Upgrades getting harder?
 

I've been a CP for 2 years now and have always had a high success rate getting upgraded on US metal.... until about a month ago.

I've noticed lately that I haven't been getting upgraded that often (I've flown in the back for 5 segs out of SFO in the last month / month and a half) and was curious if it was just a case of bad luck or if others were experiencing a lower upgrade rate recently....?

Haven't seen anything unusual on my end.

I haven't noticed anything unusual. As a Silver becoming Gold I only missed one upgrade - BOS-PHX but have been upgraded on every other US-operated flight and I'm definitely not Chairman. So, either a lot of paid First Class out of SFO or a lot of Chairmans or a combination of both.

Yeah, but in AA you will get ... stickers! Except for the rare, calculable occasion, you will be able to book flights without worrying whether you will be upgraded or not. You won't be.

(I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I'm still at the wrong stage of the grieving process for the loss of the US FF program.)

I'm still in denial :D

Haven't noticed any lack of upgrades here. I think a lot of tickets out of SFO are paid FC, especially through CLT.

SFO can be hard some days of the week even for CPs except on the SFO-PHX flights - it sometimes sells out F before the upgrade window even opens.

1. The sticker system works well for many as it means that you are competing against fewer people on many routes. Those who fly TCON's are unlikely to burn a sticker on a short segment while those who fly short segments will.

2. Whether any one individual sees fewer UG's is not significant. But, the carriers' own reporting suggests that with an improved economy, more paid F and less capacity, there are simply fewer seats available for the freebies.

That may be a bitter pill to swallow, but with only three legacy carriers, there is simply less need to give the product away and there are many who would prefer to see the product improved and are willing to pay for that.

That's irrelevant if you are Chairman though (and the OP is) - you do not compete with the lower levels unless if you buy very late and clearing had started and you do not use stickers...

If anything I seem to be clearing earlier and more often lately. However, the one exception where I haven't been upgraded lately is out of SFO, so it may have to do with the market.

The only upgrades I have missed all year have been PHL-PHX. I think I've missed 4 of them out of about 10.

As hginPHL says, if anything, they seem to have been clearing earlier than "normal" (T-7 rather than T-4).

I have also been getting my transcontinental upgrades at T-7 consistently.

I'm flying ORD - PHX tomorrow and F was sold out before the 7 days it seemed. Also my PHX-MKE flight out Monday was a no go for upgrade for me too. I attribute that to people using miles to get back from Thanksgiving though.

I'm on the PHX to MKE AM flight this coming Monday and I was upgraded at t-7.

Nope, they're not. As Silver just turning Gold I haven't missed an upgrade in a while... even on mainline.

Only thing I haven't cleared recently is a PHX-CLT coming up on Monday. And I doubt that one's going to clear, since it looks like only the bulkhead row is open and they're still trying to sell it.