I haven't flown that much on AA recently. Last time was flying on JAL. For the reference last time I was eligible for comp upgrades was February.

I got no upgrades on flight from ORD-LAX and LAX-ORD both ways as EXP but just 200K or so on both flights. I did get upgrades on MSN-ORD and ORD-MSN both ways.

The ORD-LAX are heavy business routes, most are paid F.

I'm AA Gold (next to no loyalty points this cycle) and was just upgraded from basic economy to Flagship Business from LAX to BOS. Sure, it's on 7/4, but still. I was flying this route for years in the past as EXP and PLT when the upgrade rules hugely favored me, not anymore, so I know how it works. Even the lowliest GLD can be complimentary upgraded on a premium route.

7/4/24
ORD-LAX (2:40pm departure)

Upgraded (with companion) at T-23.5. Booked as an award ticket.

Gold with very little LP this year, so a very pleasant surprise.

7/5/24
JFK-BOS (10:29PM departure)

Upgraded at T-25. Cabin was wide open for me to pick whichever seat I wanted with 1A taken/blocked. (1A ended up going out empty) No upgrade list on gate monitor. F went out with 8/12 full. Flight was booked to 67/76 according to the gate agent.

Gold with negligible LP. This was an award ticket too.

OMA-LAX, E75, Friday (July 5), 720pm: complimentary cleared at 26 hours before departure

LAX-HND, AA169, 788, Saturday 0120am: SWU cleared W-->J off waitlist 8 hours or so before departure.
[This broke a string of missed SWUs]

EXP, maybe 275k rolling LPs

Due to Amtrak huge delay, I didn't make it to Washington so I flew out of LGA instead of DCA last minute. EXP, 750K rolling LPs
7/7 LGA-DCA, A319, sold out flight, but was placed at #1 and #2 and somehow got upgraded at gate, which are the last 2 F
7/7 DCA-MSN, CRJ700, less than T24 due to last minute booking, got upgraded to F for both almost immediately after booking, still had 3 empty F during the flight

Just looking for data points here - have any EPs had a LAX-LHR SWU not clear in recent memory? What about DFW-LHR?

Traveling to Greece in September and it seems both these routes are a near guarantee. I think it's likely a 57.5k award will ultimately come available closer-in, but am thinking about buying a refundable coach ticket and requesting SWU as a backup. I'm 100% on both these routes if flexible on my departure time, but hate to chance it.

Funny, that was my exact strategy for a trip in mid June. I’m a 250k LP EXP. I had an exchangeable LAX LHR return itinerary hoping to use SWU’s for both directions. I had EF alerts on for the both flights plus I checked availability frequently. Nothing ever came up and loads looked heavy. So when a 57.5k redemption popped up a few days before departure, I grabbed them as it just didn’t look like the SWU was going to happen. I just didn’t have the fortitude to chance it. So sorry for not providing a good data point, but your chances in September should be much better than mine in mid June.

Hi folks - questions about Waitlist ordering and priority I hope you can help clarify for me:

This is my second year as EP (already qualified again for next year as well) and so far this year, I've been getting CUs on over half of my flights, even out of PHX, which is home. Generally, I'm at or near the top of the Waitlist, and if there's a seat available, I generally get one. That's been pretty great, and I don't mind at all when I don't get it. But I've noticed a few things lately that I cant explain, and wanted to ask for some help understanding.

On a recent flight to BUR, I booked three of us (myself, my wife and mom) together, full fares, same booking. None of us appeared on the Waitlist at all, at any position. The agent I spoke to (about a different issue, but while I had her on the line...) said that I'd have to de-couple one of us from the reservation if I wanted a chance to receive upgrades. I assumed that meant that only one other passenger could get a CU along with you, and I confirmed that on aa's site where it details Complementary Upgrade rules.

That made sense, until this recent trip from BOI-PHX - Here are my wife and I in blue, separated by a group of three (I'm making that assumption based on the last name and grouping). So why is that group of three being considered for an upgrade together? Could it be because they applied an SWU or something that allows for three upgrades?

The follow-up question to that is why are my wife and I not grouped together? This isn't the first time I've seen that - once before, I added her to my PNR after booking her separately, but this time we were booked together in the same reservation from the start, and we're still separated in the Waitlist. Both times she's higher than she would be on her own, but still not tied to my own position so I can't explain that.

Any help sorting through the method behind those things would be appreciated, and thanks!

https://i.postimg.cc/kDnQbbCG/Screen...707-134628.png

That is correct, whenever you have more than 1 companion on the same reservation the upgrades are not requested for anyone. You can only upgrade 1 companion, the system doesn't know which companion you'd like to upgrade so it defaults to no upgrade requests, including for yourself. If you want to upgrade you'd need to call AA and split your reservation into you +1 on one reservation, and the other 2 pax on a separate reservation.

For a group of 3 it's possible they all have the same status, so are not companions, or it could be some type of irrops situation where they were downgraded to economy due to a cancelled flight are on the upgrade list if anything in J opens up, or they could be using other instruments like miles/copay or SWUs as you mentioned. But whatever it is it's definitely not 1 elite member upgrading 2 companions via comp upgrades.

If your wife has a different status level than you then once the flight goes to the airport upgrade list you will each be sorted according to your own status even when on the same reservation. You have to call beforehand to fix this, or speak to an airport agent.

I have a question.
I have OW Sapphire status via JAL. Will I be put on the upgrade list? If not, how do I get on the list?
TIA,
Kento

You won’t be eligible for the list as you need to hold AA (or AS) status. You can book a complementary MCE seat, though.

Okay, got it. I did book the MCE seat, so I'll just be satisfied with that.
Thanks for the response. :)

Offer for ORD-LAX next Wednesday.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...13ca757d83.jpg