DoctorORD

You will probably get your upgrade - the flight is now F2 J6.

frudd38

It's a bit hazy, but it appeared to be just as many GE booths as TBIT (10ish?). I didn't pay attention to the normal line but there were automated booths for that as well. If you're asking "booths" in terms of GE officers for the last checkpoint, there were 3 of them.

galt727

While I completely agree it was selfish (+ I was upfront about my own motive), having also spent days refreshing for confirm-able J->F upgrades recently I thought it might help someone else as well.

ericdabbs

Well did you get cleared when it was all said and done?

galt727

Yup - was going to post after the flight but jetlag reared it's ugly head. 1 C inventory opened up ~6 hours from the flight time. I called the Exp line and was able to grab it for my wife. There were 4 J seats open at check-in, I was fourth on the list and got the last upgrade at boarding time.

Short flight - just over 12 hours.

To answer my own question on "who is going on HKG-LAX for CNY?" Apparently middle-aged mainland couples on group tours. Even business class had a large group (12+) traveling together. I did see some great I fare deals ex-HKG around CNY time but unfortunately the dates didn't line up for us.

Flight back to HK on Tuesday morning is completely empty in F and <50% full in J (still 7s across the line in ExpertFlyer). Hopefully that is an easier upgrade!

olgsr

Hey guys, sorry if this has been answered recently. Does AA still gives out PJs on 193/192?

galt727

Yes, PJs and mattress pads as well in J.

roder

Looking for some advice.

I am EXP, Wife is PLT. Traveling LAX-HKG, HKG-LAX later in February and are waitlisted for SWUs (Y->J)

Presently we are on the same PNR, hoping that we would retain EXP listing on the PALL list (Since that's likely where the upgrade will occur), but seeing as that change has not materialized, I don't want to get passed over if only one C seat opens prior to the PALL list.

Should I divide the records? If I divide them now, will I lose my upgrade timestamp?

DoctorORD

As you currently guessed, your wife will NOT retain EXP listing on PALL list with you.

You will definitely get passed over if you don't split PNR if only 1 C opens up (and usually it's 1 seat at a time that seems to open up). However, if you split your PNR, you will lose your upgrade timestamp. I suggest you do NOT split your PNR because at this point so close to the flight, timestamp will matter more.

However, fortunately (or unfortunately), when C inventory opens up, people's SWU's haven't been automatically clearing right away, which is why I suggest you use ExpertFlyer, set an alert, but also manually check MULTIPLE times per day for C inventory (and also look through these threads to look at people's experiences as to when C inventory pops up). When inventory opens up, clear your wife first, then keep trying for yourself. If neither of you has cleared by the time you get to the airport, make sure to specify at checkin whether you're willing to be split up, otherwise they'll bypass both of you if you're up (and not enough seats).

To avoid this problem in future, I suggest you use different PNR's.

What dates are you traveling?

roder

Thanks for the detailed reply. We are traveling 2/17 - LAX-HKG, 2/20 - HKG-LAX.

I have the ExpertFlyer alerts set and checking manually; however I'm not expecting much to open until a few days out. But if C does open and I am able to clear my wife, AA will have to divide the PNR then, correct? Will that mess up the timestamp on the return flight?

If I do decide to divide now, I'm assuming the EXP desk has no way to override and revert back if the timestamp is lost?

DoctorORD

Magic 8 ball (combining various publicly available information sources) says you'll almost definitely clear on your way back HKG-LAX. However, on the way there, I estimate only ~10-20 biz seats remain (although first class is still close to empty).

Correct, there is no technical way to regain the original timestamp. I don't know that I would mess around and manually split the PNR right now. Thinking about it more, I stand corrected -- if you decide to divide your PNR's, one or both of your timestamps may actually remain intact, it may depend on how experienced your ExP agent is, but I could definitely be wrong.

Yes, if C opens and your wife clears, your PNR's will be divided, but in my experience clearing for a non-status companion after a split PNR, the return upgrade request remained intact - not sure about the timestamp. YMMV, so I would double confirm if that happens. Again, I still think you will clear on the way back.

roder

Agree, I'm sweating over the outbound, not the return.

Will keep an eye on it, and leave the PNRs in tact for now. Thanks for the advice!

royng

I am flying AA 192 HKG-LAX in late Feb 2017 (my first AA long-haul business class flight thanks to promotional fare). The menu-

(1) Mushroom Wellington Mushroom
mushroom cream sauce, yellow squash, asparagus, roasted tomatoes

(2) Black Angus Beef Filet
red wine demi-glace, cheddar-chive mashed potato, Romanesco broccoli

(3) Sautéed Sea Bass
ginger soy sauce, steamed jasmine and Thai brown rice, bok choy

(4) Fried Chicken
chili sauce, black sesame steamed rice, mixed vegetables

I'm not returning on AA193, so can't post the menu for that flight.

Mrp Alert

I posted about the following on Facebook, but wanted to share it here. I did not receive an ExpertFlyer Alert for my flight on Sunday Jan 26, but my pnr suddenly changed to upgraded at exactly T-24. AAngels at the EXP desk helped me get it reissued.

We were scheduled to land at T4, but then got switched to TBIT. Initially, we were delayed due to an aircraft at our stand pushing. The alley then got busy. Finally, we taxied to the gate, but LAA equipment was blocking our gate. It was a fun half hour delay. Arrivals into TBIT and GE was uneventful minus the dozen CBP Agents with semi-automatic weapons at the exit and the giant protest occurring outside.

As I was exhausted from my weekend trip to TPE, I requested to be served my meal when I awoke. I had the steak around 6 hours after departure and it was fine - not the best and not the worst onboard steak. The potatoes were tasty similar in taste to a twice banked potato.

Au4882

Flying LAX-HKG next week. Booked 3 months ago and applied SWU. Have been tracking regularly. Still 18-19 seats on seat map a week out, BUT yesterday, the availability went from J7 to J6. So, that is not good at all.

I knew there would be a few seats unassigned, but didn't think there would be 12-13 seats in the C cabin unassigned!

Hopefully I get lucky, but for now, this 6'4" guy is mentally prepping for a long ride in Y.

Sad that I'm having such a hard time using my SWUs. With this last year's set of SWUs, I'm only 3 / 10 in successfully using them (success on LHR-CLT; CLT-PHX x2; FAIL on CLT-LHR x2; LHR-CLT; PHX-CLT x2; DFW-YYC; YYC-DFW).

Hoping I'm actually able to use them for this HKG flight. This has really killed the value proposition of EXP for me.