Air Canada eUpgrades: How Does Waitlist Ranking Work?

If you’re unable to confirm an eUpgrade prior to your flight, you’ll be placed on a waitlist for an upgrade at the gate.

For everyone who’s waitlisted, a list is created that shows the priority ranking for the upgrade request, which is eventually cleared at the gate.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at how the eUpgrade waitlist rankings are established, as well as some strategies you can employ to increase your chances at clearing.

1. Cabin Class of Original Booking

When determining the priority rankings for waitlisted eUpgrade requests, the most important factor is the original cabin class the ticket was purchased in. 

This means that anyone who purchases a Premium Economy fare to begin with will have priority ranking over all tickets booked on Economy fares. 

Therefore, if you have a lower status and you want to have the best odds at snagging an upgrade on a hotly contested route, such as morning flights between Toronto and Vancouver or on flights to London, your best bet is to book into the Premium Economy cabin to begin with.

For example, a passenger with 25K status who books in the Premium Economy cabin to begin with will be ranked higher on the eUpgrade waitlist than a Super Elite booked in economy on any economy fare.

Furthermore, it doesn’t matter if you book a premium economy flight with Aeroplan points or cash – you’ll still be waitlisted higher than anyone who used points or cash to book in economy.

On the eUpgrade waitlist screen, you can get a sense of which passengers are waitlisted from premium economy by comparing the list of names in the business class and premium economy sections.

If a name appears twice, then they’ve almost certainly booked into economy to begin with, and you’ll be ranked higher than them. However, anyone whose name appears only on the business class waitlist is likely looking for an upgrade from premium economy.

If they’re ranked higher than you, then there are other factors at play, which are outlined below.

2. Aeroplan Elite Status and Credit Cards

The next factor that determines your position in the waitlist is a combination of your Aeroplan Elite Status and whether or not you hold a co-branded Aeroplan credit card.  

Each status tier follows the same ranking order, which is outlined below.

Those with higher statuses have priority on the waitlist over those with lower statuses, and those with a co-branded credit card will have priority over someone with the same status without a co-branded credit card, outlined as follows:

1. 2 Million Milers (or greater) with a co-branded credit card
2. 2 Million Milers (or greater) without a co-branded credit card
3. Million Milers with a co-branded credit card
4. Million Milers without a co-branded credit card
5. Aeroplan Elite Status (Super Elite, 75K, 50K, 35K, 25K) with a co-branded credit card
6. Aeroplan Elite Status (Super Elite, 75K, 50K, 35K, 25K) without a co-branded credit card

The list above makes logical sense, as those who have attained 2 Million Miler status (or above), by earning over two million Lifetime Qualifying Miles with Air Canada, have priority over Million Milers, who have priority over everyone with status, but without at least Million Miler status.

After the priority list moves through a status tier, it moves onto the next level down. For example, Super Elites have priority over those with 75K, who have priority over those with 50K, and so on until the lowest status, 25K, is complete.

Within each status tier, 2 Million Milers and Million Milers have priority. Since 3 Million Milers will always enjoy Super Elite status, 2 Million Milers will always enjoy at least 75K status, and Million Milers always have at least 50K status, those with 35K or 25K status are ranked only according to numbers five and six on the ranking order list.

It’s interesting that simply holding a co-branded Aeroplan credit card plays a factor in waitlist upgrade priority; with all else being equal, someone with a co-branded credit card gets priority over someone without one. 

3. Fare Class

Recall that Air Canada sells Economy (Basic), Economy (Standard), Economy (Flex), Economy (Comfort), Economy (Latitude), and Premium Economy (Lowest and Flexible) branded fares.

Within each brand of fares are different letters, which represent a different fare within that brand. The difference between the fare codes can be reflected in the price, number of eUpgrades required for an upgrade, and amount of co-pay fee required.

Pertaining to the upgrade priority list, a higher fare family will be prioritized over a lower fare family, even if the actual cost of the lower fare is more than the cost of the higher fare.

For example, an Economy (Flex) “M” fare is the highest fare in the Flex-branded fare family, and an Economy (Comfort) “G” fare is in the lowest tier of Comfort-branded fares. With all else being equal, a Comfort “G” fare will be prioritized over the Flex “M” fare. 

Getting into the minutiae, within a branded-fare tier, a higher fare code will take precedence for an upgrade over a lower fare code. For example, with all else being equal, someone booked on a Flex “U” fare will have priority over someone booked on a Flex “G” fare.

4. Check-In Time

The last factor that contributes to your position on the upgrade priority list is check-in time. 

Check-in opens 24 hours prior to the flight’s scheduled departure. Therefore, it could be worthwhile to check-in as close to this time as possible, in the event that you’re otherwise deadlocked with someone else for an upgrade.

Passenger A, who checks in first, will have upgrade priority over Passenger B, who checks in later but is otherwise on par with Passenger A. 

You can check to see your ranking for check-in by looking at your boarding pass. 

On the Air Canada app and on paper tickets, the number adjacent to “Airline use” indicates your spot in the check-in sequence.

Air Canada eUpgrade Waitlist Strategy

If you aren’t able to clear your eUpgrade in advance of your flight – which is becoming more common these days as Air Canada sells more of its premium cabin seats – you’ll want to set yourself up for eUpgrade success by strategically pairing your status with the right fare, or to consider alternate destinations if your plans are flexible.

Pair Your Status with the Right Fare

If you frequently find yourself at the lower end of the eUpgrade waitlist, you might want to consider your fare options (especially if you have Aeroplan 25K or 35K status). 

Keep an eye out for Premium Economy (Lowest) fares during sales, since they’re often competitive with some Economy fares. This is true with both cash fares and Air Canada flights booked with Aeroplan points.

Again, if you book in the premium economy cabin to begin with and are waitlisted for an eUpgrade, you’ll be ahead of everyone on the waitlist who booked into the economy cabin to begin with. 

Meanwhile, if you have a higher status, you’ll likely have a bit more latitude to choose lower fares and still have a good shot at an eUpgrade. 

Can You Be Flexible with your Destination?

Air Canada, like many airlines these days, is selling more of its premium seats in advance. 

While this is great for the airline, it leaves fewer seats available to passengers with eUpgrades, and the competition on the eUpgrade waitlist can be particularly fierce on high-demand routes.

If you can be flexible with your destination and/or routing, you could put yourself at a higher chance of eUpgrade waitlist success if there are more empty seats available at the time of your flight.

In other words, consider flying to Osaka instead of Tokyo, Toulouse instead of Paris, Milan instead of Rome, and so on. 

Plus, you can get a general idea of how many seats are open with an ExpertFlyer account or by other means.

Conclusion

If you aren’t able to confirm an Air Canada eUpgrade prior to your flight, you’ll be put on a waitlist for an upgrade. Once check-in closes, the list is cleared, and space-available upgrades are given out in a priority sequence at the gate.

Your position on the list depends on a host of factors, including the original cabin class of your booking, your status, whether or not you have an Aeroplan co-branded credit card, the fare, and your position in the check-in sequence.

The best strategy here is therefore to book in Premium Economy to begin with whenever possible, as you’ll have the best chances at finding yourself on top of the waitlist.