gracett1

How far in advance are you fellow EXP's booking TATL's in order to get SWU's confirmed at the time of booking? I am particularly interested in DFW departures. I find it particularly difficult to find any flights that offer C space available at time of booking on any flights to cities that are serviced by 2 cabin aircraft. AA seems to be reducing the number of 3 cabin aircraft going to Europe.

Any comments are welcomed.

TIA

JJeffrey

There really isn't a rhyme or reason or standard protocol with AA that says if you book at X months out you will find C space, but if you book at X-1 months out you won't.

IME, AA releasing C space in advance is much more dependent on the specific route, day of week, and season of the year, rather than just how far in advance you book.

If you can be flexible and fly midweek, then your chances of clearing in general increase tremendously, regardless of the route or how far in advance you book, etc.

fotographer

my wife, who recently took the PLT challenge and completed it, upgraded AMS to DFW to ATL for travel June 11, using my SWU, She is very happy

gracett1

JJeffrey, I really appreciate your comment and will definitely look to be flexible with SWU plans. FYI, I did have success confirming SWU's R/T from DFW-LHR-DFW, flying midweek and being flexible......you are definitely correct.
Thanks,

Uncle Nonny

Here's a question: My family and I are currently flying PEK>ORD. I put in for miles upgrades for the three of us in early April. I cleared two days ago and my family did not (there were 12 seats open in J this week). When I called two days ago to check on their upgrades AA said my family wasn't on the list. I was ticked, of course. I asked that they be put back on the list. Showed up at the gate for the flight and they informed me that there was only one upgrade available. I took it for my son. The rub is that they charged me a same day additional fee of $75 along with the miles/$$. Is it normal for them to do that even though I gave them my credit card number twice this month?

beachfan

There is a close in ticketing fee (21 days I think) so I'm assuming you are within 21 days.

If the members had requested an upgrade more than 21 days, or the miles came from someone with sufficient status, then the $75 shouldn't apply. Where did the miles come from for your son, and how far in advance is the flight.

Were you on the same record originally? Did you independently check to see if the upgrade request was shown? Not that you should have to, but it is a best practice to head off these issues.

Uncle Nonny

I thought the 21 day fee was waived for elite members (I recall being told there was a charge for a redemption I made last year by an agent but they never charged it dude to my status). The miles came from my account and my son's and wife's res had "upgrade requested" up until the day before the flight. Different PNR but whenI made the request 10 days ago the agent said it was no problem, even gave them MCE seats at no charge as they were traveling with me (but on a different PNR). The whole thing surprised/disappointed me. Getting hit with the extra $75 was the icing. Is the best way to deal with this going through DM on Twitter?

FlightNurse

Did you split the reservation? if so that is why you were charged

Uncle Nonny

It was s separate ticket from the get-go. The agent that originally put them on the upgrade list said it wouldn't be a problem since they were traveling me and also put them in MCE without a charge, even though we were on separate PNR. That explains the $75 share, though. Still doesn't explain how they were wiped form the request list though. Thanks for your response.

FlightNurse

Im not too sure how the agent placed them in MCE without charging you, they have to be on the same PRN.

Uncle Nonny

I paid the MCE upgrade for them on their outbound as they weren't traveling out with me. A few days later, when I called to have them put on the upgrade list they put them in MCE as they were traveling back with me. No charge.

ckd38

C space was surprisingly available and confirmable for JFK-SFO and the return SFO-JFK for 5/5 and 5/8 respectively. Interestingly, they were J4 and J6 so it wasn't like the cabin was almost empty. Redeemed 2 Business Extra certs. However, it took an hour+ on the phone for them to figure out how to upfare me and get it ticketed by coordinating with the EXP desk and tariffs. What a mess.

JJeffrey

Huh? An elite companion does not need to be on the same PNR in order to take advantage of the elite's free MCE or Preferred seating. It's been this way on AA for years. All you have to do is call AA.

The only caveat is that you have to be in the same cabin as your companion. So if my upgrade has cleared to J and then a companion joins me on the same flight in Y, I can't do anything to get them MCE/Preferred seats for free.

jav5499

Something very similar happened to me recently. My wife and I were on separate PNRs and I called to apply the SWU for both of us. The agent at the EXP desk "confirmed" she was linked to my PNR and next to me in the waitlist. I also reached out to AA customer relations to confirm (and for something else) and they again said my wife was with me in the waitlist. Furthermore, I had asked NOT to have split upgrades

Lo and behold my upgrade cleared but my wife's did not. I called the EXP desk and the first agent said she had no idea what happened and couldn't see anything about the non-split upgrade request. I called again the following day and a much more capable agent took to the phone. He finally identified the issue - my wife HAD NOT been linked. There is a checkbox on their system that says "complete party". In our case, the box was unchecked and there was no mention of my PNR in my wife's. The agent checked the box, and properly linked the PNRs. Next day, my wife's upgrade cleared.

To your point about who to contact, I wouldn't hold my breath. I wrote a detailed email explaining the situation and expression my frustration to AA customer relations. Their reply: "Please contact the EXP desk for any of your future travel needs". Never mind the fact that 2 out of 3 agents had already proven incompetent. Perhaps you'll have better lock through Twitter. I have no direct experience, but I've heard they are actually great and responsive.

wlbellows

I am pretty new to trying to get an upgrade .. but here is my situation.

I am on an AA flight coming back from LHR-DFW later this month with Main Cabin Extra (no premium eco on the flight) and on a wait list for an upgrade (miles with copay). I was booked on this flight last night.

I checked Expert Flyer and I see that the earlier flight that leaves at 9 AM has 3 C spaces available. Can I call them and ask to be moved to the earlier flight and get the immediate confirmed upgrade? Will they charge a change fee to do this?