'Twas once an era when travelers were told to dress in respectable clothing when they flew, because professionally clad passengers were the most likely to be selected for an upgrade.
To access a higher class of service, it helped to dress like a member of a higher class.
That tip was being dispensed as recently as 3 months ago, when Travel + Leisure posted a whole article about how to dress for upgrade success. "There’s one way you can score a free upgrade to first class without having to do very much," the publication advised. "Just pick the perfect ensemble. And the good news is, you don’t need to be a fashion icon to do it."
Unfortunately, the days of hoping that your Sunday clothes would earn you a seat in the plane's Champagne section are over.
Premium Economy instead of Business Class
As of Aug. 25, American Airlines will no longer permit passengers on some of the carrier's longest domestic flights to leapfrog from the Main Cabin to Business Class on a space-available basis.
It won't matter how many AAdvantage points you're hoarding or if you're dolled up in Givenchy. The new policy will ensure you never leave the cattle pen of Main Cabin by way of a complimentary upgrade.
Might as well wear those sweatpants and Crocs, even though you will irritate Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Passengers in Premium Economy, the class of service in between Main and Business, will be eligible for Business upgrades—because those customers paid more.
An official statement from American said the carrier is "streamlining our complimentary upgrade process to deliver a more consistent customer experience," but the upshot is that if Main Cabin customers want to be eligible for a business class upgrade, they won't make the jump. They first have to pay more money for an upgrade to Premium Economy. Then they'll be considered.
So if you're a customer who regularly flies American Airlines but you usually do so in coach, your points will no longer ease your way into the front of the plane. They merely give you a shot at a slightly less uncomfortable seat elsewhere in coach (Premium Economy).
The crackdown affects domestic routes including flights between New York City and Los Angeles and San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles, and select flights to and from Hawaii. But let's be honest. We know that since this change will make the airline more money from passenger purchases, it's very likely to expand.
The shift essentially means that American Airlines passengers can now only be upgraded to the next cabin category on a space-available basis. If you're in Main, an upgrade will only take you as far as Premium Economy. But if you book Premium Economy, the next class for which you'll be upgrade-eligible is Business.
This amounts to a further erosion of the value of loyalty, reinforcing instead a service system that mostly rewards the people who have money to begin with. The old airlines would give an empty business class seat to a regular customer for the service vibe; modern airlines prefer to keep steerage passengers confined to steerage, loyalty notwithstanding.
Economic bracket before loyalty
American Airlines isn't the only major carrier that's making its business seats scarce for the poors who don't fly on expense accounts.
Delta Air Lines is introducing a Basic Business seat, which will sell, at a slight markdown aimed at travelers with money, empty premium seats that would once have been made available for complimentary upgrades.
And at United Airlines, complimentary elite upgrades are not available on long-haul routes with Polaris business class.
Most of the airlines also block upgrades if you've got a Basic Economy ticket or if you purchased a low-priced ticket via a third-party online travel agency that hides the itinerary until after purchase.