I'm sitting in the (very lovely) IAD Admirals Club right now as I await my flight to LAX. Unless something crazy happens, I'll be sitting in economy for the first time in six months or so.

Here's the math, according the AAngel at the front desk:

AA only flies 757s on the IAD-LAX route, which has "only" 22 seats in first.There are only three flights a day to LAX.And its not like there's many other options out of IAD. You can fly IAD-MIA-LAX, or ...

Mike just posted an informative piece about AA's 500-mile upgrade instruments (colloquially called "stickers") that can be used by Gold and Platinum elites.

I wanted to add a few more details... (So read his post first.)

1. Those upgrades get more expensive ($35 instead of $30) if you have to buy them at the airport.

2. If you request an upgrade w/out having enough stickers in your account and that upgrade clears, you MUST buy the stickers. You can't ...