LATAM Booking Classes Eligibible for Courtesy Upgrade
 

From March 1, discounted economy tickets ("Base") are no longer eligible for courtesy upgrades to business class.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information on which booking classes are still eligible for upgrades and their customer support on Twitter... leaves a bit to be desired (to put it very mildly).

Does anyone know which LATAM booking classes correspond to Base/Access/Control/Flex fares?
Thanks.

Based on what I read on the LATAM websites, I think it's pretty simple:

For members of LATAM Pass, if they've pre-reserved seats in an even-numbered row, any fare is eligible for a courtesy upgrade, except those paid in a currency other than USD, in which case, booking classed J, C, D, and I are excluded. But if the pre-reserved seats are in an odd-numbered row, ONLY booking classes C, D, and I are eligible for courtesy upgrades, so long as the flight departs on a Tuesday or Thursday, or for fares Light and Flex. On all other days of the week, only booking classes J and Z can be upgraded, regardless of which row the seating may have been pre-reserved, or the currency of purchase.

For members of LATAM Fidelidade resident in Germany, France, Spain or Portugal, priority on the upgrade standby list is determined by alphabetical order of the booking class. But for members resident in Latin America (excluding Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Suriname, and Mexico), upgrade priority is determined by comparing the height (without shoes) of any Black or Black Signature status passengers that requested their upgrades more than 79 hours before flight departure time - adding a bonus 13cm to any passenger who is over 65 years old and/or pregnant. For residents of excluded countries, LATAM Pass members worldwide, and Canadian members named John or Susan, upgrade priority is calculated in inches, with no bonus, except for flights that arrive after 3pm on Wednsedays or Sundays.

NOTE: Under no circumstances can tickets that have been issued be upgraded - except if they have a valid e-ticket number ending in 7.

:)


[More seriously: I've seen it alleged that some coded letter combinations in the middle-latter positions of LATAM fare bases map onto these branded fare categories - but it's not at all obvious, and unfortunately, doesn't booking class can't be relied on as a guide for that. I've just matched over to Black, and am already at the point of throwing in the towel and going back to AAdvantage.]

LOL!

I wish their CS had given me at least that information.

So according to Latam website, from 1st March 2018 you can upgrade only from fares Access, Control and Flex:
Base: G,A,O
Access: N,S,X
Control: V,L,M
Flex: B,Y

Also there is no such thing like GUARANTEED upgrade on Latam Airlines. It is always subject of availability of seats in higher class.

Where did you find that mapping?

Yes, but the upgrades are guaranteed, as long as there are available seats (and of course depending on your number on the wait list). With European carriers, not even that exists.

Got it from my travel agency. They contacted Latam Airlines to get those information.

Yes, I can agree with you. For example if on the list are 6 people and there's 6 available seats in business class then all 6 people will get the upgrade. Unless, if for example some flight will be rescheduled, and latam will have to move some passengers from business class to other flight (your flight) then you might lose your upgrade. But that never happened to me so I'm not sure.

Are those classes only valid for LA or also for JJ etc.?

I guess for both but I'm not sure. N-fare worked for me on JJ flight (upgraded).

Finally

the best way to get an upgrade on any airline in any given day is very simple buy a business class ticket.

Thank you, Rolf, for providing us with information all of us already were aware of. Guess why I started this thread.

Then it's not an upgrade, is it? ;)

While generally true, if you're a bit unlucky, even this isn't always a guarantee.

AFAIK the following booking classes are the ones that allow upgrade in LA, 4M and now in JJ as well: Y B H K M L V X.