DFW-MSY-DFW round trip this past weekend. Going down, there were 11 open in F that cleared at the gate. Coming back, 10 cleared at the gate.

With all due respect, I did not miss the point at all. As other more sage individuals on this board have noted, multiple anecdotes do not equal data. Just because YOU (and some others including myself on some routes) are not receiving upgrades until T-4 or (heaven forbid) the gate, doesn't mean that AA has changed their policy. Clearly, there are plenty of examples of upgrades clearing earlier than the above mentioned times.

A futile effort. The number crunchers have goals I'm not sure many will understand. Is it profit, is it equipment usage, is it revenue (sales vs profit), or is it loyalty member satisfaction? Pretty sure it's not the last.

Upgrade cleared this morning - about T-36 hours.

Upgrade on the flight down still not cleared.

Doesn't AA still derive significant income from selling e500s? (As well as from copays on mileage upgrades, although those book into A class not X).

Upgrades are the sine qua non of the AAdvantage loyalty program for me. Without upgrades, I'd have no reason to fly AA over another carrier.

US Airways was terrible about upgrading people a day before the flight and filling the F cabin making many flights unavailable for same day F class purchase. I never understood this. I've definitely noticed more day of F availability on PMUS flights since the merger - which I for one - appreciate.

Honestly I don't understand the time windows being so far out for upgrades. If a seat doesn't sell right before the flight then fine, upgrade someone based off a status based upgrade list. But to give away an F seat multiple days out makes no sense to me.

And they did raise the price on e500s, increased the free e500s accrual miles threshold and reduced the free SWU allocation, so upgrade instruments are harder to get or more expensive.

I think many had thought because AA had required instruments for most domestic upgrades (except the short flights and EXPs), that they would value upgrades somewhat more than other carriers. It doesn't seem to be the case as much these days. I would say the significant reduction in upgrades I am seeing on the same routes with the same advanced purchase planning has to mean those Plats and Golds must have an even worse experience. So, the revenue may not matter as much anymore. I would argue that people who choose 'off-off peak' flights and get their upgrades at the window like normal are none the better because AA would have still sold it via LFBUs.

I am intrigued that there are AA flyers who feel the upgrade windows/options observations are anecdotes. For me, AA used to only hold 2 seats domestically at boarding time (US would hold none that close in my experience). We are regularly seeing more than 2 seats clear on the upgrade monitors. There are just not that many misconnects out there. Be that as it may, if people feel the change of the window availability is affecting their upgrade rate, please email AA and let them know. To me, AA has sufficiently acknowledged the inventory availability change. It is within their right to do so, but it reduces the upgrade benefit because in many cases, the later inventory release is just enough for me to miss taking a seat that AA sells or someone with an instrument (miles or SWUs) decides to use instead of waiting.

I never denied that close-in bookings or changes were affected by allowing a window with inventory (which this thread is about). There is a value/cost to the airline to give an upgrade. It has to be somewhat more than only seats that are left otherwise it is a program of limited value. UA has shown this by selling out their F cabin at steep discounts even with many elites on the list. To me, essentially this was AA saying that 20% or 25% of their F cabin will regularly go to elites as a benefit even if the seat could be sold.

I think AA wants to know if this is something that they can adjust with relatively no complaints or if it impacts the experience too much. Adding Plat Pro (assuming no 2016 EQMs count) will impact this further at some point in 2017.

I think all of the airlines are finally getting to see the impact that these frequent flyer programs have in flying and spending with the benefit changes. I don't think the numbers look good for the carriers, but it is not clear how much of it is related to the programs versus other economic trends. Some airlines have introduced drastic incentives in recent quarters to get FF members to step up bookings (B6 and WN), but AA is not there yet.

Rasheed

The system is not working
 

Heading to BCN this weekend, 3 SWU's. JFK flight shows 13 seats, no upgrades yets. MIA flights show 14 seats, no upgrades yet.

If they clear (and who knows), no meal choices probably.....normal nowadays.

The new AA simply sucks..........:mad:

Upsetting, sure, but there is no Upgrade Window for international flights.

Upgrade Window
 

I have also noticed in the last few months that the upgrades were last minute, mostly at the gate. In fact, out of my last 10 flights, I have only had one where I was upgraded prior to the day of flight. I thought there was a pattern developing so I called the Platinum Denk and the agent was reluctant to say anything. When I pressed her about it she said nothing had been officially communicated, but she said she had fielded numerous complaints about the lack of advance upgrades. Like others, I hate to see the benefits of loyalty diminished. As a lifetime Platinum (3.8M miles) facing a huge devaluation in the program has a big impact on my loyalty.

So on my DCA-CHS flight this morning, there were 4 on the upgrade list and five open seats as of T - 60 minutes - per agent at the Admirals club.

The upgrade list was cleared and all four on the upgrade list were cleared at the gate at T - 30 minutes. The flight went out with one empty in first.

Same thing happened to me on Monday!

So I'm flying TUS-DFW on a 5am flight. I'm Plat and figuring I would likely upgrade as there were still 6 open FC seats at T-12 (not a lot of folks like to get up early in Tucson to board a flight at 4.30 am). I'm #1 on the upgrade list. GA shows up at 4 (T-1 now) and I ask her about upgrades. She tells me very matter-of-fact "upgrades are cleared 30 min prior to flight time". She was the only GA working multiple gates and it was starting to get busy, so I asked if it would easier to clear me now since she'll have to be scanning boarding passes at 30 min prior to takeoff....she repeats "30 min prior to flight time", but she takes and holds my BP...at exactly 30 min prior to flight time (not a second before) she clears me.
Just seems weird, but now I do not expect to be cleared until boarding. There seems to be a random pattern whether you may get an early UG or not.

My Experience this week:

MIA -> Destination 0F @ 100, 0F @ 48, 0F @ 24, 2EXP's in Y.
Destination -> MIA 6F @ 100, 3F @ 48, 1F @ 24, I'm the only EXP in Y, and someone who was an UPG2 was upgraded before me (I sat next to a very lovely flight attendant who showed me the PALL on her phone).

Got upgraded for next week CLT/DTW at T-100 and CLT/MIA at T-105. The first flight on an A319. Haven't seen a T-105er in a long time.

Any of these short sub-900 mile flights clear early. Seems as thought AA thinks their meal service flights are "something speciAAl in the air" thus they try and wait until the last minute or the 4 hour mark for EXP.