Flying Monday to NRT, and this morning (Friday) the waitlist for this flight no longer appears on my rez. The return waitlist still shows.

Does this mean:
- ain't no freakin way I'm gonna get the U/G
or
- the U/G is in progress (kinda like when you get an EUA)

Anyone know for sure?

Yeep. Search for the 72 hour rule for more info.

Yes, I know about the 72 hour rule. What I don't understand is that around a month ago, I had a similar situation where BF was booked solid at least a week before the trip, yet my rez never lost the waitlist reference. Shouldn't this be consistent?

In my limited experience with waitlists for BF, if and when they clear, the waitlisted flight (viewed on co.com) would have a red message that says something along the lines of "This segment can be confirmed in BusinessFirst. Please call 1-800-XXX-XXX to confirm this change."

So I'd guess that the 72-hour-rule auto-purge nixed your waitlist request.

Sometimes you are in limbo for a day or two while it is processing and getting you a seat assignment. Although, the latest I have ever cleared is about a week out, after that, it is usually too late.

Best bet is to call.

If you do not get upgraded, you never know, the nrt flight can be full. Remember it is also a hub to hub flight for connecting passengers to NW to the rest of asia.

Get to the gate as soon as the BF conceirge arrives. Approach him/her, be very nice, say your upgrade did not clear but you love CO anyway as you give him/her some very sad puppy dog eyes, and volunteer for an op up. It may work, may not. Good luck and never give up hope.

Definately no upgrade, then see if you can get a set of 3 seats to your self.