cmurtaugh

I have a reservation coming up for 2 of us (both on the same reservation). I am Platinum Pro and well within the 72-hour window. There are 2 open seats in First Class but they're NOT together. Will the upgrade still potentially clear at some point even if the seats are not together?

upinsmoke

If the question is: "there are 2 upgrades available, but the seats are not together, will they upgrade us?" The answer to that is yes.

The issue is that if there are 2 open seats (and are you looking at the seatmap, or are you looking at how many F seats AA is willing to sell?), that doesn't mean that there are 2 upgrades available. At this point AA might still be wanting to sell those seats and not opening up for upgrades, so there could be EXPs that are ahead of you in the upgrade order.

The last F seat is usually not given away to an upgrade until right before departure. It's possible that if there are 2 seats being sold, AA will open up 1 upgrade, and even you are #1 and #2 on the upgrade list, if you will be passed up for someone who is a single upgrade.

Are you willing to split up and take just 1 upgrade if that's what is available? You'll need to tell an agent.

IADCAflyer

Yeah two upgrades when there are two seats open is not going to happen at the "window" in most situations. AA usually holds one seat open until around boarding time.

dc10forlife

And when upgraded while travelling with a partner/friend/child, I usually find that most first class passengers are willing to switch seats if asked nicely so that you can sit together.

fastflyer

Public Service Announcement:

If you are going to do this, please arrive at the gate at T-45 and gently ask the gate agent to page one of the adjoining passengers for a seat swap in First Class. You have two chances, and usually one will accept a seat change. If both answer no, then please take your assigned seats and make no more fuss about it once aboard.

dc10forlife

That sounds great in theory but not in practice. That assumes your upgrade has been processed by T-45. Also how many FC passengers are even at the gate at T-45? Will the GA even entertain the request? Each and every time I have asked the GA to do this, they suggest waiting until you have boarded and ask there (although I have not asked recently).

About half the time I don't even need to ask. We board and take our assigned seats, and usually the seatmate will pick up on the fact that we are together and will voluntarily offer to switch. I try to do the same for others whenever I travel in FC alone.

enviroian

if you're DFW based I wouldn't count on 1 upgrade let alone 2.

onanisland

Agree with all of this. Unless I just got upgraded too, I won’t be at the gate. Most the time if we get upgraded separately we just take our seats. Sometimes someone figures it out. My main reason for even wanting to sit together is to share food. 🤣

pauleeepaul

An informal review of FT threads on topic would suggest it is less than a 50/50 proposition.

redtop43

I think your odds of both getting upgraded are quite small. Actually, even one, because you are still behind all the EXP's who have not been upgraded yet.

I think the odds of being able to swap if you are in F are greater than 50/50. There's not that much difference in the quality of seats in F, which is not at all true in Y. My favorite F seats are 1C and 1D (bulkhead aisle) but I'd swap to 5A/F for someone else's convenience. It's just not that big a deal.