cover point

I bought the ticket about a week ago and immediately added myself to the upgrade list so yes was on the upgrade list from the beginning. I can't speak for my gold colleague. He did say he had requested an upgrade but can't tell when he did.

ESpen36

Unless the non-rev is good buddies with the GA working the flight! Remember, GAs have the ultimate power to add/remove anyone to/from the flight they want in the interest of closing the door on time. In the past year, I have witnessed no fewer than 3 occasions in which, a few minutes before boarding, non-revs approached the GA, had a nice chat, and received boarding passes for First, BEFORE the GA began processing the airport upgrade list. I've seen the same happen for the standby list.

Being a non-rev with the right connections can open all sorts of doors, apparently!

HNL

Thanks for the follow-up. Based on what you posted, and the rules that have been stated by AmericanAirlines then there is an issue and I look forward to the response you get back from Customer Service to explain this situation.

JNB280

The truth is out there.

sukn

Well, the OP said he purchased the fare a week prior to departure and requested the upgrade at that time. The OP also says he checked-in online the night before and asked to be placed on the airport list.

The information contained in that link says no one was on the airport upgrade list the night before -- so there is some inconsistency.

Regardless, it seems the LFBU algorithm is using the airport list rather than the advance upgrade list.

If true, using the airport list to determine LFBU remains a disingenuous practice on AA's part and it will continue to short change elites since I suspect almost everyone who requested an upgrade in advance also chooses to be placed on the airport list at time of check-in.

Robt760

If I had the access you did, I would be keeping it to myself. Especially since from what you've told, you're using somebody else's access; risky business and privacy concerns of others involved.

ExpatExp

I was hoping someone would post that

brp

Well, until the discrepancy between what the OP posts here, and what is reported from that generally reliable source are resolved, that post does not necessarily shed light on the situation. The OP is claiming that he did add himself to the upgrade request list at booking, and the cited source is indicating that this is not the case- that there were no requests made until the day of the flight. This discrepancy is key.

If this did happen as reported, I'm tending to side with sukn's interpretation - that they based to LFBU offers on the airport list at, or near, the 24 hour mark,even though the airport list doesn't come into play until 3 hours before the flight. If they're really ignoring the normal list at that point, that is a slimy move, and something that they should disclose. Check-in time is not supposed to matter for upgrades. If they're doing this, it does....and this should be made clear.

Cheers.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

We may never know why the policy seemed to be violated in this situation. While the OP did eventually get his upgrade he may have been prevented from choosing his desired seat.

I'd say if this starts to appear to happen on a continual or wide basis its time for AA to fess up to what is going on.

FWAAA

The Flyertalk crowd knows that upgrades should be requested at the time of booking to maximize one's chances of sitting in the wider seat, but out in the real world, it's surprising how many people wait until the gate agent shows up to work the flight to ask that they be placed on the list. That ignorance is good for those of us who know better, so I'm not going to devote a lot of energy to "educating" the masses. Let them continue to request upgrades late in the process.

gemac

Either the system is totally FUBAR, or the OP, who was apparently wrong about the $80 part and the "There were about 7-8 people on the upgrade list ( including two other colleagues)" when boarding began part was also wrong about the "I bought the ticket about a week ago and immediately added myself to the upgrade list so yes was on the upgrade list from the beginning." part. If the OP returns to post the answer he receives to his email we will know which one it is - if not, we will have to make an assumption based on the relative reputations of the OP and the person linked above.

cover point

I don't know what I was wrong about. The $80 and the 7-8 people on upgrade list were both accurate.

Anyway Did hear back from customer service. Not helpful response though.

Dear Mr. Cover point,

First, allow me to thank you for being one of our valued Executive
Platinum� members. .At AAdvantage� Customer Service, we are always glad
to hear from you.

I can assure you that the upgrading procedures have not changed. While I
wish I could help you more with the policies for clearing upgrades, my
colleagues at the AAdvantage Executive Platinum� Service Desk
(1-800-843-6200) are best equipped to resolve this matter for you. My
area of responsibility is AAdvantage account issues, whereas Service
Desk representatives provide personalized service with respect to
airline reservations, including upgrades, award claims, award
reinstatements, etc.

Regards,

<name redacted>
AAdvantage Customer Service
American Airlines

AA_EXP09

Is AA learning from AC/COdbaUA?

sukn

Don't sweat it. Despite so called "reputations" at play here, we are all capable of looking at the information presented and coming to our own conclusions.

brp

Agreed. While there are certainly other knowledgeable sources, I think I'm going to trust someone who likely has a credit card receipt for this amount, and is probably well able to count the number of names on an upgrade list on a screen in front of his/her face. Sometimes looking at after-the-fact lists from a distance doesn't always provide as much information as actually being there, it would seem.

Clearly the firsthand information presented by the OP is at odds with the at-a-distance results.

OP - please let us know if they can confirm that you were on the upgrade list at the time of purchase (are you sure that you requested)? There seems to be debate in some corners as to whether you did this right. It would be interesting if you did request this, and the request somehow got lost by the system leading to a case where no one was on any of the upgrade waiting lists the night before, as is being claimed.

Cheers.