Super Larry

I'm flying YUL-PHL-LGW on July 4th with 3 other people.

US 233 : F3 P0 A0 Y3 B3 M3 H0 Q0 V0 S0 W0 L0 T0
US 98 : C9 D9 Z9 Y9 B9 M5 H0 Q0 V0 S0 W0 L0 T0

If I'm looking on a separate request just for PHL-LGW, then the results are :

US 98 : C9 D9 Z9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 L9 S9 V9 T4 W3

I'm planning to use 4 transatlantic upgrade coupon to upgrade in Envoy class.

When I look at those numbers, I'll obviously won't be able to upgrade on the YUL-PHL leg. However, the PHL-LGW looks promising.

Here's my questions

Should I ask for my upgrades in YUL, knowing in advance that I won't get the YUL-PHL leg, but in the hope that the YUL agent is able to process my request and confirm my upgrades for the PHL-LGW leg, or should I wait until I'm in PHL and ask for the upgrades there?

With those kind of numbers 5 days before departure, what do you think about my chances are of getting the upgrades?

Thanks in advance!

phlwookie

The difference in availability is probably because the YUL-PHL flight is sold out in several of the discount coach fare classes. This if YUL-PHL shows S0, then YUL-PHL-LGW will show S0 as well, as you wouldn't be able to get an S fare all the way from YUL to LGW on that routing, even though PHL-LGW has S seats.

I agree that PHL-LGW looks good, and it will also help that it's July 4th, so most people travelling for the holiday will already be at their destination and won't have left yet, and most in the US have Monday Jul 5th off.

I'll caution that since I live in PHL, I generally don't connect for transatlantic flights, but I would go ahead and ask in YUL. It can't hurt, though most of the upgrades in my experience will happen in PHL. Perhaps someone else in here can comment on success at confirming an upgrade before getting to PHL.

A dummy booking shows 20 of the 41 Envoy seats on US 98 assigned, though there are probably a few others with Envoy tickets who haven't yet grabbed seat.

Overall I'd say it looks pretty good for you right now, but the wildcard will of course be how many US preferred try to go for it as well. What kind of upgrade cert do you have?

Super Larry

It's actually a Transatlantic Envoy/First Upgrade (Star Code DS0087). Works with any fare, but the downside is that I can only confirm upgrade at the airport on the day of departure.

If I'm *A Gold (non US) where do I sit on the priority list?

fly747first

I agree. Do keep in mind that if you ask for the upgrade at YUL and the PHL-LGW leg is confirmed in Envoy Class, once the upgrade coupon is collected, then you can ask to be put on the First Class upgrade list from YUL to PHL. I don't think US Airways will have that many Preferred customers flying this route. Also, sometimes there are last-minute cancelations, you might end up getting upgraded from YUL to PHL as well. Best of luck to you.

phlwookie

You know, I don't know if I've ever seen a report of whether non-US * Gold status helped with these certs. I would expect you'd be above US Silvers, but I can't say for certain.

BTW, regardless of whether you clear in Montreal as a * Gold you can use the Envoy Lounge in PHL (elevators near gate A15), and they can help with the upgrades.

gardener

Super larry - don't forget the DS0087's require you to call the day before and request that an Envoy meal be loaded for you. Don't be surprised if the US rep doesn't know what you are talking about. You can ask her then how your chances look.

kudzu

Was I always mistaken in believing that the Envoy Lounge was only for Envoy pax, and that the Club next door in PHL was for all others, including Club members and *G int'l? I used the PHL Club when flying coach across, and the Envoy Lounge when flying business. It seemed more crowded in the Envoy Lounge (perhaps because of more food there? and I was just as happy to find a quiet place to read before my flight.

sts603

Club members get the Club. *Gold (not Carribean flights) and confirmed Envoy pax get the Envoy lounge....it is traditionally more crowded but it's only open in the evening where the Club is also available in the morning for Club members heading to the Carribean. Envoy has free food and self-service booze - Club is a traditional (but very nice) club with light snacks and free non-alcoholic beverages.

Super Larry

Thanks to all for your sound advices.

As of today June 30th 11h22am the load looks like this :

YUL-PHL-LGW

US 233 F3 P0 A0 Y2 B2 M2 H0 Q0 V0 S0 W0 L0 T0
US 98 C9 D9 Z9 Y9 B9 M2 H0 Q0 V0 S0 W0 L0 T0

PHL-LGW

US 98 C9 D9 Z9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 L9 S9 V9 T1 W0

Those numbers are confirmed on both KVS and ITN.

I really feel weird about seeing this extremly high level of available seats whitin 4 days of departure, specially on a high volume route like PHL-LGW in the summer. I can certainly understand the 4th of July effect, but still...Could it be that US has not updated the load factor data in the last few days and I might have a not so pleasant surprise on the 4th of July?

SoxIn7

Business travelers are busy enjoying their long weekend. Memorial day weekend I returned from LGW on May 31 and there were at least 15 open Envoy seats. Not hard to imagine why. The leisure travelers probably don't even know how to get SA upgrades or have enough miles. You'll be fine.

phlwookie

Just to confirm, because I've done it many times while an Envoy upgrade was pending for me, as a Star Gold you can use the Envoy lounge, so long as it's open. As a * Gold they should direct you to the Envoy lounge when arriving at the front desk, even if, like me, you're also a club member (and you need not mention you're a club member there if you are). I've found that the people working the Envoy lounge are a bit better at handling upgrades and telling you where you fall on the list. As a * Gold I think you can bring one guest into the Envoy lounge (never tried more), whereas for US club members you can bring two guests or the family into the club.

Obviously for the morning Caribbean banks only the US Club is an option.

phlwookie

I should mention that the only time I was the *only* revenue passenger on a flight was a PHL-BOS flight I had mid-evening on July 4th maybe six years ago. It was myself and a bunch of non-revs, mainly pilots. We all sat up front, even though I was on a deeply discounted ticket, and had a nice time. Was able to see some fireworks from the air over some of the Boston suburbs on approach.

I was travelling then because it was a last-second opportunity to see a friend who normally lives outside the country, and being a poor college student at the time, this was the cheapest option. They needed the plane in BOS the next day, so it went.

Super Larry

Just a follow-up..

Following some advices from here and armed with my 4 DS0087 coupons, I was able to upgrade two of us on the YUL-PHL leg AND the 4 of us on the PHL-LGW leg on the 4th of July!

On the return on the 26th, I didn't had any coupon and the flight was overbooked. After check-in, we went to the gate and waited for the boarding. Few minutes before it, I went to the gate and spoke to an agent, asking him very politely if there was a slight chance of getting an op-up because of the overbooking and if my status *A Gold could help. He asked me how many we were, told him 4, and he said, no luck, I only have one seat left in Envoy. I thanked him for his efforts and went back to my group.

Two minutes later the same agent came to us and said, "I have 4 seats available, two seated together and two others separated. Are you interested?" Wow!! It took us about 2� seconds before saying YES!!

So, all in all, a very interesting trip and a fabulous journey in Envoy on both legs across the Atlantic.

Thanks to all for their advices!

EnvoyBoy

Why did you take so long?

Congrats on a great trip--happy to hear that US came through for you.