Getting on the upgrade list is harder than you think. Automatic? Not so much...

On Saturday, thanks to CO's PDA friendly site, I discovered many hours ahead of my departure time that my original last-flight-of-day from YYZ to EWR was cancx. I also found that the first flight out today was packed in back but had seats up front. Cool.

I arranged the re-book and hustled to the hotel biz center to OLCI. Checking in means you're on the upgrade list, right? Thirty minutes later, no sign of yours truly on the list (via PDA) so I called the OP CSC. "No problem," said the helpful gent on the phone, "You're on the list. Sometimes it doesn't show up on those PDA thingies." Umm. OK.

This AM enroute to airport - still not on the list. After navigating my way to the gate I inquired. "Am I on said list?" Ans: No. The GA asked me if I had checked in at the counter. Nope. You know, OLCI. "Well, " she said, "You always need to check in at the airport to make sure you're on the upgrade list. "Oh," said I, "I thought when I checked in online I was on the list?"

Ans: "Well sometimes, but not always. You really need to check in at the airport." Hmm. Kinda negates the whole OLCI deal doesn't it?

Anyway, she added me to the list and sure enough, thirty seconds later there's me, top of the list. A moot point as by then 1st was long since checked in.

Not a big deal on a short flt like this one, but I'd be bummed to mis a transcon upgrade with a similar issue. So who do I have to know to get on the list? Or do I start bringing camping gear to the check in counter?

Did OLCI ask you whether you wanted to be placed on the FC upgrade list?

Actually the reverse - I asked if I was on the list and they said "Yes".

How do you ask OLCI if you're on the upgrade list?

During the OLCI process (online) you are asked if you want to be placed on the list, that is what lensman was asking

This has happened to me twice and my boss on Friday. You have to call the online support desk and explain to them that you are not on the list and you should be (be persistant). You might have to cycle through a few reps before one of them takes the time to look into it. On Friday when I was helping out my boss I was on hold for 40 minutes while the rep fixed it but then my boss got upgraded on 2-4 flights as silver so she thought it was worth the time.

Your OLCI boarding pass will also indicate if you have been added to the first class upgrade standby list. If that language is not there, I would assume you are NOT on the list, and react appropriately.

OLCI asks you if you would like to upgrade. If you select "yes," OLCI then tells you that you have been placed on the upgrade standby list.

...unless, of course, you are actually upgraded at that point (which hardly ever happens).

Lately, I have had OLCI ask me if I wanted to upgrade at check-in even when I already had been EUA'd. We will see if that happens today for my already EUA'd flight tomorrow.

I had exactly the same issue but it turned out it was due to being re-booked due to the canx of your original flight. I had been delayed flying in from GLA and they had me on the later flight to YYZ (17:15). I made the original flight to YYZ (15:00), and the 17:15 was cancelled....but everytime I went into the reservation to look at the return leg, it highlighted the changes in the res in red and insisted I press an 'accept' button. Pressed 'accept' lots of times, but got stuck in a loop.

Phoned OP desk and she fixed it (after 35 mins of investigation), but the fix removed me from the (paid for with miles) BF upgrade list on the CO18 EWR to LHR. Phoned again and they insisted I was on the list, tho my BP did not say so, so phoned twice more, and finally got it sorted.

The moral or this story is, do what your gut tells you, not necessarily what the OP desk tells you!!

YYZ seems to be a whole 'nuther universe, somehow. I've had great luck and service on many routes to/from EWR... but when it's EWR<->YYZ, it's just always something. Upgrade policy seems to be completely random and arbitrary, and the Continental agents up there are just usually horrible to deal with. I've seen agents "forget", or just not bother, to give an upgrade out when the upgrade ticket was actually printed and sitting on the podium. I wouldn't judge the whole program by this route!

-dan

Hi coltom, we're very sorry for the confusion. We did find your reservation and were able to see see what happened. To better explain what led to your issue, it's worth knowing that our online and kiosk check-in systems rely heavily on how you answer the would-you-like-to-upgrade question at any point on your trip. Specifically, when you answer "No", these systems will add a no-upgrade special service request to your reservation to ensure you're not upgraded on any remaining flights.

In your case, when you checked in for your outbound trip and answered "No" to the upgrade question (possibly because you were already upgraded), our check-in system in turn added a no-upgrade request to your reservation. As a result, you weren't added to the upgrade standby list on your return flight. As it turns out, this also explains what happened with chimoe125, who recently had a similar issue.

Later this year, we're planning to remove the upgrade questions altogether from our kiosk and online check-in systems, and simply add eligible Elite members to the upgrade standby list automatically (unless you've requested otherwise via continental.com, over the phone or at the airport).

Also worth noting, we do have a FAQ on upgrade standby list page at pda.continental.com/info, which does specifically answer the question "If I should be on the list, how do I get on it?" Below is the answer, which may be helpful for future reference:
Unfortunately, as you've found, troubleshooting airport upgrade standby list issues isn't something we're currently able to do over the phone. That's why we'd rather refer you to the airport for assistance.

Does CO.com support know about the pda site? When I was stuck the other week during irreg. ops in IAH I was using the pda site to figure out the best option for me (I'm super type A, I don't trust anyone else if I can get the info myself... I know... I'm working on it) back home. I found a slight glitch and I referenced the pda site and the co.com support essentially gave me a over the phone.

I didn't push it, but was just curious if the pda site is, what we affectionately call in our company a U-boat. A project everyone knows is lurking under the surface, but only a few in the circle of trust know what or where it is at any given moment. Until it surfaces.

Hi belynch, as with any new concept, it'll take a while before our entire front line is versed. That said, we're now conscously making an effort to get the word out both to our co-workers (via bulletins, visits, etc.) and to our customers (via TripAlert and online boarding passes, etc.).