I am flying on Saturday to Europe, and given all the cancellations, am i better off paying to get my seat before to ensure, or hope that my upgraded status will get me bumped up? Do you think paying for a seat in advance hurts your chance of getting an upgrade?

I find that having a seat doesn't really help in getting an upgrade. Most carriers will upgrade their elite frequent fliers first, regardless of whether they have a seat assignment or not.

What carrier are you flying? That might make a difference, but I wouldn't risk it, I would not want to be stuck in a middle seat to Europe because I was hoping for an upgrade on full flights.

Displaced passengers will probably go ahead of you on the "upgrade roulette" So even if you at top tier on the airline, they could easily have seveal other "top tiers" who were supposed to fly today or yesterday who would "trump" you.

I'm no Air Travel expert, but I would do anything NOT to sit in a middle seat on a flight to Europe. Whatever it takes to insure that does not happen.

Good luck with your flight--my husband's flight home from Europe on Sunday has been cancelled, and the earliest they can get him on a flight is Wednesday!

Your chances of getting an upgrade before this mess were slim. Now they're even less. There are literally hundreds of displaced passengers who paid for business/first class seats on the same route as you - they'll get any available seats before you will.

Actually at this point, not having a seat assignment could be a problem. Get one! We have several days of "backlog" and it's building......

(If you are flexible, show up early and volunteer for the bump IF the compensation is high enough)

This is NOT the time to arrive even 1 minute after the annouced cut off times for baggage check, check in etc..... Get there VERY EARLY!