Do-it-yourself upgrades

American Airlines flies several three class (First/Business/Coach) 767 and 777 flights that are sold as two class (first and economy). That means that the business class seats are sold as coach (with coach service — just the better seat).

In order to pre-reserve these seats, you need to be an American Airlines elite (because the front of coach is reserved for American Airlines elites who fly more than 25,000 miles a year with the airline). So, if you’re an elite it’s a “do-it-yourself” upgrade. You can also get these seats if you purchase a full fare ticket. At the airport itself you might have luck requesting one of these seats as well.

Here are the current flights where this is possible:

• LAX-ORD AA88 9:36-15:36
• ORD-LAX AA89 15:02-17:25
• MIA-DFW: AA908 7:30-9:42, AA69 17:24-19:45
• DFW-MIA: AA1614 11:20-15:05, AA905 16:05-20:06
• MIA-JFK: AA1262 13:20-16:17, AA1600 17:05-20:05, AA988 19:30-22:32
• EWR-LAX AA43 8:15-11:21
• LAX-EWR AA164 15:35-23:59
• ORD-DFW AA2347 17:29-19:52

Flight schedules change all the time, so check for yourself with the AA electronic timetable.