vasantn

As of the day before yesterday, this applies to all flights; not just transcons.

flyingeph12

Ok, thanks!

stdatwmu

Just got off a lengthy phone call with the EXP desk that left me more confused than it started...

In short, every time my wife (she has no AA status) has flown with me this past year we've had upgrades all screwed up on at least one segment. I've spent way too much time on the phone with AA trying to sort it out. To date, I've never received a good explanation why things seem to change on their own without me initiating anything.

Appreciate the help - and pardon the long post!


Background:

We flew DAY-CLT-BOS this past Friday. I booked our tickets together on AA.com back in October, with her listed as my companion and upgrades requested for all segments.

Checked the upgrade list on Friday for DAY-CLT and I was #1, she was #2 as expected. Both got the upgrade at the gate.

The flight was delayed about 25 mins and we only had a 38 min connection so we sprinted through CLT and somehow made it. When we got to the gate, I was upgraded (#1 on the list again) but she was not (somehow #17 on the list). I asked the GA why we were separated but he couldn't explain why and we had to board immediately so I left it at that.


Tonight's adventure:

I went to check for tomorrow's BOS-DCA-DAY return a couple hours ago using the AA app and it only showed my name as available to check in. That didn't seem correct... so I logged in on AA.com and saw the same thing.

Then I logged into the wife's AA.com account directly and, low and behold, the reservation was there but under a completely different PNR. And of course no upgrade requests were in there, either.

To be clear, I never asked or authorized anyone to split our PNRs. We checked in and printed our initial boarding passes on Friday under the same PNR.

So I just called the EXP line and the agent told me that:

1. I have to specifically call in after booking to request that my companion and I do not get split if only one upgrade is available
2. When checking the upgrade box during booking on AA.com it states you're agreeing to be split from your companion if only one upgrade is available

I've practically been living on AA for the past two years and I've never heard or seen either of the above. Is she correct?

She also said they cannot put us back on the same PNR (which I pretty much knew in advance) but that my wife is back on the upgrade list, with both of us having the original Oct 2016 request date. I'll find out tomorrow if she's next to me or at the bottom of the list again.


Main question / confusion:

I thought my companion (at least as of 1/1/17) inherits my status and should be next to me on the upgrade list when on the same PNR - and that the PNR should never be split by any AA employee unless I explicitly ask them to do so.

Can anyone here accurately and honestly tell me the true order of operations for a companion booked on the same PNR and whether I am mistaken or not? And can or should our PNRs ever be split without me initiating that process?

AAExecPlatFlier

Can't (and don't want to) speak to the how things should work -- today -- on the PALL, as there is so much confusion/different understanding right now!

but, were u using stickers or an instrument?

i do know how ur PNR got split. When u were upgraded and ur companion wasn't, the only way to handle this in the system is to divide the PNR. So, am guessing that when this was done the two of your were not linked and ur companion (or right or wrong) didn't share ur status.

ExpatExp

So, just to confirm, for EXP:

• > 100 hours before departure: eVIP will clear if space is/becomes available
• ≤ 100 hours before departure: sticker will clear before eVIP

Do I have that correct?

So for domestic flights it's not always better to request eVIP upgrades, for example if you're buying the ticket less than 100 hours before departure?

sensei

Almost. SWU will clear when C inventory becomes available. Within 100 hours, sticker will clear if R inventory becomes available. So within 100 hours SWU can still clear before sticker upgrade. Two separate upgrade inventories.

ExpatExp

Thank you, sensei!

In the context of domestic flights, is R generally any more or less likely to become available than C, less than 100 hours before departure?

stdatwmu

Stickers.


Yeah, I have zero idea how it got split.

Moreso, the EXP agent telling me that PNRs always get split when only a single upgrade is available - unless I call in to tell them not to allow a split - seems patently untrue.

And even if that were the case, there were 7 upgrades processed on the CLT-BOS leg, of which I was #1 on the list... so both of us should've cleared together if she inherits my status, no?

VickiSoCal

We were at HNL on Saturday on separate tickets flying HNL-LAX. At 4 hours out, two seats were empty up front, we were checked in:

Husband- #1 on upgrade list, presumably only EXP on comp upgrade
Me- #2 on list, platinum plenty of stickers in my account

Got to the airport about 2 hours out. Nice lady at admiral's club said "things are looking good for you guys"

About 20 minutes before boarding we are walking to the gate and I peeked at the seat map on EF. Seats suddenly disappear. Noone on the list on the app is marked as cleared.

Asked Gate agent what is going on. "We upgraded 2 people with SWU's" But we were #1 and #2 on waitlist? "Sorry, they were using SWU's"

We have SWU's, which are expiring which we totally would have used, and I've had an alert on that flight for months, and C space never opened.

logicalrealist

Long shot, but if there's still anyone has access to the PALL list, I have a question about the order on AA49 today (1/16).

Shortish version: I was told that I was #2 at check-in. When upgrades were processed (I think a total of four), I was told that I could have the last seat, but it didn't have power and would not move. I opted to stay in PE (needed to work and my laptop's battery has seen better days; the joke was on me since power didn't work in my original seat either... )

If I really was #2, it seems like I should not have had the last (broken) seat. If two other people checked in after me and were higher on the list, I'm happy with how the gate agent handled it -- it kept me from this experience. If I got the last seat because of out-of-order processing, it affects how I follow up with AA.

Given the general decline of AA customer service follow up, I'd like to do as much as possible to get my facts straight before writing in, so if someone is able to view the list and can PM me, I'd be grateful.

Edit: This was resolved; AA did everything right here. Thank you.

JonNYC

That's a tough one. Assuming C opened up (and the lack of an EF alert that close to flight time wouldn't conclusively indicate it didn't,) hard to fault the 2 people who were told (or saw) "2 seats available in first" and then would have maybe thought, Hmmmm, "what about our expiring SWUs-- would those make a difference?" And if that's how it happened, can't blame 'em.

But-- and it's hindsight for sure-- only 2 seats available in F *can* in some people's minds-- "uh-oh, what do we do about this"-- especially on a domestic flight where there could be late check-ins (not showing on list earlier), etc.

VickiSoCal

I was worried if we waitlisted with our SWU's we'd get passed over by people doing sticker/UDU.

Too bad you can't get on both waitlists and take first available.

flyingeph12

I am confused about this. I didn't think there are separate airport upgrade lists for VIPs and UPGs. It sounds like the gate agent cleared 2 passengers who were not on the upgrade list but wanted to use SWUs. But unless my understanding is incorrect (and it may well be), or unless they were CK, if the passengers had been properly placed on the waitlist, they should have at least been below your husband on the wait list. Am I missing something?

VickiSoCal

I asked the gate agent that and she seemed very confused on that point, and so we just boarded. She just repeated "but they were using their SWU's"

I only see two possibilities-

They were on the waitlist below us- in which case when their SWU's cleared I should have seen checkmarks by their names.

They weren't on the waitlist, and just walked up and asked to use SWU's and one of the gate agents pushed them through, thinking they were doing the right thing.

Although most peopel with SWU's would be EXP and be on the waitlist anyways. Very odd.

Au4882

I get more confused the more I read the boards with AA policy vs anecdotal evidence.

Here's my experience from this weekend for me (EXP) and my wife (gold):

We booked CLT-PHX-BUR-PHX-CLT back on 22OCT; applied SWUs to both on 20NOV.

Outbound: C space opened on CLT-PHX and PHX-BUR about 48 hours prior; called in and manually processed SWU

Return: booking went to airport (PALL) list
- Wife did NOT inherit my status. I was #1 on BUR-PHX and she was #9. I was upgraded; she was not. It seems GA split PNR and did NOT re-request our upgrade for PHX-CLT -- we learned this because...

- NEITHER of us were on the upgrade list for PHX-CLT (at least the upgrade list on the App). I enquired via Twitter during my BUR-PHX flight, and AA responded that all was well, and I was on the list despite what the app was saying. A new PNR showed up in my AA account

- Due to a SHORT layover at PHX, we were last to board. Two upgrades cleared (not me or my wife). I asked GA why we weren't on the list, but she gave the answer that all upgrades had been processed - just board, already! I figured that I'd at least be pretty high up on the list (I'm rarely below #1 or #2 -- and add in a SWU-backed upgrade?)

So, in short, we requested SWUs for domestic travel, ~two months early, and did NOT clear. Furthermore, we weren't even on the list for PHX-CLT.

This goes against the above explanation that SWUs are processed ahead of comp upgrades. They did not, in this instance.

This also goes against the "new" policy of companions inheriting status. She did not on ANY segment. This is consistent with how she's lost my status on the PALL list for the last 2.5 years when traveling with me.

All in all, it's just a frustrating and stressful experience. Nobody seems to know what the policy actually is. And it seems that AA IT can't keep up with whatever policy they're trying to enforce. The lack of visibility to the customer basically gives AA the flexibility to claim that they did nothing incorrectly.