I have a flight this week IAH-MSY on a 753 with 24 FC seats. I am Gold with NW. As of yet, my upgrade has not cleared even though 13 seats are showing open on the seat map. I am well within the 3 calendar days timeframe.

This is actually my first time flying Continental. I've heard a lot about the difficulty of clearing upgrades on some routes, but IAH-MSY on a 753 is the last one I expected problems with. If I don't clear prior to check-in, do I need to do anything at the airport?

For some reason, the SFO-IAH redeye I'm coming in on is completely sold out in FC. Anyone here in SF know what's happening this week? I'm guessing it's the Oracle convention - colleagues have reported no hotel availability downtown - but couldn't say for sure.

here we go again....hasn't this been discussed a thousand times? I'm sorry, make that 1,001

Is it possible those seats are purchased, but not assigned?
Is it possible Continental feels that they could sell these seats?
Is it possible EUAs are a perk not a mandatory given?

I know this has been discussed many times before. I wanted to be the 1,001st poster.

1. Yes, it's always possible that the seats are purchased and not assigned. It's also unlikely unless some Japanese tour group on consolidator F fares happens to be flying IAH-MSY at the same time as I am. Besides, at least 9 FC seats are still available for purchase.
2. It is possible that CO feels they can sell these seats. They're going for $211 one way. Good for CO if that's the case. If it's not, they really should tighten up their inventory management.
3. It is not possible, it is a fact. The usual "it's a published benefit and one can reasonably expect..." argument applies here!

Like I said, this is my first time flying CO, but I'm well aware of the difficulty in upgrading on it. I did not expect my red-eye SFO-IAH to clear, but I didn't expect difficulty on IAH-MSY. If the upgrade doesn't clear prior to checking in, do I need to do anything at the airport?

If your flight is on a Thurs or Fri, you may not upgrade at all on the IAH-MSY segment. I fly this route 2-3 times per month, and only have about a 70% upgrade success rate as a Plat. If you're that worried about the upgrade, buy up to Full Y for a confirmed Elite Upgrade, or even F for the outbound (the fare difference on this route is minimal...with Full Y about $100 more than discount, and F an additional $50). The flight can be less than one hour wheels up to wheels down. I'm lucky to finish my G&T on flights where I've scored the front seat.

I suspect a significant number of former MSY residents are still residing in Houston (for work purposes) and returning to MSY on the weekends, making u/g's on this route difficult as the weekend approaches. This route used to be a slam-dunk for u/g's...not so much anymore, depending on the time you fly.

[EDIT] Posted simultaneously to your response...if your itin is actually SFO-IAH-MSY, buying up to Full Y would likely cost quite a bit more. Good luck with the u/g, but I wouldn't count on it, as yours would clear after all CO/NW Plats, Plat Companions, Then All CO Golds

I'm not that worried about the upgrade, just a CO newbie intrigued by the difficulty! Like you said, it's a quick flight, no ruffled feathers if my upgrade doesn't clear.

Good point on the Thurs/Fri MSY commuters. I hadn't considered that. You are correct that previously this would have been a slam dunk.

On my flight last weekend IAH-MSY, I overheard a High-School senior (Plat) at the gate area who was finishing high-school in Houston (living with other relatives). Apparently, his family flies him home to N.O. almost every weekend. Considering IAH-MSY can run as low as $119 roundtrip (sometimes even $99), it doesn't exactly break the bank to do it every weekend. He sat in the back. Luckily, I didn't.

Expect difficulty on all flights. Full stop end of post.

Glad to see that this commute is financially doable. I'm surprised he didn't return to school in NOLA. I thought all the major private schools had reopened, and similarly for Ben Franklin (public).

youll more than likely get the upgarde at some point before the flight. if not, as you board the plane.

i fly this route all the time as a gold. i am usually upgraded, but the time frame in which they occur are always different.

iah-msy-iah is a very very busy route. i have many, many times volnteered my seat to msy in iah, only to be told, "not to," as the flights were 100% sold out for the remainder of the week.

in that case, you know FC was sold out as well. its a great flight for segment junkies. FC, msy-iah-msy is pretty cheap and gives you double points and 150% EQM's.

not to mention msy is quite laden with elites. i would say, per capita, one of the more heavily elite travelled routes.

are you sure your worldperks number is in the PNR and CO knows you're elite?

once as a CO elite flying on NW, I called to check on my upgrade and realized my travel agency hadn't given them my onepass #.

Plus, you name needs to be an EXACT match between the two databases. I always advise calling to ensure that your status is properly noted within the system.

SFO-IAH often sells out in F at least a week in advance, even when nothing noteworthy is going on in the Bay Area.

Mrs GeneDoc is NW Plat and has huge issues with this. CO doesn't catch her status for EUA, and no one can tell us what the issue is. Irritating, to say the least.

Just checked in for the flights. EUA had not cleared. The system asked if we wanted upgrades, so of course I clicked "yes" and it replied that SFO-IAH was not available, but IAH-MSY was. When I clicked the seat map, pretty much all but one seat (once ours were assigned) was taken.

So, glad to have gotten the upgrade (!) but now the question is...did we get passed over for EUA? Or did it require checking in to get the upgrade?

FWIW, the name on my NW account matches the ticket.