Welcome to the Upgrade Megathread!!
This is a new thread under development. The goal is to have all the FAQs posted by the end of May or early June. Feel free to post comments with specific questions in the meantime. Your brilliant questions will help us develop a meaningful FAQ for the community.
Contents
- Some acronyms & definitions
- Upgrading for Newbies – 5 ways to snag that seat up front!
- 5 Tips and Tricks You Need to Know
- General FAQ – coming soon
- Bid Upgrade FAQ – coming soon
- eUpgrade FAQ – coming soon
- Last Minute Upgrade FAQ - coming soon
Some acronyms & definitions
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| AP | Aeroplan |
| Cabin vs fare | Cabin is economy, premium economy or business. Fare family is the “brand” AC assigned (Business Flex; Business Lowest, Latitude, Comfort, Standard, Basic, etc.). Within each family, there are “fares” which are letter codes that essentially designate the price of the ticket within that family. And no it is not alphabetical! |
| Y | Used generically to refer to the economy cabin. |
| PE | Used generically to refer to the Premium Economy cabin. |
| J | Used generically to refer to the business class cabin. |
| R | A fare class that is used for upgrade availability. It can only be viewed through a travel agent or paid subscription services (such as ExpertFlyer). |
| SQM/SQD | Status qualifying miles or dollars –that count towards achieving AP elite status. |
| LMU | Last minute upgrade |
| IRROPS | Irregular Operations – when flights are delayed, overbooked, etc and there are changes to the processes and procedures for things like rebooking. |
| Metal | Who is operating the plane. For example, AC metal is an AC operated flight. It may be a united or Lufthansa issued ticket – but the “metal” is the plane you are flying on. |
Upgrading for Newbies
No shame in being new to AC or to the upgrade game. Some SE status members could even benefit from reviewing this post 😊. Here are all the possible way to snag yourself a comfy seat.
1) Free upgrades: Ask nicely and get an upgrade….NO, not on AC!
- AC does not offer or allow upgrade as a courtesy. They will fly with empty seats in business class.
2) Ops-up: An unrequested upgrade to PE or J based on operational requirements
- When a cabin is overbooked; for weights and balance; aircraft change (larger J cabin and smaller economy cabin); standby economy passengers and seats in PE or J
- AC will select passengers to upgrade.
- Occurs last minute at the gate. Only inflight benefits (no lounge, etc).
- Passengers typically selected based on status and then fare. You cannot “ask” for this upgrade, but you may refuse the upgrade if you want. In some cases, no PE or J meal will be available on IRROPS upgrade
3) Upfare: Paying to formally change the class of the ticket
- Formally changes the ticket to the new class.
- The fare rules of the upfared class will apply (i.e. if you upfare from Latitude to J lowest you will lowest the refundability) - except for refundability.... You CANNOT upfare to gain refundability from a restricted fare (Standard for example) to a flexible fare (such as Comfort and Premium Flexible) to gain the better change/rebooking rules. BUT the inverse is true - if you upfare to a more restrictive fare you LOSE the flexibility. Therefore - you cannot "game the system" - so don't ask and don't try. Note that if you upfare ONE direction or one segment - the most restrictive fare rules will apply to all segments and all directions.
- Access to the Signature Suite at YYZ or YVR (for J, on a destination that qualifies)
- The cost is based on the actual price difference between the desire class (PE or J) and what you paid for your ticket. This will count as SQD towards earning status.
- This is often used by business travellers who want to upgrade beyond what their corporate policy allows. You may use any credit card to make this change.
- This is done by calling AC to purchase the new fare. It can be done at the airport as well up to 2 hours before departure.
4) Bid Upgrade: Customers can bid in cash or points
- This is accessible to all passengers regardless of status. Only applies to AC operated (metal) flights.
- Your fare restrictions remain as per the original fare.
- The bid amount varies based on the flight. In some cases an “instant upgrade” price is offered in the bid upgrade process flow. This is not always offered.
- People often value business at around $150 an hour and PE at $50 an hour when determining “is it worth it”
- The system will only charge the credit card if the upgrade clears. You may use any credit card or even AP points to bid upgrade.
- You will know 48 hours before the flight (not earlier unless instant upgrade). Once it clears, you can select seats. So this has the advantage that multiple passengers have better luck sitting together over LMU or eUprades that clear at the gate.
- There is a very thorough FAQ on the AC website for bid upgrades: AC Bid Upgrade – FAQs
5) eUpgrade: Upgrade system based on using “eUpgrade credits” that are earned through AP status
- Upgrade requests are made via the AC App, website, calling customer service or at the gate.
- When you can clear the upgrade and the number of credits (and an add on cash fee) varies based on status, flight destination and fare.
- AC has a great tool to help you determine these details: eUpgrades and clearance windows.
- Although the clearance window may be open, eUpgrades only clear into a fare bucket called "R". The available of R is very limited in advance of flights and can be verified only by using paid tools such as ExpertFlyer. See the note below regarding "Latitude Instant Upgrades".
- Approximately 55 minutes before scheduled departure, the system will clear all remaining eUpgrades (based on priority of cabin, status, fare and check in time as the tie breaker). The majority of eUpgrades clear at the gate....only a few will clear in advance based on the planned availability of R space (which is greatly influenced by the loads on the flight and AC revenue management strategy to maximize sale of those seats).
- Strongly encourage you to review the details on About eUpgrades. It includes all the information on who can upgrade; how many people you can upgrade; etc.
- You do not access the signature suite.
- You do not get the class of service bonus for SQM. If there is an add on payment it does count toward SQD.
- Only applies to AC operated (metal) flights.
6) Last Minute Upgrade: Pay to upgrade offered when you check in for your flight
- Offered during the check in flow (on App or website) when available.
- The cost varies based on the flight. The amount does NOT count towards SQD for earning status.
- Once you upgrade you can select your seat, get airport and inflight benefits of the new class (PE or J).
- Do not get additional SQM. Do not get access to Signature Suite lounge.
- AC has a great FAQ on the LMU purchase process: Air Canada - Last Minute Purchase Upgrade. Read this before posting questions.
6 Tips and Tricks You Need to Know
1) Basic economy: Cannot upfare, bid upgrade, LMU or eUpgrade. You chose that fare…live with it 😊
2) Seat map does NOT equal available seats: Seat map are seats not selected. Seats available for sale are only available through other tools. Never (ever) use the seat map to estimate how many seats are available for sale (or available to upgrade).
3) Latitude does NOT equal guaranteed upgrade: Latitude paid fares will instantly eUpgrade if “R” space is available (or even sometimes from a hidden fare bucket – but not P and not known to the public). Latitude Reward space, is believed to only upgrade from “R” space.
4) Probability of upgrade clearing? Please don’t ask!!! Even 1 or 2 days before a flight you can see a cabin go from 9 empty J seats to 0. And this is NOT unusual. If the bid upgrade amount high enough? Well, the closer to minimum the lower the probability. There are as many good news stories of minimum bid winning as there are bad news stories of near maximum bids failing. When you are 24 hours before your flight check the number of passengers on the upgrade list (on the App), your position, and the number of available seats. That is when you can guess the probability….
5) Multiple passengers on ONE booking (PNR): For LMU and Bid Upgrades it is all or none. Those channels will not offer or clear upgrades for partial passengers. You need to split the booking (by calling AC) before you make the request. For eUpgrades, you may request for more than one (based on the rules which you can read on the AC website) and some of the passengers may clear and others will not.
6) Sitting together and declining upgrades: You are not guaranteed to sit together. In PE it is often middle single seats left and you may be separated. And after an upgrade clears - your original seat is gone. You cannot then ask for that seat back, for example if your party is not all upgraded. You may be stuck in the last row in economy.
It might be important to clearly spell out all the various Air Canada booking classes, to ensure newbies understand the lingo often used by contributors to the thread. These are the typical fare classes we see for international routes, but they will also apply to regional and domestic routes.
Then there are fare classes used for Aeroplan rewards and eUpgrades:
Finally, in discussion threads more generally, contributors will often use “J” to mean Business class, and “PE” for Premium Economy, and “Y” for economy when referring to the main 3 Air Canada fare class.
The other thing for 5 is that the co-pays get added to your SQD for the flight. The payments for LMUs and Bid Upgrades do not.
Added the info. Thank u
Great post. To add to 4, bid upgrade, Basic Economy fares cannot bid. It is another basic restriction.
Learned this the hard way.
Adding a section with 5 critical tips later today. One tip is that basic eceonomy cannot be upgraded by any of the channels. Not even upfare…
I didn't get the upfare idea. Does it mean just rebooking yourself? If so that is possible without calling them as well. You just modify and pay the difference on that day. Might have a penalty depending on the date though.
Upfare is buying business class - you pay whatever the rate is when you make the change. And you essentially get credited for what you have paid so far. You can upfare anytime you want as long as J is being sold. There is not fee to upfare when you switch cabins.
Oh I didn't know that. So even if I've bought a standard fare, I go and buy a business without paying the 150 change fee?
Yes. Upfaring to a new cabin has no fee
Hi! I’m in economy and I bid for signature for an upcoming trip. The app let me bid and confirmed my bid. So I’m confused here?
Basic economy is different from other economy fare classes.
Thanks!
May I suggest a definition section so newbies can know what the codes refer to?
Believe it or not I made an acronym section and I cannot get the formatting to look right… I just asked some of the other mods if they know how to fix that… will post it later
Great initiative! Love the thread.
Isn’t (2) called an “operational upgrade” or “op-up”? IRROPS means “irregular operations” and tends to deal with delays or cancellations.
Also, in (5) — depending on the route, fare and pax status, a monetary co-pay may be required in addition to eUpgrade credits.
2) so funny. No idea where my head was when I typed irrops instead of OP’s-up. Fixed. Thanks. 4) the add on fee is mentioned.
What gets prioritized, e-Upgrade or Latitude Flight Pass Complimentary Upgrade? Same fare class, 35K?
Complimentary upgrade is instant and pulls from any empty J seat. It does not happen at the same time or pull from the same bucket as eupgrade so the priority issue is moot.
First - I totally ignored flight passes. Sorry. I never use them and it just was not on my mind. I will add some info later on those. And I will also research and reach out to some contacts to get the info on prioritization vs eupgrade. I will message you directly when I find the answer…might only be on Monday.
Can you upfare a Flex flight pass booking?
I am going to find someone with flight pass experience to help build an FAQ. I have no experience with flight passes. Anyone out these an expert and volunteer to help?? DM me :)
Doesn't seem possible according to Flyertalk.
Thank you for this!!!
This should just forward to Prince of Travel
Prince of travel has two posts on eupgrades. I will add link to those in the eupgrade section (will do it tonight…). What his site is missing is the general overview and comparison of the upgrade channels. There are a lot of posts on here that demonstrate confusion area the options and approaches to use. The intent for this thread is to help the community distinguish between the options.
It would be helpful to add whether lmu is offered at check in for flights with connections. So for example if you have yyz - yvr - bkk, and you check in at t-24 based on yyz departure, can you get the lmu offer or do you need to wait for the yvr-bkk t-24 check in window for that long haul flight.
If check in for the connection is open, and the seat is available and the fare qualifies, yes you get the advantage over those that booked a direct flight…
Can you bid for an upgrade on a different credit card to the booking? My booking is on a work card, but I want to try for an upgrade.
Yes. You can pay with points too on some channels. I will add info on payment options to the relevant FAQs in the coming weeks. Thank you for the quest
Do you get a choice in seat selection when your select a bid to upgrade?
Yes. When it clears you select your seat.
Great start one addition, because I've seen it asked from time to time: An upfare from a non-refundable to refundable class does not make your whole ticket magically refundable.
So if you upfare from Y standard to J flexible, only the difference paid would be refundable, not the original fare paid.
Excellent point. I will add that. It really is not as much about the upgrade (we see that question when people want to upfare from standard to comfort most often). But absolutely worth noting since I did mention the new fare class rules would apply…which is misleading
Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
And also, I'm sure it's uncharitable of me, but how do people think there's some little trick like this to make any ticket fully refundable?
Is the cost to upgrade to J from economy the same as upgrade from PY or is it cheaper from PY? I intend to upgrade to J but just wondering if I should book flex or premium economy
Upgrade by which of the channels? Upfare - read the post. LMU - yes fare u paid impacts your offer price at check in.
Yes for last minute. Thank you!
If I have the following international itinerary booked in PE low: LAX-YUL-YYZ-DXB with R space in the domestic/trans border segments, will the clearance window follow international or separate for the domestic and international segments? I.e I have 35k - Will the LAX-YUL clear 8 days ahead or 4 Thanks
The upgrade clearance window for each segment will apply individually.
Thank you! Do you know if the clearance window is to the minute of departure? I’m currently 8 days 12hrs ahead of departure from my first leg and still showing as waitlisted.
I am personally not certain. Perhaps someone else has experience with these situations. I will definitely add to faqs once the answer is known!
Thank you to all for the comments. I implemented many of the suggestions.
The flight pass upgrade process is not yet posted. I will try to do that later this weekend... or if someone wants to volunteer to summarize the process and DM me that would be great!
Can you do a LMU if you’ve already submitted an eupgrade request? I feel like I never get offered a paid upgrade anymore, but I always submit for eupgrade so maybe that is why.
Latitude vs PE.
As SE, when I buy a Latitude fare I can sometimes get an instant business upgrade before the 7 day window opens. However its does not always work and i end up on priority waitlist at check in. At check in does a PE fare take priority over Latitude for upgrade?
This may impact my decision to just buy PE and get on business waitlist
Yes PE takes priority at the gate. And latitude is not 7 day clearance window. Look at the AC links posted - there is no window for latitude.
Thanks for clarifying. I think i should call into AC when booking to see if upgrade allocated seats are avail for Latitude fare instant upgrade before selecting Latitude or PE
Calling will not help. Book latitude and if it does not clear just cancel on the app and get a refund.
If you provided flight details someone could check the J cabin and you would have any idea of available seats…
I know this is a long shot - is there anyone able to check # of R space for AC886 for June 5th
Thank you!!
R0 J5 O3
Please always include the route not only flight number as the tool search via route only.
Thank you so much, sorry about that
I bought a basic ecomoy ticket, now I want to just pay the extra money and get premium economy. What’s my best move? The flight I am isn’t for another 26 days and online I don’t see any option to modify my seat and get premium economy with a pay option.
Do I need to cancel and rebook?
And thanks so much for this write up! I’ve saved it and screen shot this for future reference
As per tip 1
1) Basic economy: Cannot upfare, bid upgrade, LMU or eUpgrade. You chose that fare…live with it 😊
So you can just buy new ticket. Basic economy is not refundable.
Ah…
Just checked and it’s Economy Flex. I guess that’s still basic? I picked the one above standard.
No it is not basic. It is flex! Basic is basic. Flex is flex. You may look at the post above and upfare if u want by calling AC.
On it! On hold now... 22 mins hehe.
Thanks for the write up and tips! Ur a hero
Hi is there anyone can help me and check if there’s R space for June 14th PRG TO YYZ AC935 thank you!!
AC 935 PRG 1:40p → YYZ 4:50p J8 C7 D6 Z6 P3 R0 O3 E3 A0 N0 Y9 B9 M9 U9 H9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L9 K0
Thank you Ok I get to pray and see if my eup will go through
If my bid's not accepted on PE or J, will I still have my complimentary seat selected on Y? Thanks!
Hi - is anyone able to please check for me R space : HND to YYZ ( AC002), July 14th Thank you :)
I'm looking for suggestions. I have a Flex Economy return flight booked in November YYZ-HND. I just learned about Premium Economy and like the sound of that for this long flight. Online will allow me to make a min bid to upgrade to PE for $ 660 one way departure flight. However, if I want to change the ticket outright by calling AC, right now it is a $1400 difference (showing on AC site) that I would pay for a new non-flexible PE compared to my current Flex Economy ticket. What should I do? As mentioned the trip isn't until November, so if I put in my min bid, I won't even know until days before the flight. There is also the risk of not sitting with my travel companion because the tickets were bought separately but she is willing to go along with whatever I decide. Points isn't an option, as I only have 12K right now and that's nothing.
If I could wave a wand and create an ideal situation, I would pay 600 bucks to AC now to upgrade to PE and have my seat confirmed now. My friend would follow suit.
$1400 extra for one direction I find expensive. PE upgrades are often middle seats and I would almost prefer a good economy seat over middle PE.
What is the exact date? We can see what the PE cabin loads look like. Maybe the PE price will come down a bit
Dates are November 4 - 19. I derived the $1400 difference amount from the current online price if I was to go in new to buy a PE ticket, compared to what I paid when I booked. I assumed that is the same price that the agent would use on the phone, but maybe I am wrong. It sounds high to me for one direction as well. The return price was not as high.
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Honestly you will hate the answer… Take it if you want the guaranteed upgrade (keep in mind you are not the only one receiving this offer!), or wait if you want to take a chance.
Lots of space in J and PE
J9 C9 D9 Z8 P8 R0 O9 E9 A9 N2 Y9 B9 M9 U9 H9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L9 K9
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If my company books a AC flight with avion rewards (Flex) am I able to Upfare and pay for Business Lowest?
Not sure if you could do it or you need to go through Avion as they are the travel agent. You can try to call AC. But all cash fares except basic can be upfared.
Thank you for your help. Company bought me a Flex ticket with credit card. It's under my Aeroplan and my email address/phone number on the booking. If I were to cancel this to my AC wallet, I could book my own reward flight to get to business using my own AP miles. Assuming it's all under my aeroplan - would the company know I cancelled the original booking?
If booked with a travel agent - the travel agent controls the ticket until the day before the flight. They must cancel or make changes.
It was not booked via avion. Straight with AC with a company credit card. But used my Aeroplan info. I confirmed with AC it's a "revenue ticket"
AC confirmed I can cancel it and get the wallet credit. But I'm wondering if my company will find out. I don't think they will, but want to be sure.
The company booked direct ok. So you can change the ticket. If they included their email for notifications they will be informed
I'm assuming AC can tell me any emails associated with the booking?
Does placing a bid and getting rejected give you any priority when it comes to LMU? For example. I placed a bid for upgrade and it was not accepted. Will I get priority over others for a LMU? As in would it be offered to me over others at check in?
No
Hey, I would like to know if there's any difference in upgrade ranking for a FLEX fare ticket bought by cash or points (reward ticket).
Hi everyone! 👋
Just wondering how often Instant Upgrade offers actually show up, and how early Air Canada typically sends them (if at all)?
We’re 12 days out from our flight (Aug 31, YYZ to HND), currently booked in Premium Economy (A) — the lowest fare class — and planning to keep an eye on both the website and app for any upgrade options.
For those of you who’ve had experience with Instant Upgrades:
•How many days in advance did your offer show up (if at all)?
•Did it show in the app or by email first?
•Was your fare class similar (PE A)?
Thanks in advance — any tips or data points appreciated!
LMU are only at check in. In advance is bid upgrades, which sometimes have an “instant” option. They are 10-3 days before departure. It is all in the AC FAQs.
https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/book/upgrades/frequently-asked-questions.html#/
Ah ha! We'll keep monitoring what's showing up in the bid upgrades page & check in. Thanks for your comment :))
I just (Aug 24) got offered an instant upgrade for my flights on Aug 28. In our case it’s a wildly expensive instant upgrade, about $290/hr, so I’ll patiently wait to see if our bid is accepted instead (assuming there remains availability).
I’ve been watching daily to see if it showed up in the bid page on day 10 onward and then put in a bid on day 6. I received my offer by email and we’re booked in economy (standard) K.
Thanks for sharing! WOW $290/hr is insane!
We checked the page exactly 10 days before the trip and saw the Instant upgrade was there next to eBid. Luckily, ours was what we expected so we decided to take it.
Have a good flight :)
Hey thanks, you too! Our bid was accepted at exactly 48 hours out, very glad now we didn’t jump on the instant upgrade offer.
If I put in a bid for an EUp to PE and changed my seats in economy while waiting for the EUp? Will I lose my place in line? Or is the bid tied to my booking not the seat I am in?
Nothing to do with your seat.
Is it theoretically possible to do a bid upgrade and then if declined, still have time to instant upgrade?
for context, i'm in a unique work situation where a 3rd party is paying for a flight to China for me YYZ >YVR > PVG (then back), and I was adamant about not going but a client really wants me there with them so to assuage me they said they would pay out of pocket to upgrade me to at least PE for at least one of the legs. Based on the math of $50 an hour to go from Y to PE, the YVR > PVG the current instant upgrade fee of $1100 for a 12 hour flight doesn't seem worth it so I'm consider just low-ball bidding but i wanna make sure that if it's not accepted I can still get an upgrade on that leg. The PVG > YVR leg looks un-upgradable at a reasonable price at all and YYZ - YVR in Y is whatever to me.
It's not my own money so I suppose I can be more flexible and just buy the instant upgrade outright, but at the same time I'm not trying to be wasteful with a client's money either. I'm also basically flying 18 hours each way to spend 3.5 days in China so yeah.
Bids clear 48 hours before departure. IF space is available and it’s offered you can buy an upgrade at check in. They are independent of each other.
Okay sounds good, lowball bid it is and hopefully there’s still upgrade space.
Hello, I am flying Air Canada - YUL to LHR on Sept 17th Flight #AC864. Flight duration: 6hr 40 min. Minimum upgrade bid starts at $788 and max is $1548. I am also flying CDG to YUL on Sept 30th AC #875 duration 7hr 35 min. Min bid starts at $776- max $1472 I paid $550 for flex tickets. What do you think is a good bid offer for each flight? Thank you.
Somewhere between the minimum and maximum… There honestly is no answer! It all depends on how many people bid (which you don’t know) and the number of seats that remain available 48 hours before departure (which you don’t know until 48 hours before departure!).
Instead consider what it is worth to you… Many people value the inbound flight from EU lower as it is a daytime flight. And PE is considered “good enough” for many. Whereas outbound is a priority to get some sleep. But the LHR flight is very very short to sleep. I would not pay more than $150x6 hours =$900 for the outbound upgrade.
Thank you so much for getting back to me♡
Regarding upfares and SQD, it says that the additional payment will count towards SQD. Do you know if this adds the upfare payment to the prior SQD, or if you only get SQD equal to the new fare?
(My booking after upfare shows the cost as only what I paid on top now in the manage my booking page if relevant.)
Thanks!
There was no “sqd” yet as that is assessed after the flight. So the sqd will be assessed based on the total qualified spend when you complete the flight.
Thank you!
To clarify, qualified spend means the fare less any taxes and fees other than carrier surcharges? And this would include the previous fare as well as the cost to upfare less those fees in the case of an upfared booking?
Yes. Base fare + carrier surcharges = sqd
This is great thanks
I need some suggestions on how to handle my upgrade request using eupgrade credits.
Situation: - I am AC Silver and UA Gold. Currently the UA frequent flyer card is added to the booking - My booking is made on UA website and is as follows: — DXB-EWR (PE class A) -MEX (eco class B) on UA — MEX-YYZ (eco class B) -DXB (PE class O) on AC - I can’t modify or change anything on the AC part of the reservation.
I was thinking of doing the following: - change frequent flyer to AC - ask for the upgrade using ecredits on YYZ-DXB leg (if available this should clear immediately due to having a full flex ticket) - move frequent flier back to UA
Would this work or any other strategy?
If you want the upgrade you will have to keep the AP attached until after u fly that segment.
And it will only clear instantly if R is available most upgrades (nearly all of them!) clear at the gate so unless you verify R is available that does not work.
Also there is not such thing as “AC silver”
Thanks! Obviously I’m not a big AC flyer … I meant Aeroplan 25K.
If there is only 2 R slots available but my booking is for 3 and I use E-Ups will I get the 2 slots or does there need to be enough for the whole booking to upgrade for it to go through?
Can’t seem to find this answer on the thread. I did an instant upgrade to PE and now want to bid on a J seat. Minimum bid for economy to J is $1100. Minimum bid for me in PE is $800. I am planning on bidding $910. Will I have priority over the economy person that bids $1100+? I don’t have elite status.
No idea what instant upgrade means! Do you mean you upfared (paid the difference from economy to PE)?
There is no “bid priority”. There are algorithms that are not transparent on what will be an acceptable bid. Status is also not relevant factor for bids.
Yes I paid for an upgrade to premium economy. Okay so if I want to have a higher chance at out bidding people in economy I should match their minimum bid? Seems silly they would have a lower minimum bid for people in premium economy if being in premium economy didn’t increase your odds in the bidding war.
No I did not say that. The bid amounts are different in the cabins because you paid more for the ticket in PE. We just do not know the algorithms used
I have a pending Bid Upgrade for a flight on Thursday, I got an email offering me an Instant Upgrade that’s about 40% higher than the bid we’ve put in.. does that mean that they aren’t accepting my bid? Or just trying to get more for a confirmation 4 days in advance vs waiting?
It is a revenue maximization technique. The bids will clear at 48 hours. But of course, if people pay for instant upgrades then bids are going to be harder to win. Alllll depends on the number of empty seats.
Thanks, I’ll keep an eye on the number of available seats to see if anyone is grabbing the instant upgrade offer.
If the bid isn’t accepted, we would still potentially have the option for an instance upgrade during the check in process, right? This is my first time flying AirCanada so we’re not familiar with their process of bidding to upgrade.
Huh? What does number of seats have to do with it? You mean through a paid tool or a travel agent with access to flight loads.
U are commenting on the post that points out how irrelevant seat maps are!!
Last minute paid (LMU) upgrade is offered if available and if the fare class booked qualifies.
If we see that people are scooping up the instant upgrade price offered than it might encourage us to do the same..? If the same number of seats are available, meaning people are not accepting the instant upgrade price, then I’d think our bid is more likely to be accepted
The seat map has nothing to do with it. You are not understanding. You need to know how many seats are for sale. That is not available on the website.
I didn’t mention a seat map.. I am able to look and see how many business class tickets are still available for purchase.
Then you should have been much more clear. <1% of passengers has access to seats for sale. seat availability, as listed in several messages to you was seat “available” does not mean for sale. Yet you never mention or change your wording. Done helping you.
Literally anyone can go online and see how many tickets are available to buy, it’s just a process of working backwards..? Start at 9, the max available to buy online and see if you can book, if so there are at least 9, if not drop a ticket and try again. In my case, there are 7 seats available in business class.
I’m not sure what I’ve said that needed to be “much more clear” but okay. This sub has truly been such a delight the last few days when looking for info on an airline I’m not entirely familiar with since I generally don’t fly to or connect through CA.
Good post.
However, is the clearance window only for international travel? I've requested many e-upgrades months in advance for domestic flights as a 50K and get waitlisted. When trying to request an e-upgrade + cash (18 ups + $500), I get a message that I'm outside of the clearance window and can't even submit the request for waitlist.
Is it because of the cash component?
I’m flying with Air Canada in less than 72 hours. I am an Aeroplan member if thats relevant. i got an email saying I could choose a seat, but when I printed my boarding pass I already had one assigned. According to the seat map, I’m in a window seat on the right side (3-seat row). The middle seat is empty, but the aisle seat is taken.
Here’s the thing: when I scroll further back on the map, there are around eight full rows on both sides that are totally empty. Since this flight is not to a huge int'l airport and it’s an Airbus A319, I’m assuming it’s not fully booked although on the FAQ I am seeing it might not be accurate.
I have a nut allergy, and my boarding pass shows PWNA (peanut/tree nut allergy). I have been on many flights before throughout my life with my family but for peace of mind I’d prefer not to have someone right next to me. I’m generally an anxious flyer, so having some space would help a lot whether or not airborne risks are there.
My mom suggested waiting until I am at the airport to talk to them about having a different seat if it’s still empty. But I’m worried that it will be too late by then, or if they do give me something somebody might check in after me and take the seat right next to me. I'm also trying to consider the chances of somebody choosing the middle seat since it's empty right now according to the seating map.
Should I call Air Canada now and ask if they can move me to a completely empty row?
What’s the best thing to do here? Has anyone had luck with this before?
1) what is the flight number and date. I can check if it’s full 2) you can go an change the seat anytime you want. But I would definitely NOT count on an empty seat. Planes typically fly pretty full
Can I DM you the flight number and date just for privacy reasons? Hope that's OK. In terms of the second question, yeah they're still giving me options to buy a seat.
Yes
Great initiative but missing some important information: - not all upgrades are equivalent, if you're looking for AC signature class, they're only available on select airplanes/routes - fares and availability: being in the clearance windows does not automatically give you the upgrade. Describe fares difference (R, Z, N, J). If R fares available and you're in the clearing windows it will be upgraded instantly. Tools like expert flyer can help understand available fares on a flight. Otherwise you join a wait list. - talk about waitlist priority and criteria, wait list priority is in this order 1. Class you purchased (premium economy vs economy, 2. Fares purchased (lattitude/confort/flex/standard fares), 3. Aeroplan status, 4. Premium credit card ownership
Yep. Priority is a big one, and somewhat hard for a new person to wrap their head around.
I’m booked on AC839 tomorrow, there are 7 seats open in J. 6 people are currently seeking upgrades from PY to J (Their names don’t show up in the PY list). I’m currently booked in PY, and am SE+R (Super Elite w/ Premium Credit Card) but haven’t checked in because the Lufthansa app is broken.
That one person who’s in slot #7 coming up from Y to J is going to be disappointed, unless some miracle happens.
Thanks. All three of those are in drafts of faqs to be posted. I have them started but always want to give them a couple days and reread them for clarity before posting. Check back on Monday and there should be some additional info.
Just because I’m that guy. I love the fact the fact AC would rather leave the seat empty rather than upgrade someone at random…. It’s just the most Canadian way of doing big buisness. We’d rather not then be nice…. Haha
Most airlines on the planet take this approach.
“Keep upgrading elites for free until the cabin is full” is largely a feature of domestic flights on US-based airlines.
There is actually a explicit reason for this, one which delta learned in the early 2010s. By always filling the premium cabins with free upgrades, it dilutes the product but more importantly, people just stop buying the premium product because they know they will be upgraded. Why pay for business when you can pay economy and fly it anyways? This is the reason why free upgrades just aren’t a thing anymore. You can’t set an expectation for the customer.
To be fair, it is actually preferred by many. Random upgrades devalue the other upgrade channels (not to mention the value of buying the seat). I have been on several flights where I COULD have used upgrade credits if I wanted to upgrade and chose not to. If they upgraded me in all those instances the actual and perceived value of those credits is greatly diminished.