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EP 215k LP at the start of this trip
ONT-PHX - was 6/28 on the list and 2 cleared at the gate PHX-DEN - Cleared at T-100 DEN-PHX - Cleared at T-48 PHX-ONT - 5/35 on the list, 1 cleared at the gate Those A319 upgrades are tough! |
Spoiler
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Surprised (but very happy!) to get upgraded both ways (and at ~T-71) as a Platinum Pro on an LAX --> JFK round trip (Jan 24 to Jan 26). Outbound was the ~10am flight which I expected to be tough. Return was 8:30pm (arriving at LAX after midnight) which I was hoping would be a bit easier. Both upgrades cleared about an hour into the 72-hour window. Also I was monitoring the seat map at T-100 hours to see if EPs would be upgraded and definitely seems like that was the case as well. E.g. on the return flight, there were 14 out of 20 business class seats open at T-100, and a couple hours later 7 of them disappeared at the same time.
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Upcoming flights (early Feb) as EXP, LP ~230k
JFK-MIA cleared 30h before departure MIA-JFK cleared 100h before departure for spouse & I (B777-200 so a fairly large J seatmap). |
Originally Posted by monkeys
(Post 34976537)
Surprised (but very happy!) to get upgraded both ways (and at ~T-71) as a Platinum Pro on an LAX --> JFK round trip (Jan 24 to Jan 26). Outbound was the ~10am flight which I expected to be tough. Return was 8:30pm (arriving at LAX after midnight) which I was hoping would be a bit easier. Both upgrades cleared about an hour into the 72-hour window. Also I was monitoring the seat map at T-100 hours to see if EPs would be upgraded and definitely seems like that was the case as well. E.g. on the return flight, there were 14 out of 20 business class seats open at T-100, and a couple hours later 7 of them disappeared at the same time.
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EXP, re-qualified with 259k LP
1/30 SFO to JFK (AA276) A321T (redeye). Purchased ticket with cash in main cabin, about 1 month out. Upgraded to Flagship Business right at T-100. Flight went out practically empty in Flagship First, full in Flagship Business with all elite customers clearing before DOD with nobody on the waitlist upon departure. 2/3 DFW-SNA (AA348) B737 already upgraded at T-100. 2/4 LAX-LHR (AA 136) B777-300ER, SWU from Y to J cleared at booking about 1 month out, along with upcoming 2/13 return flight. |
Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
(Post 34976772)
Fingers crossed for mine, pretty much exact same setup as you! How was Flagship Biz?
Seats were comfortable and the (Casper brand?) pillows and blankets were very nice. Also since the two seats are next to each other, they share the small "table" in between them but I never felt overly crowded or too close to my neighbor. There were nice headphones (not sure if they were noise-cancelling as I didn't use them) and little Shinola amenity kits. Food was better than I expected and very plentiful: 1) warm nuts, 2) salad + "small plate" (really just a different salad), 3) main + sides, 4) dessert, 5) warm cookie. On both flights I overheard people not getting the meal their first choice meal so I'd recommend ordering ahead if you care (I didn't see a way to do that in the app; think you have to do it via aa.com). Entertainment screens were large and nice, if a little hard to control with the remotes. LAX flagship lounge was great at 8am and pretty empty. Greenwich lounge at JFK was packed at ~7pm but still managed to get a seat and have dinner. In both cases the buffet had great variety and pretty decent quality. Overall I haven't flown business/first on a transcon flight for a long time (~5 years), but it was definitely comparable to what I remember. The only other thing I can compare it to are the United Polaris seats on their Dreamliners. I fly in those often but it's LAX <--> ORD so it's not Polaris service, but the seats are comparable. The AA seats are probably a bit better, but all of the United seats have aisle access (makes sense as it's a wider plane) and if I remember correctly have a bit more storage. Good luck with the upgrades! |
Originally Posted by monkeys
(Post 34977461)
Pretty nice overall - I'd say the biggest downside (compared to 1st or to most United layouts for example) is that the window seats don't have aisle access, so you have to decide if you'd rather potentially interrupt someone if you have to get up, or be interrupted if they do. If the aisle person is sitting upright there's plenty of room to slip by without them moving, but if they're sleeping or have the footrest up it would be very awkward to try to jump over. It seems as though they'll keep a few seats open after clearing some upgrades, so if you do get upgraded and get a window and want an aisle (or vice-versa) you can potentially switch seats (I was able to to on the return, but after my upgrade cleared on the outbound, every seat was full so switching wasn't an option).
Seats were comfortable and the (Casper brand?) pillows and blankets were very nice. Also since the two seats are next to each other, they share the small "table" in between them but I never felt overly crowded or too close to my neighbor. There were nice headphones (not sure if they were noise-cancelling as I didn't use them) and little Shinola amenity kits. Food was better than I expected and very plentiful: 1) warm nuts, 2) salad + "small plate" (really just a different salad), 3) main + sides, 4) dessert, 5) warm cookie. On both flights I overheard people not getting the meal their first choice meal so I'd recommend ordering ahead if you care (I didn't see a way to do that in the app; think you have to do it via aa.com). Entertainment screens were large and nice, if a little hard to control with the remotes. LAX flagship lounge was great at 8am and pretty empty. Greenwich lounge at JFK was packed at ~7pm but still managed to get a seat and have dinner. In both cases the buffet had great variety and pretty decent quality. Overall I haven't flown business/first on a transcon flight for a long time (~5 years), but it was definitely comparable to what I remember. The only other thing I can compare it to are the United Polaris seats on their Dreamliners. I fly in those often but it's LAX <--> ORD so it's not Polaris service, but the seats are comparable. The AA seats are probably a bit better, but all of the United seats have aisle access (makes sense as it's a wider plane) and if I remember correctly have a bit more storage. Good luck with the upgrades! For the red eye 830 flight, were they doing a full meal service? Also did you book basic economy? |
Originally Posted by Flying for Fun
(Post 34948855)
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Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
(Post 34977707)
Mind running this one more time?
James |
Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
(Post 34977707)
Mind running this one more time?
02/06/23 10:15 PM 02/07/23 6:35 AM 90% / 14m |
What is the conclusion I should make if it's still J7 but there have been some MCE/Biz seats taken?
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Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
(Post 34977773)
What is the conclusion I should make if it's still J7 but there have been some MCE/Biz seats taken?
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Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
(Post 34977466)
Gotcha. What were the days and times of the flights? I recall you said Jan 24 Jan 26 so Friday 10 AM was LAX-JFK and Sunday 830 PM was the JFK-LAX? You got incredibly lucky then imo.
For the red eye 830 flight, were they doing a full meal service? Also did you book basic economy? Yes to the full meal service for the 830pm flight, but note that going west that’s not a redeye (by my definition at least). And no to basic economy, this was “regular” coach. Though from what I know you have the same chances of being upgraded from basic economy as regular (though please correct me if I’m wrong about that!). |
Originally Posted by coleslaw
(Post 34977790)
The main conclusion to make is that it's too far out to make a meaningful conclusion.
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