My son is hoping to fly NRT-YYZ next week on AC 2 using a ZED fare ticket. All the reservation systems show while the Y is full, seat availabilty on C.

Will AC / NRT upgrade a non-AC ZED ticket holder? Appreciate the AC policy on this matter as we are bit worried.

Hey,
know for a fact that NRT is quite a busy route. Yet I also know that any J class seats that are open will first go to super-elite, elite, passengers who have purchased tickets in Y class, they will be up-graded before any contingent or zed fare holders. If no super-elite, or elite travellers in economy then I do not see why they wouldn't upgrade your son, who does he work for?
Think he should be fine.
JR

Quoting Spotter (Reply 1): who does he work for?

Actually, I am the one who works (for JAL). He is a student at U of T and travelling on my dependent tickets.

Thanks for the hopeful words.

Most ZED agreements give the option of buying a Business ZED fare at a slightly higher rate than the Economy fare. Might be worth it to buy one of each and refund the unused ticket, if AC and JL have this arrangement.

I fly standby with Air Canada ALL the time, I wouldn't worry about it. If there's positive space, he'll get on.

Any question, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]

I'm privileged to be a "designated partner" of an Air Canada employee. This gives me the freedom to travel on my own, as opposed to having the employee accompany me, as on other Buddy Passes.
I have used this pass fairly often in the past year or so. I can honestly say that as a standby passenger (used to work for Delta), no airline I have ever travelled with even comes close to how well AC treats their standby passengers. Basically, if there is a seat, when it gets to your priority on the list, you will get on. Bear in mind, they will absolutely not board anyone in Executive Class who is wearing jeans, short or sneakers. On that they are very strict. My priority when I travel without the AC employee, is after the AC employees are boarded. I actually saw them downgrade an employee to whom they had given a J seat, give me that seat, and put him in Y because he was wearing jeans. Anyhow, I don't think that the business casual dress code is at all unreasonable on behalf of AC.
Come to think of it, I buy a lot of tickets on both AC and other carriers as well, especially when loads are heavy. I have yet to find another airline that treats passengers as well as AC, be they revenue or non-revenue.
Cheers,
Carl (AY104)

Quoting AY104 (Reply 5): I have used this pass fairly often in the past year or so. I can honestly say that as a standby passenger (used to work for Delta), no airline I have ever travelled with even comes close to how well AC treats their standby passengers.

Delta is pretty good with non-revs. You just get a few bad apples that act as if they never fly. If I were a gate agent there would be a list that would never get on a plane leaving my gate at JFK regardless of how open the flight is.

Quoting FlyDeltaJets (Reply 6): Delta is pretty good with non-revs

Actually, you are right. Even better than pretty good. When I worked for Delta, I thought it was great that we could upgrade any non-rev or travel agent. That was something that I think is unique to Delta.
Cheers,
AY104

ANA handles AC's check-in at NRT. Generally they are very observant of check in policy with respect to non-revs. If Y/C is overbooked, usually Super-Elite/StarAlliance Gold will be upgraded, followed by AC non-rev staff, Star Alliance non-rev staff, and others.

To AC's tribute, they will not leave anybody behind if there is an open seat. If the only available seat for OAL staff is in J/C, they will upgrade. I have travelled on certain airlines where staff will be left behind even if there are open seats in the premium cabins--most notably, QF & SQ.

Most Asian stations will not board any staff up front if they are inappropriately attired, which is not unreasonable.

It might be a tight squeeze, just make sure there is no one listed ahead of your son, and that the back isnt oversold (which it always is). But give it a shot, can go wrong with a 5% no-show rating!

Quoting FlyDeltaJets (Reply 6): Delta is pretty good with non-revs.

agreed. walked up to the podium this summer to get a seat assignment (I know normally this goes via the screens, but this was a bit difirent) and the very friendly guy asked me if I wanted an aisle or window emergency exit. I never expirienced this, and even before checkin was closed....

I remember once I was flying from the Maritimes to YYC as an airport ID'd employee on a very short notice Y fare at $1900. I was shocked when I enquired about an upgrade and received two answers.
a. If you wanted business class you should have bought it.
b. We don't upgrade revenue passengers, we need to save space for staff up front.

My thoughts were and remain, NO EMPLOYEE should ever fly business class on any airline unless there are on company business and there are NIL revenue passengers in Y. It is the paying customers who pays the employees wages. If you want to fly for free as an employee then by all means in the back of the bus. Keep the good seats for the loyal passengers who might return one day.

As an industry employee that flies over 140,000 miles each year I do not fly on airlines that leave loyal rev pax in the back and allow nrsa in the front.

I recommend to all travelers to avoid airlines that place a higher priority on nrsa than sa.

NW, CO, DL and many more airlines upgrade automatically FF plan members domestically. On international flights they don't upgrade. I do agree that any passes in first and business should be available to staff at similar upgrade rates to what REV pax pay. You want C class on long haul then fork out $500. You want to fly for free then get in the back of the bus.

The reason I say this is because of all those airlines that have gone into receivership/ch11. Up front seats must be used for one purpose and only one purpose -- GENERATE REVENUE.

Quoting BillReid (Reply 11): NW, CO, DL and many more airlines upgrade automatically FF plan members domestically.

NW and CO do, but DL does not upgrade automatically their Medallion members, there has to be a request entered in the system.

Quoting BillReid (Reply 11): On international flights they don't upgrade.

DL does offer upgrades on international flights to their Medallion members that are operated by DL and do not have BusinessElite configuration with the upgrade request system.

The art of making friends in an airline-related forum, by Bill Reid:

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Quoting BillReid (Reply 11): I recommend to all travelers to avoid airlines that place a higher priority on nrsa than sa

I'm sorry you feel that way. Though I regret to inform you that you best not make many travel plans since most airlines work that way. If, at close-out of the flight, economy is full and there are seats up front, the staff always get the upgrade. Qantas is one of the few airlines that will leave staff behind and not upgrade anyone.

It's unfortunate that you take this view. Because we, in the airline industry, work our tails off everyday so people like you can get where you're going safely and on-time and, no matter how much we don't want to sometimes, with a smile. We don't do it for the wonderful pay or great working conditions (being on your feet 8 hours a day is not fun). One of the few perks to this job is that we get cheap travel and, just sometimes, we get a nice taste of the good life with a nice seat. Airline employees don't ask for a lot. In fact, the past few years we've given up quite a lot in the name of our jobs and to help our companies survive. Frequent travellers on most airlines will always get an upgrade over staff if economy is overbooked and they need people to go to the front but once everyone is seated and all that's left is business class why shouldn't the staff get it? 9 times out of 10 the frequent travellers have already been upgraded and those left in the back aren't necessarily those that are going to return but go to wherever the fare is cheapest. So please, save the sanctimonious, woe-is-me crap about not getting upgraded. At the end of the day, as the agent put it. You received the product that you bought.

And a special thanks to LHRAC who put me up front (as a non-AC employee) this past week while desparately trying to get home from France. After 24 hours of stressing how I would get home, that trip made all the difference.

LH423

Quoting LH423 (Reply 14): At the end of the day, as the agent put it. You received the product that you bought.

Exactly! As long as you have been seated in the class you paid for, or received the upgrade for which you are eligible you have no justification for complaint. It is no business of yours who is sitting in the other seats. Many businesses, other than airlines give their employees perks. I checked in years ago at Las Vegas, behind a Hilton Hotel employee. A wonderful girl, who worked at one of their hotels in New York at the time. I think the room was complimentary, but not really any of my business whether it was or not, or if it was just an industry discount. Anyway, she was upgraded to a suite by the person checking her in. I was delighted for her. When I checked in, I was given the standard room for which I paid. I was neither eligible nor did I ask for an upgrade. It simply was no business of mine as I was given the product for which I paid.
Businesses of all kinds give employees all types of perks. I don't understand why anyone would begrudge an airline employee being given the same treatment.
Cheers,
Carl (AY104)

Quoting BillReid (Reply 11): My thoughts were and remain, NO EMPLOYEE should ever fly business class on any airline unless there are on company business and there are NIL revenue passengers in Y. It is the paying customers who pays the employees wages. If you want to fly for free as an employee then by all means in the back of the bus. Keep the good seats for the loyal passengers who might return one day.

I'd have to disagree. As a paying passenger you have a contract with the airline to provide you a specific product. If you are a member of the airline's loyalty prgram, and have the appropriate status etc. you should be entitled to the upgrade. If you don't, why should you receive it? And rather than encourage a passenger to book the full fare J ticket next time, it would be just as likely to encourage the expectation that they are entltiled to an unearned upgrade. The employee's relationship with the airline is different.

That said, I think it unlikely that a son of another airline's employee, on a ZED
fare, will receive an upgrade. AC is known to be quite stringent with that, even for their own employees, unless they have paid for a C1 ticket.

(first post - hope its not too confrontational!)

To those of you who think that airline employees should always ride in the back:
I guess I'll keep posting until I get tired of listening to myself. As a former airline employee, I totally appreciated each and every benefit I received, both on my own airline and as a guest on other airlines. For some reason, there are people who think that as airline employees, we should only have the least of what our airline or other airlines have to offer and not the best. Just like any other business community, we do our best to treat our fellow workers with the best we have to offer.
BA upgraded me many times in the past. My Mom would never fly on standby, fortunately she had the means to pay and travel wherever she wanted to go. Fortunately for me also! Twice she bought full-fare J tickets for both of us YVR-LHR-YVR when we wanted to travel together. We had choices where she could spend her money (at the time about $5000.00 per ticket). Because BA had been so good to me, and I HAD A CHANCE TO SAMPLE THEIR BUSINESS CLASS PRODUCT WHICH GENERATED REVENUE FOR BA (I realize airlines are in business to make money), so they got our business. I have also travelled on AC, on passes, and nearly always Y, but I still recommend them as well, and also have bought many tickets from them over the years. In 1986, I paid for f-class YVR-FRA-HEL and back, transatlantic on AC. Even when I worked for the airlines, I often bought tickets if I was travelling at a particularly busy time. Very fortunate I could do so, but remember that I am not the only person who has worked for airlines and also travelled as a revenue passenger. Why people have to stereotype airline employees, I have no idea. Just trying to get where we want to go, and get some happiness along the way. On the other hand, I know some airline employees who are indeed extremely wealthy, yet always travel non-rev, are polite and enjoy whatever is provided them. We are not peons who deserve the least of what is given out, and some think should be discouraged from the mere thought of riding up front.
I feel badly for people who constantly critcize others for "getting something for nothing" or "I should have got that". Usually, it is not a really a money issue,it is because of a severe lack of self-worth and maturity on their part. Do your best to respect others, try to be happy for them, and you will find that you may end up having some self-respect yourself.
So, it's not only about getting freebies and comp upgrades, that some believe is giving away revenue. Non-revenue passengers are some of the best ambassadors for the airlines. Also it's about loyalty: first of course to the customers, but also taking care of our own. How would any other employee in any other business want to treat other coworkers? Hopefully, with respect and if you are on the serving end you would try to give them the best that your business has to offer. Just like you hopefully do for all your friends and family.
God Bless all airline employees who have made my travels so pleasant, and who go out of their way on a daily basis to help all passengers! Whether I travel revenue or non-revenue, in the front or in the back your efforts are appreciated!
Cheers,
Carl (AY104)

Quoting AY104 (Reply 5): Bear in mind, they will absolutely not board anyone in Executive Class who is wearing jeans, short or sneakers.

That's a surprise for me. Is it a general rule, or it applies only to airline employees?

Quoting WildcatYXU (Reply 18): Quoting AY104 (Reply 5):Bear in mind, they will absolutely not board anyone in Executive Class who is wearing jeans, short or sneakers. That's a surprise for me. Is it a general rule, or it applies only to airline employees?

Yes, I was just referring to airline employees as upgrades. As a matter of fact the sneakers and shorts applies also to Y class on a lot of carriers. I do not think that is unreasonable at all. Anyone who is representing their airline, or travelling as the guest of another airline has the responsibility of looking presentable, simply as a matte of respect and as a representative of the airline industry.
Cheers,
Carl

For those bitter comments bashing staff travel I am sure you will hate this.

Not long ago I was flying BA on a ZED ticket (I don't work for BA) and I was given a WT+ for a longhaul flight. Prior to boarding at LHR 4 (around 8pm) the flight was delayed for 2 yours due to technical issues. Another hour later (it was midnight by then) due to weight restrictions related to a technical issue BA offloaded about 25 pax including nonrevs.

I was on my way back to passport control when I was welcomed by a BA lady who handled a hotel and meal vouchers. Very politely I said to her that I was staff. She smiled and said "I know, but once you are given a boarding card you become a revenue passenger an therefore you are entitle to this as well".

I just couldn't believe my eyes and later talking to other BA staff they confirmed this was the procedure.

BA has many times upgraded me to WT+ but mostly CLUB. To my surprise, in many of the cases Y and WT+ were not full and I still got a premium seat.

Some other time seating in world traveller I had been approached and offered a seat in Club just like that.

As somebody else said above, I work in the industry (management) and flying upfront is the only big perk we have. My company provides space available C for my wife + my parents.

If you don't like it I am sorry, but I don't think this will go away for a long time so you better get used to it.

My rule of thumb, being the son and the nephew of a AC employees, is dress as if you were going golfing(at a respectable coarse). Which to me is dark shoes, khaki pants and a tucked in golf shirt. You're set to go.

I once did the whole shirt and tie deal, but I didn't get any more respect in that then I do in my current atire.

I don't mind doing this, but when you're not suppose to brag about your privledges, you stand out 1000x more when your standing to board a plane in Honolulu sweating because your so hot while everyone esle (those who actually paid more than $50) is wearing shorts and t-shirt.

Another key thing I do, is pull up the loads where I see the back is completely or almost full and the front is wide open, pretty much gaurunteeing me a spot in exec. It's often hard to do on long hauls, but well worth it.

[Edited 2006-08-17 23:28:55]

To be quite honest, I don't understand the bitterness about staff travel on here either. Now pretty much everything has been said and I agree with the lastest posts. You paid for a product and that is what you get. At the wages staff are paid these days, this is a little treat they certainly deserve.

Quoting LH423 (Reply 14): And a special thanks to LHRAC who put me up front (as a non-AC employee) this past week while desparately trying to get home from France. After 24 hours of stressing how I would get home, that trip made all the difference.

Wait a second! Wasn't I the one stressing you when I kept turning on the radio so we would know what was actually going on? But yes, I'd like to add my thanks to LHRAC for the upgrade. They had to deal with a lot. LH appeared calmer than I was and as he would tell me: "You just need to calm down for a second".   I was happy for the first time in my life to be in Toronto   Just kidding!

As the originator of this thread, I want to thank all of you for the valuable information and also for the lively discussion on the non-rev travel as a whole.

I do not have access to AC reservations, only to sabre and amadeus systems both of which just show zero avbl for Y and space avbl on C for the dates concerned..

Any kind soul with access to AC reservations, please PM me or email me at [email protected] with the actual numbers for AC 002 on 28/29/30/31 Aug for both C and Y. This will enable us to choose the best flight and will reduce the chances of my son getting stuck in NRT for few days on his own, a very expensive prospect indeed ! (He is on transit from SIN)

It is better not to post the actual numbers on this forum as it may be too sensitive info for a public forum.

Thanks again.

Quoting YWG (Reply 21): My rule of thumb, being the son and the nephew of a AC employees, is dress as if you were going golfing(at a respectable coarse). Which to me is dark shoes, khaki pants and a tucked in golf shirt. You're set to go.

Thats what I ware. It always works too.