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Flying and unable to purchase an upgrade

The story; I'm at the gate counter for the airline (code-sharing partner of the airline from which I bought the ticket), I am looking to purchase an upgrade to business class if available!

This is the answer I got:  This ticket was sold by our code-sharing partner and cannot be upgraded!  Now I can understand if they wanted to keep their upgrade for their direct customers.  But the aircraft left with four business class seats empty; forgone free revenues. The airline gave up a few hundred dollars of revenues because its system is too inflexible to allow the gate agent to generate more profit for the airline.

In fact, the gate agent could have said, at this time I don't have any space, but if you wait a bit, and before boarding, I may be able to accommodate you!  Even if the answer, in the end, had been no, it would have been better.

We had no choice to buy the ticket from their code-sharing partner -- because the code-sharing partner was the "international segment"

It shows that the airlines have "locked-down" their reservation system reducing their gate agent to create additional revenues

Its why I am always concerned by people that "algorithm are better than humans" because algos are created by humans and they have blind spots...

On a separate note, on the same trip, when I got my boarding pass for the first segment (which I could not download online) I was told that I was going to face "additional security check"  didn't know what it meant but for sure if I had been up to no good, it would be an alarm to "get rid of the evidence" One hour late just as I was boarding I got an additional security check for explosive (you know they swab your computer, complete body check and opened all my bags).  One hour after the check-in agent told me about this additional security check...proof positive that all this is pure Security Theater. 

As Trump says:  So sad! 

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