Nope...these were T fares mid-winter when T-fares were still the bottom of the barrel. My jaw dropped both times when I got the email..

My other two UG's were LAX-LAS RT (also at the window). We had empty seats in FC.

0/20! What a FLYing shame! (A crying shame too!) Yes, hopefully being GM will yield better results for you! I am working on getting up to PM this year for the same reason. I will be about half way there by the end of May.

We'll see what happens - I've been seriously contemplating getting to 50,000 miles (should happen within the next month) and status matching to UA. I haven't decided on whether I should do this. I know that the UG on UA isn't much better overall, but the flights out of STL i've been on have been pretty light in F.... and they haven't been trying to screw over their elites as much as DL of late.

Of course there are at least two problems with that. First, is it really any better over the fence or septic tank? Second, splitting your loyalties could easily turn you into a FN ('F' NOTHING) with every airline!

PS. Oh, there is also a third reason, often the airlines do status matches for pax on a "once in a lifetime" basis, so status match with care!

My fares are a mix of low and high fares. I travel for a petty even mix of business and leisure... I think that many of my routes are not elite heavy, or I am traveling during elite light times. Also, though I may be wrong, I think there may be fewer Delta elites at LGA than other Delta hubs (ATL, SLC, MSP, etc) given there is a lot of competition here

Actually cleared on 3 of my last 8 segments (2 at the window and 1 BFUG) was 1 for 20 prior to last week. Odds are improving.

I'm hesitant because I don't know that the grass is greener, but I don't expect much. Also, I don't really intend to split loyalty, just leave DL if that's what I decide to do.

Okay, that is great, a mix of low and high fares, but which fares are actually getting you all or most of your upgrades, the low fares or the high fares? 5 out of 12 is 42% success, but if all of the failures are LUT fares, and the successes are all higher, then that would be a different story, and a much more meaningful story too, don't you think?

2 upgrades were on high fares, but F had empty seats (LGA - HOU), so fare class didnt matter

My upgrade this morning was on an X fare

Two other upgrades were on LUT fares

I think factors like routing and number of absolute elites is more important

Absolutely agreed. I'm just surprised to see anything in/out ATL. My lack of success as an FO is not a shock to me given the routes I've been flying and the times of the week I've been flying them, and I'm doubtful a move from an X fare to a T fare would be a smart move...

It was a 7 AM flight... Also, the fact it originated out of LGA probably helped (I would guess the ATL 7 AM flight is more elite heavy)

Up until the last two weeks my UG's this year have been pathetic. Although this last weekend, I actually UG on 3/4 legs including ATL-LAX! Maybe I'll stop complaining about UG's now :)

If you got 3 of 4 upgrades as FO, there is actually hope for us with DL yet! ^ :D

Wow.... that's phenomenal. I am (to some small degree) wondering if I should have risked not buying an A fare this week for my SEA-MSP flight. I'll be watching the upgrade screen carefully to see what happens ;)

Yeah, I was actually incredibly surprised. Sort of figured I would clear on my MSP-STL and STL-ATL legs, but the ATL-LAX UG was a total shock. I checked the DL app from the SC in ATL and I was #10 on the list with 2 seats remaining.

Got to the gate and asked the GA about the UG list because I didn't see my name anywhere - more out of curiosity than anything else. That's when she confirmed I cleared. Somehow moved up to #2 with 2 seats remaining. Thought I was going to have a heart attack when she told me I made my UG. Only the second time I've ever made the ATL-LAX UG. Nice way to finish off and MR. Granted, the F seats on the 76Q aren't the greatest, but better than Y any day.

Now if I only I hadn't screwed up and pulled a rookie move - miscalculated my MQM's and fell a few hundred short of GM. Oh well, my J flight to Italy next month will more than cover that. :D