American Airlines has stopped giving elite AAdvantage members free upgrades from coach straight to business class on some of its longest domestic routes, according to CNBC. The change took effect Aug. 25 on select transcontinental flights and routes to Hawaii where the carrier flies three cabins. It comes as the ranks of elite frequent flyers keep growing, meaning more competition for the remaining free upgrades, per earlier CNBC reporting.
On the affected routes, elite frequent flyers no longer land on the waitlist for a complimentary jump to business class. Instead, American places them on the list for a free upgrade to premium economy, the airline said. The switch does not apply to elite members who already hold a premium economy ticket or who paid for an upgrade into that cabin after booking coach.
The change affects loyalty members traveling on routes where American operates all three classes of service, including its Fort Worth hub, according to The Dallas Morning News. CNBC characterized the update as a sign that American and other airlines are giving away fewer of their highest-fare seats, rather than relying on standing elite upgrade lists to fill those cabins for free.
Which Routes and Flyers Are Affected
Here’s where that plays out: the routes losing the free business upgrade include Dallas Fort Worth flights to Honolulu, Kona and Maui in Hawaii, plus Phoenix to Honolulu and Chicago O’Hare to Honolulu and Maui. Premium domestic pairings are also affected: CNBC reported JFK to Los Angeles and Boston to San Francisco, while The Dallas Morning News reported JFK to Los Angeles, JFK to San Francisco, and Boston to Los Angeles. All of the affected routes are flown with American’s three-cabin aircraft.
American told CNBC it will still try to seat upgraded flyers where they’d prefer, though results depend on the plane. “We’ll do our best to accommodate your seating preferences, though options may vary depending on aircraft type and availability,” the airline said. It added that on some aircraft, premium economy includes middle seats, so a flyer bumped from coach could still end up in one if nothing else is open.
American started updating existing upgrade requests on Aug. 25, a process its website said would take a few days to work through, The Dallas Morning News reported. Business class upgrades already confirmed before the change stay in place, as long as the customer does not alter their trip. That kind of grandfathering fits into an effort by American vice president of revenue management Scott Chandler to make it easier for flyers to buy up to pricier cabins after booking.
Why American Is Making the Change
In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, American tied the move to its growing premium economy footprint. “As American Airlines expands its offering of premium economy on more domestic routes, we are streamlining our complimentary upgrade process to deliver a more consistent customer experience,” the airline said. American’s statement did not specify how many upgrade seats the change is expected to affect.
The policy fits into an industry push to squeeze more revenue from front-of-cabin seats, with airlines working to get more luxury-minded travelers to pay for upgrades outright. Premium cabins have gone from routine giveaways to a paid product many flyers now book directly, cutting into how often free upgrades clear at all. Even discount carriers have joined in, with Frontier Airlines adding roomier first-class seats to its Airbus fleet.
Delta President Glen Hauenstein has described how the industry used to treat first class as a loss leader, upgrading flyers for free to reward loyalty rather than revenue. Paid seats in Delta’s domestic first class climbed from about 12% roughly 15 years ago to near 75% more recently, he said, a trajectory American’s own new policy now mirrors on select routes.
What Flyers Can Still Expect
Elite flyers on the affected routes aren’t shut out of free upgrades altogether; American said they’ll still be considered for complimentary premium economy. The Dallas Morning News specified that eligibility also covers anyone who bought an instant upgrade to premium economy after booking coach, not just those who purchased a premium economy fare outright. And anyone booked on a flight without a premium economy cabin still qualifies for the old business class upgrade.
American posted the change to its AAdvantage Program Updates page on aa.com, noting it applies only to eligible flights on the listed routes and rolls out gradually, so some flyers won’t see their upgrade status change right away. The airline’s notice did not address whether the policy might extend beyond the transcontinental and Hawaii routes named, or to international flights, based on The Dallas Morning News’s review of the page.
The move lands alongside a broader buildup of premium seating across the industry, from JetBlue’s smaller “junior Mint” business sections to Alaska Airlines’ plans to add more premium seats as it expands international routes. Chandler has said paid demand for premium cabins now outpaces pre-pandemic levels, which suggests American has less reason to keep filling those seats through free elite upgrades.
