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Posts from 2014 through 2016 have been archived, and may be read here.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
Mar 1, 2017, 7:48 pm
#46
Join Date: Jun 2006
Programs: AA EP 4MM, UA 1MM, DL 1MM
Posts: 407
May not be applicable to your situation but my wife flies round trip on AA once a month JFK to SFO. She is platinum and has ONCE been upgraded to business class in the last two years. However she normally flies to/from in the late morning or early afternoon. Never on the flight you have mentioned
Mar 1, 2017, 8:26 pm
#47
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,234
So how does J-F upgrades work here? Just for curiosity's sake...
Last week I was on the AA180 (LAX-JFK at 4.30pm) and at check-in the F cabin was only 3/10 taken. When boarding finished it's fully occupied. J had been fully booked for some weeks.
Now yes, some could be last minute bookers, IRROPS or those who didn't assign seats, or those using miles to upgrade and clearing late perhaps (?)...
Does AA have a policy to op-up EXPs from F so they can process other upgrades from J to F?
Last week I was on the AA180 (LAX-JFK at 4.30pm) and at check-in the F cabin was only 3/10 taken. When boarding finished it's fully occupied. J had been fully booked for some weeks.
Now yes, some could be last minute bookers, IRROPS or those who didn't assign seats, or those using miles to upgrade and clearing late perhaps (?)...
Does AA have a policy to op-up EXPs from F so they can process other upgrades from J to F?
Mar 2, 2017, 6:57 am
#48
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 117
May not be applicable to your situation but my wife flies round trip on AA once a month JFK to SFO. She is platinum and has ONCE been upgraded to business class in the last two years. However she normally flies to/from in the late morning or early afternoon. Never on the flight you have mentioned
Mar 2, 2017, 10:35 am
#49
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Plat, Marriott Gold, National EE
Posts: 1,204
May not be applicable to your situation but my wife flies round trip on AA once a month JFK to SFO. She is platinum and has ONCE been upgraded to business class in the last two years. However she normally flies to/from in the late morning or early afternoon. Never on the flight you have mentioned
Mar 4, 2017, 9:02 pm
#50
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: NYC
Posts: 108
Got upgraded both ways (both wife and I) for a JFK-LAX. I'm just plat, she has no status. Bought late November.
JFK-LAX Friday. Original flight was for 8pm. Didn't look like would work (it was Oscars weekend), used EF and found C inventory on the 9pm (C6 at one point) and the 10pm was showing C7 for several days. Did a same day chance and snagged the upgrades upon change.
LAX-JFK Saturday at 12:45pm. Upgrade confirmed at t-48. This was shocking to me. But it was easy, not a lot of seats open. There were 2 more upgraded at the airport.
Maybe this is late for you, but I have had good luck with the late Friday flights. It has to be after 6pm though. I'm platinum as well, last year I cleared most of the time on these flights. I'm 2 for 2 this year!
JFK-LAX Friday. Original flight was for 8pm. Didn't look like would work (it was Oscars weekend), used EF and found C inventory on the 9pm (C6 at one point) and the 10pm was showing C7 for several days. Did a same day chance and snagged the upgrades upon change.
LAX-JFK Saturday at 12:45pm. Upgrade confirmed at t-48. This was shocking to me. But it was easy, not a lot of seats open. There were 2 more upgraded at the airport.
Maybe this is late for you, but I have had good luck with the late Friday flights. It has to be after 6pm though. I'm platinum as well, last year I cleared most of the time on these flights. I'm 2 for 2 this year!
Mar 7, 2017, 1:43 pm
#51
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 117
Got upgraded both ways (both wife and I) for a JFK-LAX. I'm just plat, she has no status. Bought late November.
JFK-LAX Friday. Original flight was for 8pm. Didn't look like would work (it was Oscars weekend), used EF and found C inventory on the 9pm (C6 at one point) and the 10pm was showing C7 for several days. Did a same day chance and snagged the upgrades upon change.
LAX-JFK Saturday at 12:45pm. Upgrade confirmed at t-48. This was shocking to me. But it was easy, not a lot of seats open. There were 2 more upgraded at the airport.
Maybe this is late for you, but I have had good luck with the late Friday flights. It has to be after 6pm though. I'm platinum as well, last year I cleared most of the time on these flights. I'm 2 for 2 this year!
JFK-LAX Friday. Original flight was for 8pm. Didn't look like would work (it was Oscars weekend), used EF and found C inventory on the 9pm (C6 at one point) and the 10pm was showing C7 for several days. Did a same day chance and snagged the upgrades upon change.
LAX-JFK Saturday at 12:45pm. Upgrade confirmed at t-48. This was shocking to me. But it was easy, not a lot of seats open. There were 2 more upgraded at the airport.
Maybe this is late for you, but I have had good luck with the late Friday flights. It has to be after 6pm though. I'm platinum as well, last year I cleared most of the time on these flights. I'm 2 for 2 this year!
Mar 19, 2017, 2:17 pm
#52
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Gold
Posts: 181
Couple data points:
Got upgraded Y->J as a plat on AA23 (JFK/LAX) on 3/12 last week. 10:15PM departure on a Sunday so there wasn't much competition for the sticker upgrade. Cleared sometime between T-36 and T-24.
Surprisingly, just saw that I cleared Y->J on tonight's AA30 (LAX/JFK) via mileage upgrade. 11:55PM redeye and J seatmap was full a couple days ago, so wasn't expecting it. EF said J7 and F was showing empty, though, so maybe they rolled cabins?
Got upgraded Y->J as a plat on AA23 (JFK/LAX) on 3/12 last week. 10:15PM departure on a Sunday so there wasn't much competition for the sticker upgrade. Cleared sometime between T-36 and T-24.
Surprisingly, just saw that I cleared Y->J on tonight's AA30 (LAX/JFK) via mileage upgrade. 11:55PM redeye and J seatmap was full a couple days ago, so wasn't expecting it. EF said J7 and F was showing empty, though, so maybe they rolled cabins?
Mar 22, 2017, 2:04 pm
#53
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: NYC
Programs: AA PLAT; SPG PLAT100; Hyatt Diamond; Hilton Diamond; Avis Pres. Circle
Posts: 15
To add in another data point here. My wife and I decided to take a somewhat last second trip to LA leaving tomorrow (3/23) on AA171 at 6am. Booked our ticket on 3/13 and requested a Y to J miles + copay upgrade on 3/14 (didn't want to battle phone lines ahead of the snow we were getting in NYC). As a platinum, I wasn't holding my breath for a Thursday upgrade but figured I would give it a shot on the early flight.
Did not receive any notifications, but logged in this morning to see my upgrade request as still pending. Also noticed my (now expired) option to choose a meal was there though. Called in and the automated system told me my upgrade was still pending before I got to an agent who let me know it cleared. Great!
Tried to check in and choose a seat but got an error message. Called back in and was informed my upgrade cleared, but they didn't re-ticket or deduct miles and somebody screwed up which could have made us miss our upgrade. Glad I made sure to call back!
Did not receive any notifications, but logged in this morning to see my upgrade request as still pending. Also noticed my (now expired) option to choose a meal was there though. Called in and the automated system told me my upgrade was still pending before I got to an agent who let me know it cleared. Great!
Tried to check in and choose a seat but got an error message. Called back in and was informed my upgrade cleared, but they didn't re-ticket or deduct miles and somebody screwed up which could have made us miss our upgrade. Glad I made sure to call back!
Mar 23, 2017, 1:02 pm
#54
Join Date: Apr 2012
Programs: AA EXP, UA Gold, SPG Plat
Posts: 386
Flew on AA12 SFO-JFK Thu 3/16, my EXP comp upgrade cleared at the gate. 2 other total passengers on the list also got upgraded.
Flew on AA85 JFK-SFO Fri 3/17, EXP comp upgrade cleared 2 days out, J cabin had about 5 empty seats when door closed.
Flew on AA85 JFK-SFO Fri 3/17, EXP comp upgrade cleared 2 days out, J cabin had about 5 empty seats when door closed.
Mar 30, 2017, 11:07 am
#55
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 706
I'm a OW Sapphire (through BA) waitlisted for a mileage upgrade on JFK-SFO from Y to J. Few questions:
1. Has anyone drawn any conclusions about the release of C inventory in the three months before a flight?
2. Does my non-AA elite status help me out at all?
3. What's the priority of SWU versus mileage upgrades prior to 100 hours before departure? Is the date of the original request important?
1. Has anyone drawn any conclusions about the release of C inventory in the three months before a flight?
2. Does my non-AA elite status help me out at all?
3. What's the priority of SWU versus mileage upgrades prior to 100 hours before departure? Is the date of the original request important?
Mar 30, 2017, 5:05 pm
#56
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: LGA/EWR/JFK
Programs: AA EXP, Amex Plat, A3 Gold
Posts: 311
A few recent data points:
Mar. 1: AA 185 (9:00pm), JFK-LAX, cleared Y->J 48hrs out
Mar. 22: AA67 (4:30pm), JFK-SFO, cleared Y->J 48hrs out (which was surprising because the flight only J2 at that point)
Mar. 1: AA 185 (9:00pm), JFK-LAX, cleared Y->J 48hrs out
Mar. 22: AA67 (4:30pm), JFK-SFO, cleared Y->J 48hrs out (which was surprising because the flight only J2 at that point)
Mar 30, 2017, 6:45 pm
#57
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: JFK / SFO
Posts: 36
Adding my latest upgrade experience as a data point.
My status: Plat
March 20, 2017 (Monday) - 6pm departure: AA177, JFK-SFO. Upgraded from coach to lie flat biz 24 hours prior to departure. When I went to select my new seat, I saw around 5 seats available to select from. J cabin was full when doors closed.
My status: Plat
March 20, 2017 (Monday) - 6pm departure: AA177, JFK-SFO. Upgraded from coach to lie flat biz 24 hours prior to departure. When I went to select my new seat, I saw around 5 seats available to select from. J cabin was full when doors closed.
Mar 30, 2017, 9:49 pm
#58
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,234
2. Does my non-AA elite status help me out at all?
3. What's the priority of SWU versus mileage upgrades prior to 100 hours before departure? Is the date of the original request important?
Mar 31, 2017, 5:14 am
#59
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 706
Thank you ijgordan. It looks like my odds are fairly low then, especially as EXPs can clear at 100 hours out. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Is there any logic to proactively calling AA as soon as I see any C inventory shortly before my flight and requesting them to manually process the upgrade immediately, or will any upgrade be processed automatically and beyond an agent's control?
Mar 31, 2017, 8:07 am
#60
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: DCA/IAD/WAS
Programs: MAR AMB, WOH Explorist, AA EXP, UA 2P
Posts: 2,138
Thank you ijgordan. It looks like my odds are fairly low then, especially as EXPs can clear at 100 hours out. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Is there any logic to proactively calling AA as soon as I see any C inventory shortly before my flight and requesting them to manually process the upgrade immediately, or will any upgrade be processed automatically and beyond an agent's control?