Skipped Over for / Lost Upgrade: "Late to Gate", Upgrades Already Processed
#61
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: AA LT PLT; HH Diamond; AS 75K
Posts: 2,877
You board and take your first class seat. The difference with the OP is that he was never upgraded as the agent wanted to verify splitting the party. I'm sure there are hundreds of upgrades daily that go to mobile BPs and never interact with an agent until boardng.
#62
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: OSL/IAH/ZRH (time, not preference)
Programs: UA1K, LH GM, AA EXP->GM
Posts: 38,253
#63
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: SNA
Posts: 18,239
But everyone here keeps saying that if the Gate Agent calls your name and you aren't there you shouldn't expect an upgrade. Are you saying they only call your name if there's some special circumstance?
#64
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,308
This is ridiculous. AA has an upgrade priority and they should stick to it. Period. If a pax doesn't collect the new BP when his name is announced, then give it to him when he tries to board with his old BP. Assuming he hasn't already refreshed his mobile BP. There's NO REASON this should have happened to the OP, since my understanding is he presented himself for boarding before the cutoff.
#66
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: 6E Westbound, 4E Eastbound
Programs: AA EXP & 3MM, Priority Club Plat since 1984
Posts: 6,293
First, I applaud the OP for rapidly getting off the "DYKWIA" shtick.
The GA had no idea that you recently booked 50 flights and have a million miles. But that isn't from poor training. Or relevant.
As to upgrade protocol, I have to give the GA the benefit of the doubt. The swell around the desk, the circling for that last seat because some website somewhere clearly shows there is a seat left in FC makes for a really tough atmosphere. If the time had passed, and my name was next in the upgrade list and you were a no-show ( and let's be honest, no one is paged only once if they don't show) I would have pushed the GA to give me my upgrade so I could board before there was no bin space left. After all, I have TWO million miles in the program.
Bummer about your foot. But as pointed out, the airport offers myriad good choices for accommodating you, from wheelchairs to the freedom to buy a ticket in whichever cabin you desire.
The GA had no idea that you recently booked 50 flights and have a million miles. But that isn't from poor training. Or relevant.
As to upgrade protocol, I have to give the GA the benefit of the doubt. The swell around the desk, the circling for that last seat because some website somewhere clearly shows there is a seat left in FC makes for a really tough atmosphere. If the time had passed, and my name was next in the upgrade list and you were a no-show ( and let's be honest, no one is paged only once if they don't show) I would have pushed the GA to give me my upgrade so I could board before there was no bin space left. After all, I have TWO million miles in the program.
Bummer about your foot. But as pointed out, the airport offers myriad good choices for accommodating you, from wheelchairs to the freedom to buy a ticket in whichever cabin you desire.
#67
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: OC, CA
Programs: AA EXP, 2MM, HH Diamond
Posts: 831
I wonder if there is a policy or practice that requires that they request confirmation? And it doesn't seem to be an unreasonable practice - assuming intent from a related but separate request can be dangerous. For example, what if the other parties thought they had requested upgrades (or the OP thought that they did) but they made a mistake (or didn't make the request) and the requests were never in the system?
#68
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,190
I wonder if there is a policy or practice that requires that they request confirmation? And it doesn't seem to be an unreasonable practice - assuming intent from a related but separate request can be dangerous. For example, what if the other parties thought they had requested upgrades (or the OP thought that they did) but they made a mistake (or didn't make the request) and the requests were never in the system?
Of course it gets incrementally more complicated when requesting companion upgrades and differentiating between all or none. Still, AA could have a published default, with any exception requiring manual intervention initiated by the pax.
#69
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,308
#70
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: LAX; AA EXP, MM; HH Gold
Posts: 31,789
This is ridiculous. AA has an upgrade priority and they should stick to it. Period. If a pax doesn't collect the new BP when his name is announced, then give it to him when he tries to board with his old BP. Assuming he hasn't already refreshed his mobile BP. There's NO REASON this should have happened to the OP, since my understanding is he presented himself for boarding before the cutoff.
I've posted before that savvy frequent flyers are best served by reading Flyertalk in advance (before they act) and learning the way things are and, of course, discussing how things could be improved. I call it defensive flying - knowing the ins and outs of the system so that I don't start threads where I complain that my upgrade didn't happen because I didn't know how the system worked.
#71
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: OSL/IAH/ZRH (time, not preference)
Programs: UA1K, LH GM, AA EXP->GM
Posts: 38,253
So I quite dig these episodes and accounts. Also my almost exclusive longhaul flying pattern on AA shields me from knowing how AA actually ticks. I am close to MM and have next to no experiences with AA with the exception of a single VDB being offered. I never even misconnected on AA and never had to change or rebook a single segment.
So my experiences are worthless to learn about AA ...
#72
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: SNA
Posts: 18,239
#73
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,308
Too many holes in the story. This would require that the OP did not request upgrades until getting to the airport, and then requested just one for himself. Unusual set of circumstances, to say the least.
#74
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: STL
Programs: AA 2MM, AS MVP Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 12,966
It does seem that the more reasonable course of action would have been to split the PNR at the time of booking and to request the upgrade then. That is what I would have done, and in my experience it is what most EXPs would have done. What seems clear to me at this point is that the OP should have asked to be split off of the PNR when asking the check-in agent to add him to the upgrade list. Absent OSO, there is very little downside to splitting.
#75
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SFO, SJC
Programs: AA - EXP 2MM+, Marriott PLT, UA, National Exec
Posts: 495
It does seem that the more reasonable course of action would have been to split the PNR at the time of booking and to request the upgrade then. That is what I would have done, and in my experience it is what most EXPs would have done. What seems clear to me at this point is that the OP should have asked to be split off of the PNR when asking the check-in agent to add him to the upgrade list. Absent OSO, there is very little downside to splitting.
Oh, I almost forgot, he never made it to the counter.
Again, too many holes.
Cheers.
Last edited by msv777; Mar 4, 2015 at 8:56 pm