SWU didn't clear, given consolation upgrade to PE seat?
 

My transatlantic upgrade didn't clear this week. I was number 4 on the list. Just before boarding, I (together with number 2 and 3) was paged at the gate and told my upgrade hadn't cleared, but that they were moving me to Premium Economy. I thanked the agent and double-checked that this was complimentary; she confirmed that no coupon would be pulled (and it wasn't).

This didn't entirely surprise me, as Y had 0 availability and PE three unsold seats, so I assumed it was an OpUp. But glancing behind me into the Y cabin, I noticed that my original seat was vacant throughout the flight. Could it really have been a consolation price for not making it to the front cabin? Although the whole boarding process was fluid, and they might have thought they needed by seat for a standby who didn't turn up; number 1 on the list was moved from PE to Business quite late in the boarding process, at the same time as somebody turned up with his seat assignment.

My first experience of AA"s PE. Very different in many aspects from BA's PE, but what stood out the most to me was that the food (beef and mushroom pasta dish) was utterly delicious.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...ited-time.html

There seems to be some inconsistency, but some are reporting being upgraded without asking and AFAIK it's still complimentary if available and you ask.