DavidDTW

I flew DCA-DTW on Saturday in the first row of C+. After boarding was complete, the GA came on and asked the pax next to me if he wanted to upgrade to F. Since he was not traveling alone, he declined the upgrade. GA left the plane and never came back to ask anyone else, and there were 20+ people on the upgrade list. So the flight departed with one empty seat in F. Since I was sitting right there I almost said "I'll take it if he doesn't want it!' but kept quiet. Several others were above me on that list.

xliioper

It seems that GAs often don't even bother to offer an upgrade when there are open FC seats. As the saying goes, YBYL. Can be worth hanging out at the gate until last minute in these cases (although you should also consider checking luggage so you won't have to worry about bin space if you want to attempt this).

Adam1222

At some point, the agent has to make a call whether it's worth proceeding down the list and up and down the plane at risk of delaying the flight. Given that it is a 405 mile flight, I hope everyone was okay without a real glass

Cory6188

Yeah, this can be a tough one. If the GA is just straight up lazy and doesn't bother processing upgrades as per normal before boarding, that's unacceptable. However, I've had a few cases that have been on the margin where the GA just hasn't had a chance to fill an empty seat.

Last December, I was flying JFK-SJU, F showed 0 seats in the app before boarding, probably 20+ on the upgrade list. However, I guess 1 F seat ended up empty, and at T-2, the GA was going up and down the Y cabin looking at his manifest, trying to find a "singleton" (as I heard him comment to the F/A) who was willing to take the upgrade. He eventually said to her, "Okay, I've got to close the door, we'll have to leave it empty." Sure, he probably could've kept going down the list to fill the seat, but we were almost at D0 - so I can't blame him for having to give up and keep things moving so that we pushed on time.

DLASflyer

In my experience, gate agents have a lot of discretion when it comes to processing upgrades near D-15. Some care more than others and a lot just close the door.

findark

This definitely seems to be a DL thing. I had an empty seat next to me this year with plenty of people on the list.

dmarge18

We had 2 empty F seats ATL-VPS last Friday (and a normal 30 or so on the list). No one really complained since we'd had to board manually with the scanner down, and the GA just basically tried to get us out ASAP.

krispy84

As someone who only travels paid F in the US, I really dislike the ‘upgrade until the cabin is full’ approach of many US carriers. I know upgrades have historically been part of elite status, but it reduces the inherent value proposition of the F cabin IMHO.

findark

I will happily take an effective discount on my tickets in exchange for having a seatmate. Kind of the entire point of the cabin is that the seats are actually comfortably sized so other pax aren't an issue.

BNAChairman

Just like predeparture beverages and excellent cabin service, it's a crapshoot as to whether or not gate agents take the time to fill the F cabin. The process has improved over the years but I've still seen F go out empty when there's a waiting list and no delay. I always write to Customer Care when I see it happen, typically when I've been lucky enough to receive an upgrade and have a view of the cabin.

ATOBTTR

I fail to understand how your experience is somehow degraded if the F cabin is full because it's filled with paying FC passengers (as is the case for many US flights nowadays, particularly transcon-length flights) or because it's filled with complimentary upgrades to elite members.

krispy84

The value proposition of a product is reduced if you routinely give it away free. That is marketing 101.

Cory6188

Perhaps in terms of willingness to pay, but that's DL's problem for revenue generation - not something a pax would care about. Otherwise, F is the same no matter if the cabin is full of paid pax or all upgrades.

I guess sure, maybe if there's some empty seats, the F/A could be a bit quicker about getting food/snacks and drink refills to you, but it delays drinks/tray distribution & collection maybe by a couple minutes at most if F is full vs. partially empty.

ATOBTTR

It's not "free" - it comes at exchange for continued $$$$ being spent. It's an incentive for me to regularly choose Airline X over Airline Y when many other factors between X and Y are equal or perhaps otherwise even in favor of Airline Y, which in turn is a benefit to Airline X. FT and similar sites and the elite status programs themselves are proof that a not insignificant number of passengers will go to great lengths and go out of their way to take an airline where they get "free" perks over one that otherwise may be more convenient, cheaper, etc. That's also a key part of marketing.

exwannabe

You should have spoken up, Cannot hurt.

The GA may very well have decided it was not worth the time chase #2 down,. But if you were packed and ready to go, ...