500 mile or DODU / courtesy upgrades within an elite tier. (500 mile and courtesy upgrades from Business to First is not allowed).
Remember, upgrade priority for these flights is:
- Elite status tier
- SWU & miles and copay
- Business Extra and “special corporate agency upgrade certificates”
- 500 mile (“stickers”) and complimentary / DODU upgrades*
- Award upgrades (CK, EXP, PRO)*
- Last 12 months’ rolling EQD spend
- Etc.
*Y to C/J only; C to F not allowed
Cabins will generally not be “rolled” forward (e.g. J to F) to accommodate upgrades.
Those confirmed in Flagship First on these (between JFK and LAX or SFO) can access Flagship Lounges as well as Flagship First Dining at JFK or LAX, or the Admirals Club at SFO (or the LAX TBIT Qantas First lounge).
Related threads:
Aircraft guide: Which Airbus A321? (including “321”, “32B”, A321neo)
A321 Transcon / A321T / "32B" 3 class began service Jan 2014 (consolidated)
Best Business / First seat on AA transcon Airbus A321 / A321T / "32B" (consolidated)
Best Economy / MCE seat on AA transcon Airbus A321 / A321T / 32B (consolidated)
Posts from 2014 through 2016 have been archived, and may be read here.
Signed in members with 90 days / 90 posts can edit this Wikipost; wiki contents may be printed by using the
(lower right wiki corner)
Airbus A321T / 321T “32B” Transcon JFK <--> LAX / SFO Upgrade Success / Help
May 10, 2019, 11:45 pm
#391
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: AS 100K, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 298
Regardless of that, I don't think this would have had a significant effect. 1 flight less is less than a 10% capacity reduction on this route.
May 10, 2019, 11:52 pm
#392
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Vail, CO
Programs: AA EXP/1mm, Marriott Titanium/LT Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 626
They are not operating the Monday 6am that I always take - 7am is the first that day and again its been J0 for over a month. I figured out the answer I think btw - TV Newfronts are this week in NYC. That will (unfortunately) do it
May 10, 2019, 11:55 pm
#393
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: FL400
Programs: AA 5MM EXP, UA 2MM 1K, HH LT DIA, MR Plat, NRAC EEV, AMEX Plat
Posts: 682
There's usually one between 1430 and 1700 (possibly 304 but don't hold me to that). I checked this on a Monday, a day where they traditionally operate all frequencies.
May 11, 2019, 12:01 am
#394
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: AS 100K, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 298
Do you normally manage upgrades on the Monday 7am anyways? Seems like it'd be a tough one.
May 11, 2019, 12:25 am
#395
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Vail, CO
Programs: AA EXP/1mm, Marriott Titanium/LT Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 626
Yeah the 7am would fill up more since the 6am folks probably want the earliest flight available. Also this time of the year they're running 3 redeyes instead of 2, pulling another morning flight (the 9am), so even less capacity in the morning.
Do you normally manage upgrades on the Monday 7am anyways? Seems like it'd be a tough one.
Do you normally manage upgrades on the Monday 7am anyways? Seems like it'd be a tough one.
Thanks for the info on the redeye expanding too - totally did not realize that. Prob the better way to go
May 11, 2019, 12:32 am
#396
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: AS 100K, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 298
Yeah, even looking at the next week the redeyes look much better (with the exception of Friday, which makes some sense). Also note that the 9:30 pm redeye seems to fill up more than the rest.
Jun 14, 2019, 10:26 am
#397
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Portland, OR.
Programs: AA PPro
Posts: 606
EP on the aa 238 from LAX to JFK on July 4. Currently in PE via status. Expert Flyer shows J7.
Would love to fly either business or first. I have a SWU to apply.
Should I wait to see how space fares, or put the SWU in play? Also what are the mechanisms to get from PE to F on this 3 class flight?
Would love to fly either business or first. I have a SWU to apply.
Should I wait to see how space fares, or put the SWU in play? Also what are the mechanisms to get from PE to F on this 3 class flight?
Jun 14, 2019, 10:42 am
#398
Join Date: May 2017
Location: San Francisco
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 369
EP on the aa 238 from LAX to JFK on July 4. Currently in PE via status. Expert Flyer shows J7.
Would love to fly either business or first. I have a SWU to apply.
Should I wait to see how space fares, or put the SWU in play? Also what are the mechanisms to get from PE to F on this 3 class flight?
Would love to fly either business or first. I have a SWU to apply.
Should I wait to see how space fares, or put the SWU in play? Also what are the mechanisms to get from PE to F on this 3 class flight?
I wouldn't apply a SWU here unless I had no international flights to use it on. Miles/copay is a better deal here (if not feeling confident about a UDU).
Jun 14, 2019, 2:08 pm
#399
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: AS 100K, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 298
EP on the aa 238 from LAX to JFK on July 4. Currently in PE via status. Expert Flyer shows J7.
Would love to fly either business or first. I have a SWU to apply.
Should I wait to see how space fares, or put the SWU in play? Also what are the mechanisms to get from PE to F on this 3 class flight?
Would love to fly either business or first. I have a SWU to apply.
Should I wait to see how space fares, or put the SWU in play? Also what are the mechanisms to get from PE to F on this 3 class flight?
If Y is oversold though and you're upgraded to J in advance, a cabin-roll might happen and then you could get the operational upgrade from J to F. Has happened to me. But I definitely wouldn't count on it.
Jun 14, 2019, 2:55 pm
#400
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Washington DC
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 66
I apologize if I missed this in the thread but didn’t see it here or in the miles/copay upgrade.
In in order to use a miles and copay upgrade for Y to J, there must be C availability right?
Only asking because I see a lot of A availability for first, but just wanted to make sure that only applies to upgrading a ticket from J to F and doesn’t also indicate Y to J space. Thanks!
In in order to use a miles and copay upgrade for Y to J, there must be C availability right?
Only asking because I see a lot of A availability for first, but just wanted to make sure that only applies to upgrading a ticket from J to F and doesn’t also indicate Y to J space. Thanks!
Jun 14, 2019, 4:57 pm
#401
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 214
In in order to use a miles and copay upgrade for Y to J, there must be C availability right?
Only asking because I see a lot of A availability for first, but just wanted to make sure that only applies to upgrading a ticket from J to F and doesn’t also indicate Y to J space. Thanks!
Only asking because I see a lot of A availability for first, but just wanted to make sure that only applies to upgrading a ticket from J to F and doesn’t also indicate Y to J space. Thanks!
I don't think you need to burn a SWU from Y-->J on July 4. Check the fare buckets and if you see J start to dwindle, then probably worth calling in for miles + copay, but LAX/SFO-JFK is normally a business-heavy route, which makes upgrades easier on holidays and Saturdays.
Jun 15, 2019, 11:35 am
#402
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Portland, OR.
Programs: AA PPro
Posts: 606
Thanks for the advice I"m hoping the holiday travel helps. I'm also new to Expert Flyer and found the flight, AA 238, and it says J7, but on the seat map it looks like more are available. Is J the correct fare budget for a business seat on this flight and/or does EF only go up to 7, meaning there might be more than that available. Thanks in advance.
Jun 15, 2019, 11:41 am
#403
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: AS 100K, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 298
Thanks for the advice I"m hoping the holiday travel helps. I'm also new to Expert Flyer and found the flight, AA 238, and it says J7, but on the seat map it looks like more are available. Is J the correct fare budget for a business seat on this flight and/or does EF only go up to 7, meaning there might be more than that available. Thanks in advance.
Jun 24, 2019, 12:50 pm
#404
Join Date: Jan 2016
Programs: AA, Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton
Posts: 501
am scrolling through the chats here but hoping for some additional input. EXP here, usually like to fly early morning flights. Has anyone had higher success with upgrades on Sundays or Mondays overall, and is LAX easier than SFO or is it just me?