Flight upgrades...

[cornishcarlos]

I usually fly economy class, that's just the way I choose to spend my money.

I've never once been upgraded, like a lot of people I know, even though I always dress smart and make a point of asking :)

 

However, my last 2 flights, one to U.K at end of Dec and the return leg at the end of Feb, with Emirates I have been upgraded without asking !! Would this have anything to do with just attained Silver membership with them ? Plus I'm thinking overbooked economy section ?

 

Must admit, it made the trip so much more enjoyable :)

[samsensam]

 

i was upgraded to business on emirates, i think it's because i was a member

 

i'm a member of qatar and etihad and around 60% - 70&% of the time i find i have an empty seat next to me. i never ask so maybe i'm lucky or else membership does have unforeseen benefits

 

[55Jay]

Can't ever remember being upgraded off a discounted Eco class ticket.

 

I typically fly business now but one trip in Premium Eco on Cathay Pacific, they upgraded me to Biz HKG to LAX.  Didn't want to abandon the wife, so I said no thanks.  The CX lady returned to us 5 minutes later and said no problem, upgraded both of us.   Nice! 

 

Edit: No, was not a CX Frequent Flier member.  Was crediting miles to my Qatar Airways account.

Edited March 14, 2017 by 55Jay

[Shaksey]

Yep, FF's are upgraded first, the higher FF status you get the more you'll get upgraded.

[cornishcarlos]

I have 4 return flights a year for work, with Emirates. I should be able to maintain Silver membership but won't make it to Gold. Hopefully the upgrades keep coming, the cheese board is great with a nice drop of red :)

[stereolab]

10 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

i was upgraded to business on emirates, i think it's because i was a member

 

i'm a member of qatar and etihad and around 60% - 70&% of the time i find i have an empty seat next to me. i never ask so maybe i'm lucky or else membership does have unforeseen benefits

 

Both my wife and I were upgraded to business class on the Dubai/Bangkok leg unasked, probably as we were both silver card holder . I was upgraded business to first class on China from London, again without asking the question, first and last time I flew with China. Perhaps upgraded as my surname begins with A.

[mogandave]

I used to be upgraded regularly when I was Emirates gold.

They often over sell economy and push eco pax up.


Live, love, laugh

[DipStick]

20 hours ago, 55Jay said:

Can't ever remember being upgraded off a discounted Eco class ticket.

 

I typically fly business now but one trip in Premium Eco on Cathay Pacific, they upgraded me to Biz HKG to LAX.  Didn't want to abandon the wife, so I said no thanks.  The CX lady returned to us 5 minutes later and said no problem, upgraded both of us.   Nice! 

 

Edit: No, was not a CX Frequent Flier member.  Was crediting miles to my Qatar Airways account.

Qatar like .cx are members of One World 

[55Jay]

1 hour ago, DipStick said:

Qatar like .cx are members of One World 

They are indeed.

Edited March 15, 2017 by 55Jay

[Hedghog]

I always fly business class.

Never been upgraded to first though.

 

[mogandave]

My wife and I got upgraded from business to first on Thai when they found out we wee on our honeymoon


Live, love, laugh

[alex8912]

I'm upgraded a lot. I don't know why!  I'm always very nice and sometimes ask. On emirates I'm not even silver but they have upgraded me several times. I know the last time was from Boston to Dubai when I got to  Business had maybe 12 people  but economy was packed was lucky.  I have no status on Cathay pacific and they have upgraded me at least 4 times. Last time I asked and was wearing shorts lol they  asked if I had long pants I said yes "in 9 minutes I'll have long pants on" and they upgraded me.  Even delta upgraded me but it's just ok.  A few other times by random even Thai air but to Phuket.  

[luk AJ]

I'm upgraded a lot. I don't know why!  I'm always very nice and sometimes ask. On emirates I'm not even silver but they have upgraded me several times. I know the last time was from Boston to Dubai when I got to  Business had maybe 12 people  but economy was packed was lucky.  I have no status on Cathay pacific and they have upgraded me at least 4 times. Last time I asked and was wearing shorts lol they  asked if I had long pants I said yes "in 9 minutes I'll have long pants on" and they upgraded me.  Even delta upgraded me but it's just ok.  A few other times by random even Thai air but to Phuket.  

If this is true, the airline did a bad job, they should always give priority to gold and silver status.

[al007]

7 hours ago, mogandave said:

My wife and I got upgraded from business to first on Thai when they found out we wee on our honeymoon


Live, love, laugh

And thats why on check in I always say my wife is very nervous and not flown before, we just got married, do you have any nice seats

[humqdpf]

Other than paying for it, there is no sure-fire way of getting upgraded. However, you can help yourself a lot, as follows:

 

- be even a local celeb but don't do the "don't you know who I am" thing

- be very polite and helpful to the checkin clerk and to all staff - they remember nice people too and don't like guys pushing for dates etc and remember them too!

- wear nice quality clothing and look clean and presentable (not drunk or out of it)

- have a frequent flyer card for that airline

- do some research on flights that are likely to have full economy class but low take-up on business class

- date or marry a flight crew member (usually only works with a single airline)

 

Sometimes airlines sell upgrades quite cheaply, at less than double the cost of the economy ticket. Sometimes worth looking into especially at the last minute.

[steveyinasia]

I have been a high level frequent flyer on THAI for many years, never get an upgrade(probably as I am not a politician or hiso) however on my last trip from NY to HK on Cathay I was upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy at the check in counter and to my surprise, upgraded again at the gate to Business Class.  I am at the lowest level of CX membership.  I am not sure how they determine who gets what however on Thai, it is next to impossible, they would rather fly with business class empty than upgrade FF and resell the economy seat....just my opinion.

[humqdpf]

4 hours ago, steveyinasia said:

I have been a high level frequent flyer on THAI for many years, never get an upgrade(probably as I am not a politician or hiso) however on my last trip from NY to HK on Cathay I was upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy at the check in counter and to my surprise, upgraded again at the gate to Business Class.  I am at the lowest level of CX membership.  I am not sure how they determine who gets what however on Thai, it is next to impossible, they would rather fly with business class empty than upgrade FF and resell the economy seat....just my opinion.

If they have an overfull economy (and this is normal - airlines standardly overbook by 5% as that is the number that do not show up for flights) and empty seats in Business, they will upgrade. There will be no resale of your seat in this case. 

 

Airlines tend to upgrade according to criteria but mainly based on the idea of people who might at some stage choose to fly business if they get a taste for it. At the time of flying, you probably checked most of the boxes and had little or no competition.

[dundas]

My most memorable upgrade was on CX on a HKG - Amsterdam flight. At check-in, I went from Y to J, and then, once I was on the plane and while everyone was still settling in, the senior flight attendant came up to me. I thought she was about to put me back to my rightful place in deepest darkest economy but no, a pax in first was scared of being sucked out the window ... he was an Australian, I'm an Australian in an aisle seat, could we swap? 

 

I've had other occasional upgrades, but this, a long time ago, was once in a  lifetime. 

[CharlieH]

Only happened to me once many mooms ago with KLM flying LHR - HKG

I was upgraded from Econ to 1st.

[TerrylSky]

I flew from San Francisco to Amsterdam for a Rolling Stones show; had my Stones jacket on, top hat, was half hammered, the lady at the gate asked if I was with the Stones... without hesitation I implied... "of course I'm with the Stones!" without thinking why... and she said right this way sir... which was to the left... 

business class section... had a beauty flight attendant sit next to me 1/2 the way, bottles of French wine included.   He he he he ;)-    sometimes you can get what you want if you try... ... even if you don't try sometimes.

 

[norbra]

Flying Qantas domestic in Australia with an upgradeable ticket I was seated in economy when a member of the cabin crew spoke with another passenger(friend)sitting across the aisle from me advising that she must move as the aircraft was not safely balanced.I mentioned that I had an upgradeable ticket and was told that seating allocation was done by ground staff and could not be changed once on board. 5555

Favourite upgrades, PER MEL 5pm flight seats 1A,B,C and D

Edited March 16, 2017 by norbra
more info

[off road pat]

Never got the chance of a upgrade, I travel in a wheelchair, but I remember one time I flew back from BKK to Belgium with Lufthansa. At the check in counter they asked everybody if they wanted to take the first flight or the second one because they had two flights this day, everybody wanted to take the first one, I said that the second was Ok for me because I was not in a hurry. Turned out the second flight was less than half full, and I had a whole row for myself so i could lay down and have a breakfast in bed and I slept like a angel. Great feeling !!!

Best regards.

[MW72]

You will only be upgraded if economy has been over booked (at least on Emirates). If economy is not full then you can forget the upgrade no matter how smartly you dress or how politely you talk to them. Last year I had 4 complimentary upgrades in a row from DXB to BKK and even one on the return leg. Since then I have had nothing. I have even tried to upgrade with miles or cash but business has been fully booked so no chance. If economy is overbooked then they will give upgrades to platinum members first, then gold, then silver, then blue so it help if you have a good Skywards tier level.

[Jane Dough]

9 hours ago, mogandave said:

My wife and I got upgraded from business to first on Thai when they found out we wee on our honeymoon


Live, love, laugh

The same thing happened to me when we pretended we were on our honemoon. At least we argued less.

[Aussieroaming]

9 hours ago, Hedghog said:

I always fly business class.

Never been upgraded to first though.

 

Try Etihad. I joined their membership program and booked a return flight, Kazhakstan to Brisbane in Business Class. They upgraded me to first class on the Abu Dhabi - Brisbane - Abu Dhabi sectors, stating that it was because I was a loyalty member with them. I was smiling both ways as it was the first time i had flown Etihad and i copped an upgrade in both directions

[smccolley]

I live in Thailand and have been working in Rio recently. During the last 5 months I have has 12 12 hour flights on either Thai Airways or Lufthansa. Because I have been maintaining a gold status on Thai (Star Alliance) I managed to get upgraded to business 7 times and 1 time to premium Economy on Lufthansa. Being gold on a good group helps a lot, but not always...

 

I used to be platinum on Star Alliance and was upgraded every flight. All I had to do was make sure I picked flights on the wide body 777 or 747 and it was a guarantee.

 

Status is everything!

[Toscano]

Many popular flights are overbooked , so smart looking people may be upgraded to business class where seats are available .

[GOLDBUGGY]

I have been a Gold Card holder for a number of years and have flown umpteen miles, but I was only Upgraded 2 times in my life. Once on KLM from Business to First Class, which was nice to sit in the upper deck, and once by Air Canada from economy to business, as they made a mistake on my ticket which cause me to miss my flight.

 

So I never saw any advantage to being a Gold Card Holder . Maybe even a disadvantage as when you accumulate air miles they want you to use them to upgrade. I refused them many time on this and thus got stuck in economy.

 

I also think the air line you fly with make a big difference. Some seem to give this out more freely. Lufthansa was cheap with this and I never met many who ever got a free upgrade.

[Chalard]

5 hours ago, humqdpf said:

Other than paying for it, there is no sure-fire way of getting upgraded. However, you can help yourself a lot, as follows:

 

- be even a local celeb but don't do the "don't you know who I am" thing

- be very polite and helpful to the checkin clerk and to all staff - they remember nice people too and don't like guys pushing for dates etc and remember them too!

- wear nice quality clothing and look clean and presentable (not drunk or out of it)

- have a frequent flyer card for that airline

- do some research on flights that are likely to have full economy class but low take-up on business class

- date or marry a flight crew member (usually only works with a single airline)

 

Sometimes airlines sell upgrades quite cheaply, at less than double the cost of the economy ticket. Sometimes worth looking into especially at the last minute.

 

MH was offering upgrades a few years ago where you bidded for the seat. Did the minimum bid which was AUS $200 from KL to Melb in Business one way. They accepted that offer. Business was only half full.  Superb...  

VN is doing similar at the moment through an agent in London. Travelling from Bkk to Melb in a couple of months.. Will be interesting to see what happens with them...

[metisdead]

A profane troll post has been removed.