Last week I had a flight from JAX-DFW, I was # 1 on the upgrade list. I asked the gate agent how it was looking and he said there was one seat available, but it may not be released due to weights and balances. Which is fine with me, but after boarding a crew member boarded sat in the back, which was then brought up to the one first class seat before we pulled away from the gate.

Then on Friday I had a flight AMA-DFW, I was #2 on the upgrade list. When I boarded there were 2 crew in First Class and 1 empty seat. This seat was never filled, they never even processed any upgrades.

I am not a complainer, but there is an agreement, I spend all my money on AA and they give me an upgrade if I'm next in the list. Does crew come first, when it comes to upgrades?

FAs often will bring crew up to fill empty F seats but shouldn't & usually do not knowing there was a request for the seat. A seat might go out empty due to misconnect or no show & for a variety of reasons the GA doesn't pull someone on the list from Y.

It would not be nice for EXPs (or other elites) if this became the norm. But AA CS wouldn't know unless they were informed. Maybe if OP sent a "polite" email, we could learn why he wasn't upgraded--AA might give him a few miles.

Well that sounds like a potentially dangerous situation. Maybe the FAA should be made aware?

I do not mind an AA Pilot having a seat near the controls, than in one of the rear seats, but

I have seen crew members give up their seat in FC.

Thought about contacting customer service, not really looking for freebies, but more concerned this is going to be the norm.

Sounds like the GA did not break procedure....she just didn't process the upgrade list (for whatever reason), and an F seat went out empty. Once the door closed, the GA had no responsibility for what happened on board. The FAs would not know who was on the upgrade list, as there might not have been anybody, in which case nobody would object if the FA allowed off-duty crewmembers to move up to unoccupied F seats.

It's worth writing to AA, but don't expect anything major because the GA did not assign a crewmember the upgrade over you.

AA1497 DFW-RNO. Was the first to board in seat 4B and always find people watching interesting. Person in seat next to me and one right behind boarded with 3 carry on bags. Of course we see this all the time. Then noticed both of them had crew tags on their bags. Later during the flight they conversed and asked whether the rest of their crew was on the plane and they spotted a third one in 6F. So three crew in FC and at least 8 paying customers were on the upgrade last at flight time.

Sorry to those who missed the upgrade. Is this the new norm?

Probably traveling for work business. Or they purchased F seats.

Were they AA crew or did you just see the word crew? They could be a crew for a private charter. Those companies will pay to relocate crew and in F for a number of them.

@:-) @:-)

Or, they are also EXP because they fly a lot.

As for AA crew, under some circumstances pilots are given positive space in F.

If this refers to tonight's AA1497, those unequivocally were -not- non-rev passengers.

So much for this being "the new norm."

+1

I was just on a flight next to a guy who was EXP and a FedEx pilot who gets flown in paid CX J to or from HKG before or after each stint of flying regionals from there, and AA F domestically to position when needed.