gboots

So my wife and I are taking a quick trip to HKG from LAX on 10/3.... We are booked in PEY....I am using SWU for both departure and return.. Hoping that they will clear (Wed departure and Sat return).... Does it help to split reservation so we don't get passed over?

BusinessorBust

I'll tell you what I know, maybe others can add more. If you and your wife have different status levels, DO NOT split the rez. You want to both inherit the highest status level (and you will if they are booked together).

If you both have the same status level but one of you has way higher 1 year rolling EQDs, I still wouldn't split it. Upgrades often come down to this measure within a status and you want to inherit the highest status, in spite of what I'm going to say below. So I think these top two points strongly point to not splitting.

That said.... if you both have the same tier status and relatively similar eqd's, and your are willing to accept a single upgrade rather than "both of us or bust".... Technically, you could split the rez. You could actually call AA and tell them to put a note on it to say that you are willing to accept just a single upgrade if only one is available. But, when RM (revenue management) decides to make one C class upgrade available, you can't be sure how diligently a single employee making a decision may be in reading such notes. Similarly, if you aren't clear by the time you get to the airport but are hoping to get cleared at the gate, you can always go up to the gate agent and tell them you are open to a single upgrade. They usually take this into account but again, I suppose you might worry. So in this particular case I guess you could try splitting them, if you both have the same tier, similar rolling eqds, and are open to just a single upgrade.

On the other hand, maybe you meant that you put in for an upgrade for yourself but not your wife, or vice versa. If two reservations are linked and only one requests an upgrade, I have no idea how this would affect your shots. I'd assume it simply would not matter and so there is no reason to split, but that's my own conjecture and not anything I've read, so maybe others can chime in.

BusinessorBust

Hey guys -

Just wanted to say that happily my wife and I both cleared our upgrades last night about 28 hours before our flights. Actually, I didn't even get an email - I had found an alternate route (that would have been pretty troublesome for us) that had C class upgrades available and was calling to see if I could rebook and instant upgrade. But when I got the explat agent on the line and asked her about our LAX to HKG flights, she told me they had cleared and she would get it ticketed for me immediately. 5 minutes on hold later, we had business class seats.

Really happy I put in the time/effort to get explat last year. And looking forward to 15 hours of actually getting work done and sleeping before the honeymoon starts.

Thanks for everyone who gave me some thoughts/feedback.

checkerboard

FWIW, on AA.com, there is some contradictory information posted about this very thing:For a recently booked trip (situation described in this post from a related thread), I relied on what AA.com told me (which aligned with what an EXP agent suggested), and split my wife's (no status) record from mine, precisely so they could clear us one at a time as inventory opened up, on the presumption that she'd inherit my EXP status and EQD level. But as described in the post I just linked to, subsequent EXP agents have told me this was a mistake, which means your advice indeed would have been useful, had I realised in time. What will actually happen is anyone's guess - and no two agents at AA seem to give the same answer. Such uncertainty around all this is quite a drag...

gboots

I think I will just keep us both in same record locator and take chances.. I have cleared this route all 3 times I have done it .. but never with another person with me ..

BusinessorBust

My consistent experience has been that if the two reservations are made together and you keep them linked, status is inherited. And if you split the rezzes, status is no longer inherited. It sounds like you were given bad information - I've had a lot of experience with this (when I was platinum and now that I'm explat) and all my experiences are consistent with what I've said here. Definitely don't unlink unless inheriting status simply isn't important to your situation.

checkerboard

Indeed, both our tickets were booked at the same time, in a single PNR. But since for one of our outbound legs only seat was available to confirm in "C," she asked us to split them into two PNR. Because AA.com said that status could be inherited by a travel companion even on separately booked tickets, I thought it would be OK. Totally infuriating if/that this isn't the case... And most annoying of all is that EXP agents can't give a definitive/consistent/accurate information about this.

jeffeverde

I'm EXP, and my wife is PP. We're flying out on a Thursday and returning on Sunday. Flying 8/30-9/2, and the SWU for the return cleared 5 weeks out. Fingers crossed on the outbound. I have ours joined per the advice of an EXP agent.

JDiver

checkerboard has provided a good link to the thread where this issue is best discussed.

A declared travel companion has always “borrowed” the sponsor’s status when that is allowed regardless of whether the two passengers are on the same PNR, in my experience I’ve actually declared another passenger as a travel companion for upgrade purposes at the gate, whereupon that person instantaneously gained my EP status and got the #1 position and the upgrade. (Last time the pax was a WW II vet I chatted up who had never flown anything but coach.)

If a ONR is split, you have to make this travel companion “linkage” established again. Not every agent is up on this, or how you can have a TCP note added in the OSI field in the PNR. This can help a party remain together in OSO / IROPS situations. link to thread.

Erasmus

Does anybody know what is up on the scheduling of this flight? I'm booked on 193 next week and it has now schedule changed for the second time in as many weeks, with departure time now pushed all the way to 2:10am (although arrival remains unchanged). What's up with that? And will the AA and/or QF lounges remain open to accommodate us?

UAPremierGuy

I was wondering the same thing, as mine changed next week to a 2:10AM departure with same arrival time. Posted hours for Flagship Lounge are open until 1:30AM, so should be good to go until boarding!

flytoeat

Strange. My flight on the 30th is the first to change to 02:10 departure, with the same arrival at 7:25 +1 as previous days. Already difficult redeye departure time even worse. All the more reason to eat on the ground and get to sleep asap.

JonNYC

Some explanation here:

jeffeverde

Update:-- SWU on the outbound cleared at T-5d. Biz had been almost half empty the past 5 weeks, with no change in seat count until last week, when a couple seats were taken. When our SWU cleared, there were still 15 seats open.

jeffeverde

I'm flying 193 tonight (8/30). It still shows the original 7:25a arrival.

Does 193 normally board at the Bradley terminal, or T4? Tonight's flight is boarding at T4, and I was wondering if the changed departure could be due to gate shuffling