Bulldog King

Umm...that sort of thing has never happened to me personally........not even as a PM that was #1 on the upgrade list for flights where F was listed as full......and I've only seen GAs upgrade other already seated coach passengers a handful of times.....and ONLY if the flight is totally full and there are standbys that are hoping/waiting to board.

The closest I've come to being unexpectedly upgraded is a couple of instances when I get to the scanner and it prints out an unexpected F boarding card.....even though my name was still on the Standby Upgrade list when I approached the scanner.......with nothing to indicate that I was going to be upgraded (i.e. name was not displayed on the cleared list).

Most likely....this is due to mis-connects or either an upgrade list that wasn't displayed on a GIDS (either because the gate didn't have one...or the list simply wasn't setup to be displayed) or one that simply wasn't updated with current info.

If I were you, I wouldn't bet a potential upgrade by counting on this.

All I can rellate to you is what I've been told to by DL GAs at various airports.....and that is NOT to board the flight if there's even the slightest chance of my upgrade being cleared....as boarding 'would very likely have a negative effect on my chances of being upgraded'.

I can't help but assume that there's a definitive reason as to why I was told this by multiple DL agents.

That being the case......ever since I was repeatedly told to 'wait in the gate area', I've always waited whenever it looked promising.......and I almost always ended up being upgraded..........in at least 1 case, quite possibly at the expense of some other Medallion that had already boarded:

I can remember that GA even going so far as to tell me when asked what I should do..........."If you want any chance at being upgraded on this flight, then stay....right....here". He was quite emphatic about the 'right here' part..........'right here' apparently being near the podium.

IIRC, I was initially #2 on the list at that time for what appeared to be a single reserved but unclaimed F seat.....and as advised, I stayed behind in the gate area........saw myself move up to #1 as people boarded in zone 3...... and eventually was given a new F BP.

While it is possible that the person who was #1 had mis-connected resulting in the removal of their name from the upgrade list......it is more likely that he/she had simply failed to heed the GA's announcement to remain in the boarding area.......and went ahead and boarded the flight.......especially since the name dropped off during the time most Medallions seated in coach normally board.

Oh well.......it's not my problem....and I sure wasn't going to turn down a F seat on that flight in order to first verify that the other person who was ahead of me on the upgrade list wasn't already seated in coach.

Besides....who am I to question the way things are done......and/or turn down any info/advice that might help my chances at being upgraded?

A.J.

jeffreyt

When I asked last week if I boarded, would they come on get me if I cleared the upgrade? The gate agent replied "We've been given instructions NOT to do that anymore, so just hang out, and I'll let you know." Of course, they kept giving the seat to miscconects, so I never cleared.

It may be a lie who knows. But it certainly is not the way it used to be.

Marq

I have been PM since 2000. Prior to the "unfortunate" changes to the system, I did not have to go through the gate lottery and had close to 100% upgrade rate. Since the changes were implemented, I have had varying success rates with upgrades. I always board with my coach seat if I haven't cleared as I want space for my carry on. Generally due to misconnects, I have been upgraded many many times after I have taken my seat. I have seen many others upgraded who were presumably higher on the list than me. Most times, the gate agents don't ask for XXX or YYY to stay in the gate area if FC has checked in full but they are not at the gate. If they have not checked in by the 30 minute point, I have usually seen the seats released. In ATL, if you have not checked in 30 minutes ahead of time, you are never going to make it to the gate. If you are connecting passenger, you should have checked in when you checked in for the originating flight.

This is not just an occassional occurrence. I made the commute between MCO and DCA close to 300 times over a seven year period. Most of these trips were through ATL.

Marc

boogie78

You know, that's a good point that I hadn't thought of. My first upgrade was ATL-BOS. It's so hard to get upgraded on those flights that I don't look at the upgrade list to see if I have a chance; I look just to see how low I could possibly be. Interesting...

southerndoc

So far I've had 4/4 upgrades on my BDL-ATL flights/returns. I just qualified for FO a few months ago and should qualify for GM next month.

I don't fly nowhere near as much as you Platinites out there.