Possible Downgrade from equipment change
 

This is going to be interesting.

http://i63.tinypic.com/2qd5q34.jpg
http://i65.tinypic.com/wi5yqp.jpg
(Notice it still says FC at the bottom)
So about a hour before boarding; aircraft seems to have switched from 739 to 738. I'm in Comfort+ with no notification thus far.

Yep, a last minute equipment substitution --

3 Apr 05:35
Equipment Adjustment
Tail Number changed from N820DN to N380DA
Actual Equipment changed from 739 to 738

The question is do I try to sort this out at the Skyclub now or let it play out at the gate.

Did you originally purchase First or get upgraded into it?

Purchased F. Though I would guess there are at least 3 medallions sitting in F, even with the loss of four FC seats.

I'd start at Skyclub and not wait.

Agreed. I'd begin working on it ASAP.

Flight left already. No updates from OP....boooooo

Does the wifi reach to seat 57E???

:D

I am curious about the questions of whether the OP has status or not? If he purchased F, it doesn't matter what status he has correct? He is still entitled to F or compensation if he is not seated in F. I am just curious if the status related questions were to determine the priority of resolving the issue.

Yes, status should not matter at all in terms of restitution.
But in practice, there are 3 main ways to prioritize downgrades - status, fare class, seating location*. AA will often just focus on the latter - if your seat doesn't exist in the FC cabin anymore, then too bad. I don't agree that's a smart way, but it's easy to implement as you don't have to shuffle seat assignments around. However, between the other two methods, whether fare class or status should be the 1st or 2nd factor considered is certainly debatable.

Of course they can also solicit volunteers for the downgrade, will be interesting to hear if that ended up happening.

*I'm not saying there aren't others, but i would be surprised to see them used - e.g., time of check-in, MQD/MQM levels, etc.

Isn't the normal comp for downgrade $200 voucher and refund in difference between F (or is is Z..which what he purchased) and Y?

No idea what's normal. This happened to me on SLC-ASE a few years ago, and my wife and I each got $300 when the equipment changed from a CR9 to a CR7 with 3 less F seats. The difference was I volunteered to downgrade when they called me several months in advance with this offer. It was also a 45 minute flight on a regional jet, so who really cares about F (we kept our F seats on the much longer connecting flight beforehand). If I was forced to downgrade on the OP's flight just 1 hour before flight time, I'd expect more.