Selection Process for upgrades with no status
 

I was just curious how this type of situation is handled. I was on a flight last night that was quite full in coach (it was a MD-88) and had only 3 of us in first. They were trying to sell the remainder of the seats at the gate, so I am assuming there were no other medallions on the flight (I had SDCed to this flight and was booked right into V class, so I am pretty there were no other medallions there before me). Anyway, I heard the pilot talking to the flight attendants about weight issues. Before takeoff, the GA came back and brought a few people forward from the back and put them in first. They were talking about how excited they were to try out first class and how they were going to rub it in some friends' faces about what happened, yada yada. I have no problem with any of this, I was just wondering - how does the GA make this type of selection? There were many families that had boarded, so it couldn't have been PNR size. Thanks!

Possibly people that asked but didn't pay, then got the freebie. I know people that get upgraded by GAs all the time it seems with no status.

Often times Military and Government workers snag them too.

Yeah, they weren't military or government workers.

I was on a MEM-DTW flight with only me in F on my birthday. Flight attendant asked over P.A. to identify if we were celebrating a birthday or a special day. I did...she laughed....said they needed to move people for weight and balance into F. They brought forward 4 or 5 more. This was all done after boarding was complete.