So, disclaimers up front...I am DL Plat/AA Plat and spend a lot of time helping others on those boards...so now comes my request for help from you all.

A buddy and I decided to go to mexico in January and are looking at flights from SEA to ZIH. He actually has gold status on NW, though he doesn't much understand how to use it (last night he commented "lately they seem to upgrade me more than they used to, but I never know when or why").

Anway, now the questions.

Do complimentary upgrades include Mexico?

How do partner upgrade requests work?

If high-end coach fares are upgradeable at time of ticketing, which fare classes are included? (i.e. is it just Y or does this extend to YBM?)

Do WP upgrades work as well on Continental (i.e. is the success percentage the same for WP members on NWA and Continental? I can't believe it would be..)

The short story is what is your best advice for trying to upgrade travel from SEA to ZIH ??

Thanks SO much in advance...

Jarrett

Yes.

Do you mean partner airlines or travel companions?

Upgrades are automatic on NW and CO metal as long as there are no non-elites on the same PNR. On AS metal, you'll need a coupon that's provided on request to NW golds and plats.

Companion upgrades for NW Golds are handled at the airport. When you arrive, the NW Gold member hands both his/her BP and his/her travel companion's BP (regardless of whether the two are travelling on the same PNR) to an agent, and the agent either upgrades them if there are seats, or adds him/her/them to the waitlist.

Companion upgrades for NW Plats work the same way, except that if only the Plat + 1 companion are on the same PNR, the companion is eligible for the same 5-day advance automatic upgrade as the Plat.

It only applies to Y, and only to elites (not companions).


NW and CO elite upgrades are completely reciprocal. But CO has more elites and fewer FC seats, so the success rate on NW metal is much better for both NW and CO elites.


Best chance for flying up front = buy FC tickets. Second best chance = have your friend try to upgrade you both with miles. Third best chance = have your friend upgrade you with miles, and roll the dice that he'll get the Gold upgrade (he probably will). Fourth best chance = book on separate records, hope that he gets the Gold elite upgrade, and that there's still a seat available for you to get a companion upgrade.

Yes, but it probably doesn't matter. Unless I'm missing something, NW doesn't fly there, and most of the CO service is on ERJs.

They certainly fly to CUN. I'd imagine that's not all though.

Edit: Oh, I suppose you're talking ZIH specifically. The part you quoted made me think you meant Mexico in general which is obviously not true...

Edit2: Even if you were talking ZIH specifically, there are two A320 flights from MSP per day.

Actually, CO has at least one Friday flight from IAH on B738. (There is also mainline service to GDL at least once a day, and probably other mexican cities as well, but anyways...)

I travel regularly to GDL. The trick is in the scheduling of flights. Of course, you need to book a flight on non-ERJ to have any chance of upgrade. Weekend flights from IAH tend to have a much lower business component and a much higher proportion of cost-consious travellers, and are thus better for upgrades if you are Elite.

Even as NW Silver, I score fairly regularly on CO when traveling off "business-travel times". All my CO upgrades have been at the gate, despite often being confirmed for upgrades on the NW segments. I've never been upgraded by CO when not upgraded on the previous NW segment.

A bit of an overstatement. The current NW schedule shows no NW-operated service to ZIH. It appears that two Saturday-only flights are starting sometime in January.

OP is traveling in January, so... yeah

True, true. I missed the 6 next to them in the time table there. Appears to be starting Jan 8. NW *adding* a new route?? Crazy. I thought they were pulling out of everywhere! Seriously though, a new (or returned?) international route. Nice.