While C space in advance is certainly hard to find, it's definitely 100% not true that AA doesn't release any space at all until close in.

Asia is much harder to find in advance than Europe these days, especially with most Asia flying on smaller business cabin 787's. But it's not that hard at all to find C space to/from Europe in the Fall and Winter.

For example, looking now at EF for JFK-LHR and LHR-JFK, I see TONS of C space for pretty much all of Oct and Nov. Also spot checking a few other random routes I see C space on JFK-MXP, MIA-MXP, PHL-AMS, PHL-MAN, JFK-CDG, just to name a few. This was looking at random weeks in Oct. and Nov.

Hi all! I've been stalking my LAX>HKG flight next month (10/16 AA193). There's still plenty of business seats available (J7), while there's only 1 seat left in first, although EF is showing F0. I have been looking at recent AA193 flights and it appears C space is opening up around 12-14 hours before the flight. How are my chances looking at a miles+copay upgrade for this flight now that first class has booked up?

For being about a month out your chances look decent. Business is basically half full. You're flying on a Tuesday night (actually early Wednesday morning) which is about the best travel day with regards to AA upgrade chances on pretty much every long-haul route.

It changes from day to day, but it's mostly likely to be available in advance sometimes on some routes. I scored an C1 upgrade ahead of time both ways on PHX<->SJO (Costa Rica) which is a new route starting in December that I'm flying a couple months later on a 737. That C1 appeared on the outboard for a few weeks, then disappeared, then a few weeks later it appeared in both directions, and I grabbed it. Whether it'll appear again, I don't know.

And not that that's probably not a route with high business travel, and not a plane on which seats upfront are as highly coveted.

Anyway, you have to be flexible in either where you're going or when you're going or at least when you're booking to find it.

yet another 'any chance of a SWU' question?
 

hey y'all!
I feel like I often start with this preface: after years of being a good FTer, I've kinda checked out on following all of AA's regs and rules. So I apologize as I suspect (although I searched and didn't see much) if this has been asked 100 times.

I'm headed to CDG on a whim for a long weekend (I know, right?) in a few weeks. My routing is SFO-CLT-CDG on AA786. It looks like I'm in a Q fare (not quite sure what that means?). I booked about 5 weeks ago which makes the booking about 7 weeks out from the trip.

I called AA EP today and they said there wasn't any inventory at all. It was unclear if that meant biz is full, or just unopened for upgrades - regardless, she didn't think my prospects were good.

My questions are:
1. are there any good tips/methods for increasing one's odds for a SWU? (at least at this stage, post-booking). I know sometimes a flight schedule change can allow us to find another routing, but that's not the case for me on this trip.
2. I understand a lot of people use Expert Flyer to some advantage - what's the trick there? Is that all about booking the right flight in the first place? Or does EF provide some added benefit with SWUs post-booking?

Thanks for the patience - I know its kind of a noobie question for a multi-year EP. :D

That’s what I would think too... and it looks like there is just 1 seat available in F now (just using the app... need to sign up for EF still). Upfare was $525 when I called.

On this question, see https://cwsi.net/aa.htm.

I'll let others answer the SWU questions as I've given up trying to use mine.

You've already booked your flights so there's not much you can do other than call AA back and ask to be put on the waitlist (if you didn't already on the first call). Forget about whatever semantics the prior agent used, they were most likely saying there just wasn't any upgrade space at the current time (very common).

EF can help in 2 ways:

Before you book: Check lots of flights for any confirmable C space in advance, rare but it does happen. Can also check loads, seatmaps, etc. to gauge which flights might give you the best chances.

After you book: can set up alerts for your flights, if/when C space opens up you can call in and ask for the upgrade to be processed immediately rather than waiting for the waitlist to process. Sometimes, depending on the situation, you may be able to "jump the queue" this way, but some agents won't manually process your upgrade if you're on the waitlist, and other times it might not matter at all.

OP is this a 332 bird? C space *should* open up at T-24 or 48 so EF can help you with that as you can set an alert. I've used it many times with great results.

Thanks yall! Interesting!
I’ve learned two things:
1. I have an EF login and pro account ... literally have no recollection of that, may need to see a neurologist ;)
2. There is a single seat showing available - is that a good thing for me?

C1 is currently showing?? get off Flyertalk now and get on the horn to snag it now! :D

OP did you get the upgrade? You can’t keep us hanging! Lol

I have to say the single best real enhancement has been upgrades on award tickets. I booked SXM-MIA-NYC for 12,500 miles and was upgraded on both segments almost immediately. In fact every coach award ticket I’ve booked has resulted in an upgrade....if only my paid tickets had this much luck!

Looking for upgrade space on AA79 from LHR to DFW next Sunday. EF Shows J7 and Seat map has 11 seats unassigned. I am starting to think it should open up a few days. Thoughts?

Like pretty much every other long haul flight on AA these days, if it stays J7 then space will most likely open up around 24-48 hrs before.