I haven't seen this posted before, and had an interesting experience today, so figured I'd post. Flew DTW-ORD on Sunday. There were 16F still available about 4 hours prior to departure and 10Y. It was a DC9, so yes, this meant nobody was upgraded. I checked in for the flight an hour beforehand at the airport. When I arrived at the gate, I was 1 of 14 (I believe) on the list with only 3 seats left. I got the upgrade immediately after seeing this screen. This was about 45 minutes prior to departure.

The thing I found interesting was that either a) As a DM, there were 13 other DM's with fares above mine (Q fare) or elites on a Y fare and only 13 below me or b) I actually almost missed the upgrade because I wasn't yet checked in and they already started clearing the upgrades. I'm guessing it was b), but of course I could be wrong.

The learning point to me was to check in online or on my phone to make sure I don't miss the agent processing upgrades. Not sure if this has happened to others...

IROPS? SDC? Last minute purchases? (ORD-DTW is usually heavily FCM'd)

And yes, I do believe you have to check in to be put on the gate upgrade list. Obviously this would have the potential to go very wrong if the GA starts processing upgrades at 45 minutes out, and you don't check in until 30 or 35. And I have seen GAs start clearing upgrade lists well before T-45 (including on premium routes like JFK-SFO).

That's understandable since the question only shows up about once a week....

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...t-cleared.html


It does seem that some GA's begin clearing the UG list earlier than others. IME, it never hurts to check in early. Well, one exception is SDC, then I will wait just to make the flt change a little quicker.

I have had several flights were I had checked in and then later called about a SDC with no problem. I know at least one time the agent said "just a minute while I un-check you from the flight first" then processed the SDC.

Completely agree, and this is what I will be doing going forward given this experience of clearing upgrades a bit earlier than I'm used to.

Quite true, it is usually pretty easy to un-check in. Maybe paranoia on my part but those few minutes of unchecking before booking on the new SDC flt could mean a lost chance for UG, much less getting a seat at all. Probably not a problem but you can be sure if it ever is, it will be reported here first.

My bet on this route would be A, actually.

I've never seen the whole UG list so short, but it always seemed like about 40% of the flight I was on were DM, and I often see DMs in Y. Also, I have been the last person on the UG list as a GM on an H fare before, so it would seem that there are very few cheap metals on this route.

Not sure about Sundays, but on Monday morning the whole plane boards when Sky Priority is called.