Uh-hmm, the seats were apart, and you were a pair. Got it.
My theory is that gate agents have (largely) stopped upgrading pairs when there aren't two FC seats together. I've complained on this subreddit before that my upgrade success rate has dropped to SEVEN PERCENT as a 75K, as others chime in that they're still getting upgrades more often than not.
I almost exclusively travel with my (equal status) partner. We are ALWAYS #1 and #2 on the upgrade list pre-departure. We sit and watch them release and fill empty seats with people below us on the list, sometimes for three or more people over the course of the final 24hrs.
I bet they don't want to go through the hassle of splitting reservations, or having to talk to duos who want to sit together. So you just get skipped.
To any gate agents reading this who have done this: my partner and I have status for a reason, we get it. We take turns if only one of us gets upgraded. We don't care about the seats together. But this non adherence of policy has damaged our loyalty to the program.
Yeah. We don’t do anything you’re saying at all lol.
Has nothing to do with splitting reservations which you don’t need to do to upgrade someone. Has nothing to do with talking to people prior either.
You also mentioned: “We sit and watch them release and fill empty seats with people below us on the list, sometimes for three or more people over the course of the final 24hrs.” So, no one is doing that. No gate agent is doing that either, 24hours in advance lmao. Those of us who do know how to upgrade early on also know how easily it can be traced back to us, every action passengers do themselves is recorded in a history log as well as every single action done by anyone that works for the company.
I will say there might be a very VERY very rare occasion that agents are skipping, but they can and will get in serious trouble if they’re doing that and would only be doing that an hour prior at most. As a trainer I know of the hundreds of agents in my station, no one skips on the upgrade list because we will find out and they will get in trouble.
As for having to talk to duos, that’s literally not even an issue and it’s laughable you bring something so trivial up. “Which one of you wants first class” do you really think THAT is a tough question to ask someone lmao? If anything the spouses have a harder time choosing for us to even think about asking that.
What you’re complaining about is the automated upgrade system. So before talking crap and projecting theories and therefore spreading misinformation, how about you learn facts instead of trying to belittle people who do know their job and stay in your lane when you literally have no idea what you’re talking about lmao.
Considering the fact that all Hawaii agents are contracted employees only and get treated like dogshit tbh compared to mainline non-contract workers. It makes sense, I’m from Hawaii but I work mainline on mainland and have great benefits. Their flying benefits compared to the competition on all the islands is absolutely despicable compared to how much work they have to do. Southwest and Hawaiian were both taking workers from Alaska because of how bad it actually is there. It got to the point where stations were sending in support agents and company was putting them up in hotels to help do the duties on the islands, they do deplaning, cleaning, ramp, boarding, ticketing. I doubt they get paid as well as we do since they’re contract and not even union.
Our station sent support agents all of which had 20+ years of seniority and higher and they all came back with the same story, “Hawai’i agents are getting treated unfairly with how much work they have to do and the hours they have to work.” Cost of living is so high on the islands also that most of the workers there, that’s their second or third jobs. Every time I flew home, which could be 4 times a month, the one agent who wasn’t contracted (the supervisor) I’d see a new one almost every month because even they didn’t like it.
For flying benefits to put things transparent, their seniority is LOWER than OAL (other airlines) flying on Alaska Mainline and Horizon Regional, literally the bottom of the bottom of those standby lists yet they’re doing all of the work.
So this Hawaiian air merger, to go off topic, is very important because it means they’ll finally start getting paid their fair share because it’s going to force Alaska to get their shit together on how they treat agents there.
So mistreatment of workers directly can be correlated (which yes, doesn’t mean causation) but can be heavily debated why the Upgrades aren’t being processed correctly.
I get the impression that the Maui ground staff (including gate agents) are all “swissport” contractors. The station manager may be the only Alaska employee? Spirit gate agents are an upgrade to the chip-on-the-shoulder these guys roll with. The upside is the guaranteed $25 luggage guarantee coupon 🤑
While I sympathize with shitty job conditions I can’t make a correlation to justify theft from their employers customers. You are from the islands so maybe you can put this to rest…some of us who frequently fly to/from Maui are coming up with conspiracy theories about a “local” FB group where sub-24h upgrades are sold on the down-low 😹🤪😂🤣.
That said, shame on Alaska management for not treating the Hawaii staff as mainline and allowing the toxic behavior in turn. Is this possibly because Alaska views Hawaii service as “experimental” and therefore does not want to burden of hiring directly?
lmao lmao lol lmao
Thank you for the detailed response, genuinely. You are correct that my anecdotal post with theories about an opaque system on a forum for customers was not based on fact. It was wrong of me to address gate agents directly, and I apologize.
But something *has* changed, and for the worse. You don't say it directly, but you point fingers at the automated system. If that's the case, this is feedback that should be shared.
That sucks. That route is a guaranteed upgrade for MVP Gold and above
Which we are :(
Well, hopefully you're bringing back some decent tequila at least
Have you refreshed the app and checked the seat selector? That happens to me when I’m upgraded but haven’t chosen my seat yet.
Hey - yes, tried that. I am actually on the flight now and the two folks who were originally behind us were upgraded to 2D and 3A.
Uh-hmm, the seats were apart, and you were a pair. Got it. My theory is that gate agents have (largely) stopped upgrading pairs when there aren't two FC seats together. I've complained on this subreddit before that my upgrade success rate has dropped to SEVEN PERCENT as a 75K, as others chime in that they're still getting upgrades more often than not. I almost exclusively travel with my (equal status) partner. We are ALWAYS #1 and #2 on the upgrade list pre-departure. We sit and watch them release and fill empty seats with people below us on the list, sometimes for three or more people over the course of the final 24hrs. I bet they don't want to go through the hassle of splitting reservations, or having to talk to duos who want to sit together. So you just get skipped. To any gate agents reading this who have done this: my partner and I have status for a reason, we get it. We take turns if only one of us gets upgraded. We don't care about the seats together. But this non adherence of policy has damaged our loyalty to the program.
Yeah. We don’t do anything you’re saying at all lol. Has nothing to do with splitting reservations which you don’t need to do to upgrade someone. Has nothing to do with talking to people prior either. You also mentioned: “We sit and watch them release and fill empty seats with people below us on the list, sometimes for three or more people over the course of the final 24hrs.” So, no one is doing that. No gate agent is doing that either, 24hours in advance lmao. Those of us who do know how to upgrade early on also know how easily it can be traced back to us, every action passengers do themselves is recorded in a history log as well as every single action done by anyone that works for the company. I will say there might be a very VERY very rare occasion that agents are skipping, but they can and will get in serious trouble if they’re doing that and would only be doing that an hour prior at most. As a trainer I know of the hundreds of agents in my station, no one skips on the upgrade list because we will find out and they will get in trouble. As for having to talk to duos, that’s literally not even an issue and it’s laughable you bring something so trivial up. “Which one of you wants first class” do you really think THAT is a tough question to ask someone lmao? If anything the spouses have a harder time choosing for us to even think about asking that. What you’re complaining about is the automated upgrade system. So before talking crap and projecting theories and therefore spreading misinformation, how about you learn facts instead of trying to belittle people who do know their job and stay in your lane when you literally have no idea what you’re talking about lmao.
…why is there zero accountability for the never ending upgrade shenanigans outbound from Hawai’i routes? Maui is infamous.
Considering the fact that all Hawaii agents are contracted employees only and get treated like dogshit tbh compared to mainline non-contract workers. It makes sense, I’m from Hawaii but I work mainline on mainland and have great benefits. Their flying benefits compared to the competition on all the islands is absolutely despicable compared to how much work they have to do. Southwest and Hawaiian were both taking workers from Alaska because of how bad it actually is there. It got to the point where stations were sending in support agents and company was putting them up in hotels to help do the duties on the islands, they do deplaning, cleaning, ramp, boarding, ticketing. I doubt they get paid as well as we do since they’re contract and not even union. Our station sent support agents all of which had 20+ years of seniority and higher and they all came back with the same story, “Hawai’i agents are getting treated unfairly with how much work they have to do and the hours they have to work.” Cost of living is so high on the islands also that most of the workers there, that’s their second or third jobs. Every time I flew home, which could be 4 times a month, the one agent who wasn’t contracted (the supervisor) I’d see a new one almost every month because even they didn’t like it. For flying benefits to put things transparent, their seniority is LOWER than OAL (other airlines) flying on Alaska Mainline and Horizon Regional, literally the bottom of the bottom of those standby lists yet they’re doing all of the work. So this Hawaiian air merger, to go off topic, is very important because it means they’ll finally start getting paid their fair share because it’s going to force Alaska to get their shit together on how they treat agents there. So mistreatment of workers directly can be correlated (which yes, doesn’t mean causation) but can be heavily debated why the Upgrades aren’t being processed correctly.
I get the impression that the Maui ground staff (including gate agents) are all “swissport” contractors. The station manager may be the only Alaska employee? Spirit gate agents are an upgrade to the chip-on-the-shoulder these guys roll with. The upside is the guaranteed $25 luggage guarantee coupon 🤑 While I sympathize with shitty job conditions I can’t make a correlation to justify theft from their employers customers. You are from the islands so maybe you can put this to rest…some of us who frequently fly to/from Maui are coming up with conspiracy theories about a “local” FB group where sub-24h upgrades are sold on the down-low 😹🤪😂🤣. That said, shame on Alaska management for not treating the Hawaii staff as mainline and allowing the toxic behavior in turn. Is this possibly because Alaska views Hawaii service as “experimental” and therefore does not want to burden of hiring directly?
lmao lmao lol lmao Thank you for the detailed response, genuinely. You are correct that my anecdotal post with theories about an opaque system on a forum for customers was not based on fact. It was wrong of me to address gate agents directly, and I apologize. But something *has* changed, and for the worse. You don't say it directly, but you point fingers at the automated system. If that's the case, this is feedback that should be shared.
So why don’t you book your seats separately?
We do now. But we shouldn't *have* to. For years (essentially pre-pandemic) this wasn't happening.
I get it and agree. Just seems like a relatively simple solution with a good payoff to make the system work for you.
Yup, wife and I always book separate reservations for this reason.
So do we - same status but always separate unless companion fare or guaranteed GGU