Dec 5, 2014, 11:27 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
NOTE: Changed flight numbers from 137 / 138 to AA 125 / 126 Nov 2016
This thread is for the discussion of upgrades (using systemwide upgrades /SWUs or mileage+ copay) for the DFW-HKG route.
General discussion about the new DFW-PVG and DFW-HKG routes can be found here: DFW-PVG and DFW-HKG Starting Summer 2014 [route discussion]
Discussion and questions about flight experiences on the DFW-HKG flights can be found here: 77W DFW-HKG AA 137 / 138 flight experiences, questions
DFW-HKG AA 125 / 126 77W Upgrade Chances & Waitlist Discussion
Jul 8, 2018, 7:10 am
#2192
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: USA SE Asia
Programs: AA Gold, United Nobody (Emirates Etihad Thai Air Hong Kong Air Scoot Nobody) HHonors Diamond
Posts: 30
Ok interesting development at T-24 for tomorrows flight. Checked in for flight immediately at T-24 and received my boarding passes including my PE seat on the DFW-HKG leg (AA125) About 15 minutes later i receive an EF alert showing C1 so I rush to the phone to call AA but have to wait about 10 minutes for a call back. In the interim I notice my confirmed seat assignment in PE is missing (showing --) when I did get the call back from AA I was told that it appears my Miles + Copay was granted but that at this juncture they could not offer a seat assignment as they were "under airport control". EF and AA only showing 3 seats available in J for tomorrows flight. Would it be prudent to check into my local airport (SHV) today to see if they could assign a seat or am I overthinking it
Jul 8, 2018, 9:24 am
#2193
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 5,453
Ok interesting development at T-24 for tomorrows flight. Checked in for flight immediately at T-24 and received my boarding passes including my PE seat on the DFW-HKG leg (AA125) About 15 minutes later i receive an EF alert showing C1 so I rush to the phone to call AA but have to wait about 10 minutes for a call back. In the interim I notice my confirmed seat assignment in PE is missing (showing --) when I did get the call back from AA I was told that it appears my Miles + Copay was granted but that at this juncture they could not offer a seat assignment as they were "under airport control". EF and AA only showing 3 seats available in J for tomorrows flight. Would it be prudent to check into my local airport (SHV) today to see if they could assign a seat or am I overthinking it
Jul 8, 2018, 9:33 am
#2194
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: USA SE Asia
Programs: AA Gold, United Nobody (Emirates Etihad Thai Air Hong Kong Air Scoot Nobody) HHonors Diamond
Posts: 30
Update: Thank you so much to the collective wisdom of this forum. I called back to AA and this time was told no, you are still in PE. I think it had to do with my fare code P not W so the upgrade was not automatic (even though my return leg had cleared a week or so ago?) Anyway i was lucky to have a fantastic agent who was willing to go ahead and process the upgrade since EF (and her screen) was still showing C1. Processed my $350 x 2 and 25,000 miles x 2 and i received a new boarding pass in the tail end of J but I have never been happier. My EF subscription and perusing these forums for a few hours along with all the helpful advice has me set to go.
Last edited by LATraveler1963; Jul 8, 2018 at 9:49 am Reason: grammar
Jul 18, 2018, 2:33 pm
#2195
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
Using SWUs with no status
My wife and I are planning a trip to Asia (her first time!) in November. We're flying BWI-DFW-HKG on AA 125/126. My wife has some pretty serious back and neck issues, and she would hugely benefit from an upgrade to business on the transpacific segments. (We flew business class from PHL-BCN last spring, and I think it totally ruined her for economy!) A relative, who is Concierge Key, generously gifted us SWUs for the DFW-HKG/HKG-DFW segments. We're currently on the waitlist for both flights, as was expected. EF showed no C available on either flight.
We don't have status on American, and even though the "gifter" of the SWUs is Conciege Key, I have gotten conflicting reports (from American) about whether that affects the prioritzation process.
Other factors of note:
-We bought N Class (PE) as a hedge against the possiblity of not getting an upgrade
-The SWU was requested in late June
-We're flying on a Thursday
I'm trying to figure out the likelihood of getting the upgrade, and when it might happen, if at all. Any thoughts or insight would be really helpful.
We don't have status on American, and even though the "gifter" of the SWUs is Conciege Key, I have gotten conflicting reports (from American) about whether that affects the prioritzation process.
Other factors of note:
-We bought N Class (PE) as a hedge against the possiblity of not getting an upgrade
-The SWU was requested in late June
-We're flying on a Thursday
I'm trying to figure out the likelihood of getting the upgrade, and when it might happen, if at all. Any thoughts or insight would be really helpful.
Jul 18, 2018, 3:26 pm
#2196
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,481
My wife and I are planning a trip to Asia (her first time!) in November. We're flying BWI-DFW-HKG on AA 125/126. My wife has some pretty serious back and neck issues, and she would hugely benefit from an upgrade to business on the transpacific segments. (We flew business class from PHL-BCN last spring, and I think it totally ruined her for economy!) A relative, who is Concierge Key, generously gifted us SWUs for the DFW-HKG/HKG-DFW segments. We're currently on the waitlist for both flights, as was expected. EF showed no C available on either flight.
We don't have status on American, and even though the "gifter" of the SWUs is Conciege Key, I have gotten conflicting reports (from American) about whether that affects the prioritzation process.
Other factors of note:
-We bought N Class (PE) as a hedge against the possiblity of not getting an upgrade
-The SWU was requested in late June
-We're flying on a Thursday
I'm trying to figure out the likelihood of getting the upgrade, and when it might happen, if at all. Any thoughts or insight would be really helpful.
We don't have status on American, and even though the "gifter" of the SWUs is Conciege Key, I have gotten conflicting reports (from American) about whether that affects the prioritzation process.
Other factors of note:
-We bought N Class (PE) as a hedge against the possiblity of not getting an upgrade
-The SWU was requested in late June
-We're flying on a Thursday
I'm trying to figure out the likelihood of getting the upgrade, and when it might happen, if at all. Any thoughts or insight would be really helpful.
As to the waitlist priority, it is based on the status of the passenger. The status of the SWU gifter has no bearing, so the fact that your friend is CK doesn't matter. The waitlist is sorted by status, and then rolling EQD within each status level. So as no-status pax, you'll be behind all other elites on the flight who have requested SWU or miles/co-pay upgrades.
Only thing you can really do is set an ExpertFlyer alert for C space, every now and then AA will release batches of C space in advance, you never know. If you do see C space then call AA and have them push the upgrade through. But it's highly likely that any upgrade space won't start being released until 24-48 hrs before the flight, right up to the gate.
Jul 18, 2018, 3:38 pm
#2197
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
DFW-HKG can be a very tough upgrade even for a CK or EXP, and Thursday/Friday can generally be busy business travel days to Asia, so right from the start your chances are not great. What do the loads in business look like for your flight?
As to the waitlist priority, it is based on the status of the passenger. The status of the SWU gifter has no bearing, so the fact that your friend is CK doesn't matter. The waitlist is sorted by status, and then rolling EQD within each status level. So as no-status pax, you'll be behind all other elites on the flight who have requested SWU or miles/co-pay upgrades.
Only thing you can really do is set an ExpertFlyer alert for C space, every now and then AA will release batches of C space in advance, you never know. If you do see C space then call AA and have them push the upgrade through. But it's highly likely that any upgrade space won't start being released until 24-48 hrs before the flight, right up to the gate.
As to the waitlist priority, it is based on the status of the passenger. The status of the SWU gifter has no bearing, so the fact that your friend is CK doesn't matter. The waitlist is sorted by status, and then rolling EQD within each status level. So as no-status pax, you'll be behind all other elites on the flight who have requested SWU or miles/co-pay upgrades.
Only thing you can really do is set an ExpertFlyer alert for C space, every now and then AA will release batches of C space in advance, you never know. If you do see C space then call AA and have them push the upgrade through. But it's highly likely that any upgrade space won't start being released until 24-48 hrs before the flight, right up to the gate.
Right now the availability on the outbound is 38 out of 52 J seats and 45 out of 52 open J seats on the return. Still, we’re talking four months out, so I’m not really sure there’s any rhyme or reason to it at this point.
Jul 18, 2018, 3:57 pm
#2198
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: W29
Programs: It's Complicated...
Posts: 6,819
Hey, thanks for getting back to me so quickly! What you say, unfortunately, jives with what everything I’ve heard. Fingers crossed!
Right now the availability on the outbound is 38 out of 52 J seats and 45 out of 52 open J seats on the return. Still, we’re talking four months out, so I’m not really sure there’s any rhyme or reason to it at this point.
Second, four months out is totally hard to say and when you requested really doesn't matter much unless you see C space open up and can call and snag it. Are you by chance flying on Thanksgiving? If so, the usual business traffic should be much less and your chances of an upgrade with not status is much greater during that time. There will still be some EXP and CK's on family trips to compete with but with less paid business traffic it helps a lot and gives you "a chance" at one of the harder upgrades to secure.
Jul 18, 2018, 4:16 pm
#2199
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
First, you say you N class, that is a regular economy fare, do you mean P or W?
Second, four months out is totally hard to say and when you requested really doesn't matter much unless you see C space open up and can call and snag it. Are you by chance flying on Thanksgiving? If so, the usual business traffic should be much less and your chances of an upgrade with not status is much greater during that time. There will still be some EXP and CK's on family trips to compete with but with less paid business traffic it helps a lot and gives you "a chance" at one of the harder upgrades to secure.
Second, four months out is totally hard to say and when you requested really doesn't matter much unless you see C space open up and can call and snag it. Are you by chance flying on Thanksgiving? If so, the usual business traffic should be much less and your chances of an upgrade with not status is much greater during that time. There will still be some EXP and CK's on family trips to compete with but with less paid business traffic it helps a lot and gives you "a chance" at one of the harder upgrades to secure.
Jul 18, 2018, 6:34 pm
#2200
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: W29
Programs: It's Complicated...
Posts: 6,819
Jul 18, 2018, 9:47 pm
#2201
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Bangkok, Thailand. No longer Palm Coast, FL though still exiled, again, from the Bay Area.
Programs: Only the good ones
Posts: 5,153
Otherwise, it's going to be on another airline, who ever has the best price, equipment, and schedule.
Aug 6, 2018, 11:09 am
#2202
Join Date: Nov 2011
Programs: AA Exec. Plat., Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 19
Needing to go to HKG in November and i'm flying out of DFW. Would it be better to fly out to HKG on a Sunday or Monday flight and then for return, would it be better to fly back Friday or Saturday? Days aren't flexible so unfortunately can't choose any midweek flights. Dates are 11/11 and 11/12 for depart to HKG and for return to DFW 11/16 or 11/17. Any input or experience on these days would help. Thanks!
Last edited by kged05; Aug 6, 2018 at 11:12 am Reason: Adding information
Aug 6, 2018, 1:17 pm
#2203
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: DFW
Posts: 675
Needing to go to HKG in November and i'm flying out of DFW. Would it be better to fly out to HKG on a Sunday or Monday flight and then for return, would it be better to fly back Friday or Saturday? Days aren't flexible so unfortunately can't choose any midweek flights. Dates are 11/11 and 11/12 for depart to HKG and for return to DFW 11/16 or 11/17. Any input or experience on these days would help. Thanks!
Aug 6, 2018, 7:37 pm
#2204
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott BonVoy Titanium Elite, Marriott LT Plat.
Posts: 1,717
I've been fortunate enough to use my SWU for the SFO-LAX-HKG-LAX-SFO routes pretty steadily thus far. Looking to go later this month and see that PE is now officially on the flight and seats are available for the picking.. Most likely, it's going to be a J-> F upgrade around for me though. I'll even accept the SFO-DFW-HKG-DFW-SFO routing if it gets me the upgrades.
Aug 7, 2018, 8:30 am
#2205
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Miami Beach, FL
Programs: AA EXP 3MM, BA Gold
Posts: 876
Just a data point but in the past few weeks I flew DFW-HKG on a Sunday and HKG-DFW on a Friday. Flights booked about 3 weeks in advance, and outbound cleared 7 days ahead and return 5 days. I specifically chose the Sunday departure over Monday based on the available J seats at the time. Return on Friday had a few dozen seats available until my SWU cleared and then rapidly filled up. There were probably 10 people on the upgrade list at the gate.