Well to me, at least, it absolutely matters why EUA might not be working. If it's not working because the system has bugs that CO is working to fix, that's annoying but understandable. (Many of us on these boards work in the software industry, and I think most of us would admit that large-scale implementations rarely happen without some complications.)

If, on the other hand, CO is actively removing the F seats from inventory just before EUA runs in order to deny upgrades to elites, then we have an entirely different story. That's really unlikely in my opinion, and if it were true, there would be a lot more of us flying coach than there appear to be. As Jeff said, phone reps will often say anything if they don't know the correct answer - we've all experienced that. I think it's highly doubtful there's some conspiracy at CO to prevent upgrades; it's much more likely that EUA simply hasn't worked out all the bugs.

That said, since implementation I've been upgraded on each and every flight. On two occasions, EUA didn't upgrade me. The first time the agent I spoke with wouldn't do it manually and it processed in the next night's run; the second time the agent took care of it on the spot, though I had to point out to her that F inventory was indeed available. (CO reps must really hate ITN!)

It's worth noting that I've yet to receive a single e-mail confirming my upgrades, despite confirming with CO every time I make a res that they have my e-mail address. But I can handle not being notified much better than I could handle not getting the upgrade. ;-) I call in anyway to request my fave seats, so it's not that big a deal to me. I'd much rather call at my convenience than wait up 'til midnight to assure the upgrade.

So once again, I'll say that EUA is working for this PLT. Perhaps I'm just more accustomed to it since AA has been doing this for some time, but I find it far more convenient than the old system.

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