On a recent flight I was very disappointed with how an upgrade situation was handled. I figured I'd put this out there to see what some of the veteran flyers think of this situation. I shot PM to CO Insider as well, but haven't heard back from him yet.

A friend and I (both have Gold Elite) were returning from DCA to AUS on CO359/CO1533. The first flight ended up being delayed almost an hour due ATC. This made the connect time in IAH extremely short (maybe 3 mins or so). Upon landing we checked the pda site to confirm the connecting gate and verify that our upgrades for the IAH-AUS leg had cleared. We had gotten 5A and 4B, excellent. We across Terminal E in a full sprint, boarding pass in hand and made it just barely in time. The GA took our BP (without scanning them) and when we asked for an updated BP showing the upgrades, she said no. It was basically go now, or don't get on the flight. We rushed down to the plane, and the FA helped get the carry-ons into the overhead bins (in F). We proceeded to sit down in our two empty F seats, but then the FA asked to see our boarding passes, clearly convinced we were not supposed to be there (see discussions of younger travelers not in business attire). We told her the GA did not have time to reprint them for us but we could show her the electronic version on the pda site. She refused and made us head into coach and "find an open seat". We decided not to start an argument since we were already delaying departure and didn't want to aggravate the situation. Of course since the upgrades had cleared we had lost the previously carefully chosen exit row seats and got stuck in random middle seats (very uncomfortable for me, since I have a large build). The flight departed with our two F seats still open.

Luckily this was a short flight, but we ended up annoyed that we had not gotten the upgrades that we were entitled to, especially being exhausted from a run across Terminal E.

I want to consider this a downgrade situation and feel things could have been handled better. I realize this was a bit of a special circumstance, but there was clearly evidence that the upgrades had cleared normally. I'm sure the passenger manifest showed us upgraded too, since as far as CO's computers were concerned we were assigned the F seats. It was obvious that noone else was claiming those seats.

I'm curious what all you experts out there think about this was handled and what you would have done differently. Also if you think some sort of compensation is warranted here.

As as aside, I think this also raises the question of what we would have done if we had gone the new paperless pda route -- how does one provide a BP if only a printed one is believed to be real?

It sounds like the FA thought you were poaching as in the following thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/conti...pr-2009-a.html

Hmmmm. It does seem that the solution is for the FAs to be educated about how to use the pda site.

At the time of the FA ordering you to coach, was the door still open? If so the GA should have been involved at that point.

Not sure. It probably was still open (barely). Isn't there some rule about everyone having to be seated before they can close the door?. But given the GA didn't want to deal with us or even acknowledge our upgrades at the gate, I highly doubt she would have been much help at this point either.

It sounds like the FA got involved in somthing they did not know anything about. They have a pax list and should have been able to look it up.

I would call CO and explain what happened to them. As far as compensation, I would say this should be treated as a downgrade, but for a 25 minutes flight, I have no idea what they would offer.

Has this actually worked for anyone? The few times I tried it I ended up reverting to my backup paper copy. If it does work, you could just bring it up on your phone and don't show the FA your original BP.

I still, very much, struggle with this mentality...especially when a person buys a coach seat.

I think you're referring to the Gold in another post who said that he was entitled to the upgrade because he was gold. I agree with your (or whoever made the) point that until the UG clears, it's not an entitlement. Assuming the system works correctly, it is a possibility or a perk until it is confirmed.

In this instance, however, the OP was actually assigned a F seat. Therefore, since it was assigned to him, I think he is entitled to it.

I think the FA did the right thing. He or she has to go by the BP, not the pda site. That's reasonable.

I think the issue here is that the GA ought to have scanned the BP. Clearly, the time was tight, but scanning the BP takes virtually no time. This should have solved the problem.

As far as being entitled to the upgrade, it's somewhat a matter of semantics. The OP purchased a coach ticket, but if CO issued an upgrade, there was a failure in the system somewhere that kept him/her from using it.

Since CO often upgrades passengers shortly before departure, there ought ot be a gormal procedure to insure against this ind of problem, especially in the case of tight connections.

The OP posted they made the flight by 3 mins. That tells me they got there after T-15 and although they were connecting could have been Off Loaded from the flight. Thusly even thou there were empty FC seats they might have no longer been on the flight manifest as passengers, so even scanning the BPs wouldnt have produced anything

Very well possible the GA had to add them back to the flight Manually and felt it was best to get the flight Out and add them after the flight departed, rather then hold up teh whole flight and have it depart as Delayed

I would have been Thrilled I made the flight and didnt have to hang around for the next flight, especially if it was a 45 min flight.Instead of Thanking the GA for letting them get on it the OP bashes away for not getting the FC seats. Oh Happy Days

Agreed 100%, no question.

Still, CO ought to have a system in place to allow upgraded passengers to keep their upgrades even in cases like this one.

Ok Im listening (Seattle)

If a passenger is no longer listed on the flight manifest how can they still keep an Upgrade. Wouldnt that be unfair to anyone still on the Upgrade list that didnt clear, which would result in a new thread, Hey CO stole my Upgrade the flight left with x FC empty , what should my compensation be!!

CO (or any carrier) will Never be able to make Everyone happy. Under the circumstances of the OP, I believe they should be happy they got onto the flight

Agreed again, but I think we all know that the CO upgrade system has a tendency to break down at the GA level, even in cases where the passengers arrive within the prescribed boarding times.

You are absolutely right that there is no perfect system. In this specific case, there is no question that getting on the flight was all that mattered and that getting an upgrade for a 45 minute flight is not a big deal.

The FA should go by the manifest, not a BP.

I agree that this was a downgrade. The 2 F seats were his, and the offload concerns are not relevant, because if they were offloaded because of the tight connection, the F seats would have been given to others.

The F seats flew empty, they were theirs and available. That's a downgrade.

I would request downgrade compensation from CO.

I can almost guarantee that if you were at the gate at 3 mins before departure time that you would have been removed from the flight, you were lucky to get on all.

It would have taken too long to check you back in and clear the upgrade and issue new boarding passes. The agent did the right thing by letting you on.

I am sorry you "lost" your upgrade, but at least you made the flight.