Part of the "problem" is on-line check in of refundable tickets. It seems more people are checking in and then not making it to the airport on time. Therefore if the seat is checked in the agent can not give it away until approx 10 to 15 minutes prior to departure. It does not happen on every flight, but both leaving DFW on Friday and returning from DTW to DFW today the GA have come on board and moved passengers up to empty first class seats after the "First Class Cabin has checked in full".

I think it is somewhat up to the agent, but I think they generally are concientious. There primary goal is to get that door closed and the plane out on time, then second is to get the elites up to first class. I think if there is time and they can move you without a delay they will do it.

PEK Upgrades
 

When I lived in PEK, I used to fly coach on NW at least once a month or so. At an international airport with only one NW flight per day, you'd think they would know how many people are checked in long before boarding, but instead every time there were GAs on the plane, walking around doing op-ups for PEs and GEs.
I was PE, so I'd get myself on the plane, but I wouldn't put anything away, and just wait. About half the time, I was given a new boarding pass and told to quickly move up front. The other half of the times, the GA would walk past me to (presumably) a pax with a more expensive ticket and upgrade him or her. This was just before 9/11, when they flew a 744 to DTW, so an op-up for this flight was wonderful--about 12 hours in WBC!

I will wait in the boarding area if I'm on a day trip and don't have luggage that I need to stow. I'd rather sit in coach with my luggage stowed safely above, than wait for an upgrade, then end up checking my luggage due to no stowage space left.

Very recently, I flew on CO as a NW Silver (now gold, and soon to be PE). Anyhow, I asked about my percentage of being upgraded. Of course I was told that the first class cabin has checked in full. I went ahead and pre-boarded and got settled in my 7C seat. As the boarding process was winding down, a gentlemen came to me and stated that I was in "his seat." We both took out our boarding passes, and sure enough they both showed 7C.

I wasn't going to move and give up my overhead space. We contacted an FA. A few minutes later, the FA came back and said, "You are in 2E." That would be F class of course.

If they indeed did upgrade me and give my coach class seat to someone else, it sure would have been nice if I were given any hint of such knowledge. Unfortunately for the either guy, I kept being moved around as he was waiting for his seat and everyone else continues on with the boarding process.

It worked out nicely for me, but poort guy moved from row to row before I was able to move to the forward cabin, and he got his seat.

A bunch of us flew to Venice, Itlay on those $215 fares last August... it so happened that two of my friends had the same seats as two of my other friends... they realised this after boarding... since the flight was fully booked, they got lucky and were upgraded to WBC... not bad for a $215 ticket to VCE!!

A couple of weeks ago I was flying ELP-IAH-ORD on CO. I was given the upgrade at 5 days and had to change my flight back home. After the sweep I was upgraded IAH-ORD but not ELP-IAH. I printed out my boarding passes the night before. In the morning I checked and the website indicated that I was now in first. When I got to the airport and asked the agent she told me that I was still in coach. I ended up flying in coach. I was wondering if anybody knows how the CO website normally treats the itinerary in the instance?

I agree that being upgraded once you are in your seat is rare. However, this has happened to me two times: Once last year NRT-DTW (and that's a very long flight; I was surprised because I was traveling on a $600 MKE-BKK r/t ticket) and last month DTW-MKE (of course, this flight is less than an hour but still it was nice). I also will not wait around in the waiting area; one of the nice things about being elite is that you can get on board early in coach and stow your baggage immediately. IMHO this is getting harder and harder to do because it seems people board with bigger and bigger "carry-ons".

It is better to wait at the gate and have the agent verify that all FC pax are seated
 

If all seats are shown as "checked in" it is still possible 3-4 pax have nwa.com internet checkin, but will not be arriving at the airport in time to board the flight.

In this situation, at about 20 minutes before scheduled departure the GA is suppose to "release" the seat assignments for the pax that has not presented the "checked in boarding pass" at the gate.

After the unoccupied seats are released by the GA, waitlisted elites should be given the FC seats.

What often happens is that all pax are advised that "FC is full and fully checked in and to take your assigned main cabin seats" then the non-revs are advised to take "an open seat" which is often a FC seat that should have been offered to an elite revenue pax.

The only way to prevent this from happening is to stay in the gate area, ask if a checked in FC pax doesn't show up "where am I on the waitlist" if you are number 1 or number 2 on the list you have a good chance. Don't board until last call.

RC

Funny you should mention that, as I just had my first on-board upgrade a few days ago, flying from DTW to IND on NW.

* * *

Before I tell the story, allow me to explain how I seek "battlefield upgrades" without annoying the GA's. I've arranged to receive notification of Elite upgrades via telephone, text message to my cell phone, and email. If I'm on a standby list for F, the telephone call (unlike the email and text message) says something to the effect of, "Please check at the airport for your upgrade status."

So, I approach the GA, present my boarding pass, and (truthfully) say, as politely as possible, "I received a call this morning from Northwest, asking me to check at the airport about a possible Elite upgrade to First Class." I'm not bugging the GA--rather, the airline asked me to speak with a NW employee about an upgrade. ;)

* * *

Anyway, the GA at DTW informed me that empty F seats would be released to waitlist Elites 10 minutes before departure and advised me not to board. At 11 minutes prior to scheduled departure, she said something to the effect of, "Wow, too bad. The guy who had the last open F seat checked in with one minute to spare." I smiled, said something like, "Oh well, you win some and you lose some," presented my coach boarding pass, and boarded.

As I was sitting in my coach seat, I noticed that the empty seat in F remained empty. And I thought, "If they close the boarding door at 5 minutes prior to departure, I don't think he's gonna get to the gate in time. He's got 6 minutes after check-in to clear security and make it to Gate 67, which is quite a trek from the checkpoint."

I considered returning to the GA to ask once more about an upgrade, but I didn't. DTW to IND is a short flight--40 minutes of flight time. I'd already used my Elite status to secure an exit-row seat (a decent "consolation prize") in advance, and I didn't feel like consuming any adult beverages.

Then, a different GA came onboard to hand over the final passenger list. After doing so, she announced, "Would deephouse please come to the front of the aircraft?" And she presented me with a new boarding pass for that empty F seat.

* * *

Question: why would DTW process the F waitlist so close to boarding? At SEA, where I'd gotten a battlefield upgrade at the gate, they processed the waitlist 30 minutes before departure, which is the domestic check-in "deadline." SEA's procedure makes more sense.

* * *

Anyway, the short answer to your question is yes, NW will upgrade pax after boarding. With my recent onboard upgrade, I'm still batting 1.000 as a Silver Elite this year when it comes to upgrades. Admittedly, I'm pretty strategic about it. I select my flights with upgrade possibility in mind, check in the minute online check-in opens if I haven't already been upgraded on all of my flights, and as I mentioned above, I'm careful in how I go about seeking battlefield upgrades.

We all sit together
 

The scanner beeps when you attempt to board with your coach boarding pass after you have been upgraded.

I got that beep when boarding a flight to PVD from MSP over the labor day weekend. I was traveling with my family, and the rule with my family is that we all sit together (almost always in coach). On the flight out of SNA to MSP, the flight was oversold and we could not get three seats together. I put myself on the upgrade list for the sole purpose of negotiating leverage with the person in the coach aisle seat sitting next to my wife and daughter.

Sure enough the person in that seat was more than willing to take my seat in first, and I enjoyed four hours of crappy food, buying my own booze, having my knees shoved up around my ears, and domestic tranquility in NW coach.

On the next leg (MSP-PVD) where we had no trouble securing 3 seats together I attempted to board with my coach boarding pass with the folks who "need a little additional time down the jetway" when the scanner beeped. I was told that I had been upgraded on this leg too. After asking my wife if she would like to sit in First and being told that we all sit together, the agent deleted my upgrade and restored my old seat assignment. I told the agent to pick somebody at random and give them my First Class seat, but she said that she could not do that.

I had 3C on a flight from West Palm to DTW and wanted to sit in Back - MC pax moved!
 

In March 2004 heading to a FT mini DO in DTW I had this experience on a FL/MI Northwest flight:

I boarded the A320 with my FC boarding pass, then asked the main cabin pax in seat 26C if he wanted to sit in seat 3C and enjoy a hot FC meal, free beverages, because "I want to sit near my friend, here in the main cabin"

The pax will almost always be delighted to help you out.

RC

I have seen a number of on-board upgrades in the past few weeks (I'd say at least 1/2 of the flights). Each time the GA came on board and they made an announcement for the pax that were to move forward. Once, after being turned down by 2(!) different elites, they flew with one seat empty since the departure time was already passing and gave the FA the other names and told her that she could bring another forward at her discretion (which she didn't do). unfortunately for me, as a silver, I've still yet to get called. This year I'm scoring around 60% which is still decent considering that I'm out of DTW. Unfortunately, I almost always get FC on short hops, and almost never on the longer ones! oh well.

Today I flew back DCA-Mem-DFW. I checked in online and did not get the upgrade on the first segment. When I got to the gate, I asked the agent, she told me they were full. I boarded the plane, and right before they closed the gate, she came and asked me if I wanted to move up.

As some people said before, I think its a function of how busy the GA is and what mood they are in. I was quite suprised they came and got me

Now that I think about it, I remember being on an MSP-SEA flight earlier this year, before the introduction of the R fare bucket (and the move toward more battlefield upgrades), and three people were upgraded after boarding. I was sitting in 1B, and an attractive woman was brought up from coach to 1A. She was a college student who'd gotten Silver Elite status by doing a lot of flying last year, but she didn't really understand the whole FF/Elite thing.

Admittedly, a geeky explanation of how the system works doesn't seem like the best way to pick up women, but she seemed interested. We enjoyed some nice conversation and shared my headphones so we could watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on my PowerBook. :D

GateAgents can upgrade
 

GA's have a lot of discretion. Depending on whether the flight is loading on time or if it is running late they may or may not spend as much time addressing upgrades.

Getting out of the gate on time is measured and a GA that is consistently late in getting a/c out will be disciplined or possibly terminated by NW, so there are certain flights that run out of time, and upgrading is not done consistently.

Sometimes GA's will close the door on the LFA's BEFORE the F/A's are ready. The FA's are supposed to be asked and OK the securing of the a/c door. It doesn't always happen that way. The GA at scheduled time of departure (and from 10 minutes prior) is only concerned about getting the plane out of the gate ontime.

RC