redtop43

I am flying PHL-DFW-ABQ on Thursday. I'm EXP with a fairly good upgrade percentage so far this year.

I'm on a 3:32 departure that was J3 until earlier today when it went to J1. There is a 2:29 departure that is currently J3. Assuming I don't mind leaving an hour earlier and spending an hour longer in DWF, is it sensible (assuming the 2:29 departure remains J3) to do a SDC change Wednesday at 2:30 to the 2:29 departure?

ceebee100

I just wanted a general consensus regarding which airport would probably be most likely to have a SWU clear (right now both flights show C0 on EF).
I'm looking at traveling to London on Oct 14 late evening and connecting through either ORD or DFW. Like I mentioned earlier, both flight I'm interested in have C0 but lots of "available" seats showing on the seat maps, DFW is a 777W so about 10 more J seats show available.
EF still has J7 for both too.
I know I will be waitlisted and I am leaning toward DFW simply because to me the possibility of clearing a SWU might be greater, but it could also mean more people buying J and filling up or more CK folks ahead of me on the waitlist..
Any thoughts and insights are welcome as to which airport I should choose, ORD or DFW. Thanks.

enviroian

Personally (I have flown a few of these flights ) I would go with the later DFW departures as your best bet. Why? People who are traveling for work need to connect early at LHR. The later flights get in at noon or later not really favorable for connections. Personally however I wouldn't be flying unless C has space at booking, which AA has made it just about impossible.

Sorry mom.

EXP100

Flying DFW/MIA tonight (Wednesday evening flight) and as an EXP (lower spend) I'm already number 8 on the upgrade list. First was sold out before the upgrade window even opened. Starting with my flight on Friday and continuing on I'm just buying F out right. However, I'm finding that to get a reasonable price I need to do connections over a direct flight out MIA.

SFflyer20

7 am Friday SFO-CLT: #7/28, nobody cleared.
3 pm Friday CLT-SFO: #2/3, 1 cleared at the gate, then I was moved into first class after taking my seat in coach, along with the other elite, an AA pilot, and a fourth person. Perhaps a party of 4 missed their connection?

ceebee100

Thanks! That's my thinking as well. Thanks again for your thoughts.

ryanbriar

JFK may not be viable and it is a short hop, but those flights seem to have a lot of J space (and sometimes C space) given the frequencies across all airlines and the 77W / 772 being used by AA.

carlosdca

This is not accurate, it is definitely a YMMV situation.
I'd rather have almost a full day at work in the US (I'm on the west coast), leave the office late PM and then arrive late PM in Europe to go straight to my bed than
take an early flight, lose a day of work in the US and arrive jet lagged to Europe for an afternoon of work. Most at my office prefer the same too (leave on the latest flight possible).

OP, it is a toss and nobody knows. AA will dynamically change pricing (for either ORD or DFW) and offer upgrades on the app or website to fill up the cabin with paid J passengers.

patriotPHL1

Reverting back to this. What made this upgrade even better was that there must have been a glitch and the APD payment never hit my credit card. Netted a completely "free" upgrade. Must take the wins.

js1993

Nice. Your friend definitely didn't provide a CC number when applying the SWU?

There have been multiple reports of SWUs not clearing because a valid payment method wasn't available for the APD, so this is interesting.

patriotPHL1

I patched him in on a 3-way call while on with the agent, for his SWU approval. I then provided my CC info to agent, so correct, my friend definitely didn't. Waited 30 days to make sure no CC charge appeared.

metallo

Many flights are cleared down to J1 just before T-24 (like T-26ish), so changing at T-24 often won't help in a scenario like this. You'd generally still have to hope you're #1 on the list at the gate and that the last seat is still available for a gate upgrade (or someone else cancels and it goes back to J2 or greater after T-24). On some routes, AA will hold back a few more seats beyond T-24, particularly if it's the last flight of the day. Last week, I noticed the late night PHX-DEN was still J5 at T-24, with upgrades only clearing around T-12, for example, but most routes are down to J1 or J0 by T-24.

lougord99

I am gold and my wife is nothing. For reasons that I don't understand, they upgraded us from economy to premium economy on a fairly full flight from Barcelona to O'hare.

If that is the only upgrade I get this year, I will be happy.

js1993

Most likely, Y was oversold.

lawly

Plat w/ 104k lp. Got a DFW to ORD upgrade T-27hours for a Saturday flight