NWsilverflyer

So this is the inaugural Silver trip today. I checked in exactly 24 hours early and was told First Class was full for both DCA-DTW and DTW-LAS but that I had been put on the waiting list. Fine. But searching my flights today on nwa.com to verify that FC was indeed all full, I was confused to find 2 seats open on the DCA-DTW trip and TEN from DTW-LAS. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but no searching, so a quick answer would be great. Are they waiting to fill these for some reason? Thanks in advance!

fromYXU

Seat maps do not always reflect how many seats are sold. Seats may be available for sale until the flight is at the gate. If not upgraded yet, checkin early (24 hour online) and once at the gate talk to the agent. Gate upgrades are very common.

NWsilverflyer

Actually, I did OLCI yesterday right at the 24hr mark. If nwa.com first class seat maps aren't totally accurate, where should I look? Also, just looked again and on the first leg one additional FC seat has opened up. Odd? Conversely, on the 2nd flight the number of open seats has gone from 10 to about 5. We shall see I guess!

Oh, one other fun question. I'm flying with a friend on the 2nd leg. If I get upped to FC, think I can leave him sitting back in Coach or should I be nice and take a seat next to him in the back?

dave_261

Try this site: http://flyaow.com/classcwt.htm

It's a pretty good tool for estimating first class upgrade availability. If you see "P0 F0", you basically have no shot of an upgrade as they don't even have any first class seats to sell, let alone upgrade. If you see something like "P8 F0" on day of travel, they'll likely have seats to upgrade at the gate. But, as a silver, you'll be low on the priority list.

Your decision on the upgrade. Part of the decision might be what seat you'd be getting if you moved back to coach (i.e., would you be sitting in the last row middle seat to be next to him), since your coach seat is gone as soon as you get the upgrade. But given that this is your first Silver flight, I'd probably take the upgrade.

NWsilverflyer

Both flights are saying "P3 F2." So, not sure what that even means. But at least it's not 0/0 I guess.

fromYXU

At least 3 seats left in FC, maybe 5 but unlikely since most F seats are also available to be sold as P. Unlikely to be available for upgrades now, but all three seats will be available at the gate (if not sold).

NWsilverflyer

ok--just a 'process' question here. Why keep first class seats open? If they are supposedly open to silver upgrades 24 hours out shouldn't they have just automatically be filled?

fromYXU

NW simply hopes to sell the seats at the last minute. It is trying to make a profit in case you didn't know!

clarence5ybr

To make money. If someone wants to buy an F seat the evening before the flight or the day of the flight, it's in NW's interest as a business to sell it.

The upgrades are "subject to availability". If there are a lot of F seats left 24 hr out, you'll typically get the UG then (or even sooner--I had UGs as much as 40 hr out as a Silver if F was empty); if there are only 2-3 F seats open at 24 hr, they'll typically wait until half an hour before departure to give them away. It's fairly rare on the routes I fly for any F seats to go empty, but as a Silver you'll have to wait for UGs at the gate a lot more than a Gold or Plat because they almost always want to hold a few seats for sale to last-minute walkups.

slippahs

The Continentalization of Northwest.

Good luck on the upgrade. Let us know if you end up sitting up front.

NWsilverflyer

Well, I won't begrudge NW wanting to make some extra money. Especially since my tickets were quite cheap.

One last question-any clue as to how different members at the same tier level are differentiated for upgrades? i.e.: if some, but not all silvers get upped, what was the difference? I suspect if there is a difference, it has to do with price of the ticket. Guess I might strke out there too.

PS: if the 2-3 open seats remain for the next couple hours, any way to snag one using the kiosk at the airport or is that only at the gate? Thanks!!

clarence5ybr

Nobody outside of NW knows for sure (or if they do, they aren't telling), but the most common criteria people think may have something to do with it are time of check-in, date the ticket was purchased, and fare class. I've also seen at least one suggestion of lifetime miles flown on NW as a factor. Which of these are actually used, and in what order they are applied is anyone's guess.

You mentioned before that you already used OLCI. If you wanted to risk doing something with the kiosk, you'd need to get "un-checked" in by calling NW in advance, then re-check in at the kiosk. Given the number of available seats, I'd strongly recommend that you not risk this. It's almost certain no further UGs will take place until 30 min before departure, and you'd lose your place on the waitlist by un-checking.

Good luck.

Cacophony

Not entirely true. There is another upgrade sweep 3hrs prior to departure. You may want to stop at a kiosk & reprint your boarding passes, you may find a new seat assigment.

Another comment: based on my experience as a plat, you may want to prepare yourself for disappointment. If the flight is P3 R0 1 day out, there are probably golds and maybe even plats waiting for those seats, or elites on Yup.

clarence5ybr

You're correct that the OP could have been UG'd since checking in on line, but if the UG had already processed at the 3-hr sweep, he/she's already got the UG, and there's no need to stop at the kiosk (the original BP will cause the scanner at the gate to give a signal if the seat assignment has changed).

I answered based on my reading that the OP was asking if doing something at the kiosk after going through OLCI could cause an UG that hadn't already processed to occur, and I don't think that's possible.

NWsilverflyer

Well, just as an update, I got upped on 3 of the 4 flights. I got DTW-LAS, LAS-MSP redeye, and MSP-DCA. Just missed DCA-DTW. All in all, very pleased. I assume DCA and LAS are pretty popular cities in the NW network. The DTW-LAS flight was the most 'rewarding' FC experience, as it involved 4.5 hours of comfortable seating, dinner, and multiple drinks.