20 yr Qantas FF and NEVER been upgraded... are upgrades like Rainbow Unicorns??

[Janeski]

So bit of a random question.. I've been a Qantas FF for 20 yrs (can't believe I'm ageing myself so much) and in that time I've been an on/off Silver but never Gold member. I've had Qantas Club membership.. again on/off.. and usually take anywhere between 4-10 flights per year domestic and occasionally international. In that time I have NEVER been offered an upgrade... I'm flying to HK in a few weeks and trying to decide if I should push my luck and ask for an upgrade on check in (i'm travelling solo)... OR are they like rainbow unicorns and only appear for the truly lucky (or serious Frequent Flyer...)?????

 

[drewbles]

I received a single upgrade when I was PS, and that was PER-SYD when my a/c went u/s and I was moved to a 743 (the old rotting bird that's currently down at AVV).

You can ask for an upgrade at check-in if you wish, but be prepared to be rejected. As a PS, even if you put a points upgrade in, you're still unfortunately well down the list, but depending on day of the week and time of the year, you may get lucky (of course this requires buying the right fare to gamble on the upgrade too).

As there are Golds, OneWorld Sapphire, Platinums, OneWorld Emeralds, Platinum Ones and Chairmans Lounge members above you, PS doesn't bode well, but stranger things have happened

 

[harvyk]

By never been upgraded do you mean that you've been putting in for upgrades when your points balance / booked fares allow and have never been upgraded or do you mean that mythical operational upgrades (OP-UP's) where you turn up at the airport and hear those magic words "dear Mr Harvyk, you'll be flying J today"

If you mean the first, well yes it can be frustrating, and I myself would never purchase a higher class fare on the off chance that I could get an upgrade through. That said they do happen from time to time, although IME, the better way is to purchase JASA's / FASA's / J awards / F awards than play the lottery as a lower status.

If you mean the second, well OP-UP's do happen from time to time (I myself had a run of good luck with them), but the airlines do everything they can to avoid being in a position where they have to give them out. So if that's what you mean by upgrades, then unless the airline gods have really smiled on you that day, they will continue to be the ever elusive. I guess if you did want to increase your chances, chose flights which are likely to have full Y cabins but empty J cabins, chose flights where every higher status pax is likely to have already booked J (IME long haul is where it's at for that), and when you turn up at the airport fully expect to be in the cabin you've paid for.

 

[Anna]

Getting an upgrade by asking for it at check-in would be a miracle. I'm not saying it's never happened, but the chances would be tiny.

Can you put in a points upgrade request? That is your best chance I think. Still probably not a great chance though, but worth trying.

 

[markis10]

Asking for an upgrade at check in is a waste of time, my understanding of Qantas and its systems mean the front line staff have very little control over that area and are unlikely to have the permissions to change a passengers cabin class.

 

[Paddy55]

Only Intl OPUP came when I made Gold. That was in 2009 and after 30 years as a QFF member.
That was en route due to an IFE failure and the CSM expressed surprise there were no WPs to upgrade (from Y to PE)

Mind you, since then I've been WP (thanks to this forum) and had 1 Intl OPUP from Y to PE and 1 Domestic from SYD-PER (on a 747 ).
Not surprised at your story given the 'pecking order' for OPUPs

 

[Janeski]

It is interesting.. I do wonder where all the "stories" that if you "dress well, ask nicely" actually come from... it seems once or twice a year these upgrade stories appear in the press.... a friend is a flight attendant and she says it just rarely happens... and in this instance harvyk.. I was referring to OPUP.. I've put in points requests before that have come to nothing... I would love to get some stats on how often OPUP's occur and what class of passenger they occur for... might be an interesting study!!

 

[markis10]

OpUps happen to high status passengers often during school holidays when J is lightly loaded and price sensitive travel is filling the seats.

 

[JohnK]

It is interesting.. I do wonder where all the "stories" that if you "dress well, ask nicely" actually come from... it seems once or twice a year these upgrade stories appear in the press.... a friend is a flight attendant and she says it just rarely happens...

It does help to dress nicely and be polite at all times.

FWIW Almost 10 years I received an op-up to business on QF1 SYD-BKK as a Silver at check-in and sat in 11K upstairs. On the return leg I did not receive an op-up at check-in and was disappointed (still young with very little understanding of airlines and op-ups) and when I got the gate my boarding pass beeped and was handed a boarding pass for, yes you guessed it, 11K.

Some say that only high status passengers receive op-ups and while that may be true most of the time, some of the time life does not quite work out the way we expect and you end up with strange events like my story above. Perhaps small payback for the constant misery....

 

[Janeski]

It does help to dress nicely and be polite at all times.

FWIW Almost 10 years I received an op-up to business on QF1 SYD-BKK as a Silver at check-in and sat in 11K upstairs. On the return leg I did not receive an op-up at check-in and was disappointed (still young with very little understanding of airlines and op-ups) and when I got the gate my boarding pass beeped and was handed a boarding pass for, yes you guessed it, 11K.

Some say that only high status passengers receive op-ups and while that may be true most of the time, some of the time life does not quite work out the way we expect and you end up with strange events like my story above. Perhaps small payback for the constant misery....

JohnK your story gives me hope!! And congrats on the upgrade!!! I ALWAYS dress up to travel- to me it is part of the adventure- I still view flying as a treat & somewhat of a luxury (even after all these years and even when it is for work) Apart from the fact that I like to look well put together on a day to day basis- my pet peeve is tracksuits on planes... You CAN be comfortable and not have to wear sportswear!

 

[Pfisher004]

I have been with qantas for about 3 years and in that time have received two international op ups. One from business to first with my fiancé as well lax to syd. And once from perth to Hong Kong - economy to business. One was when I was platinum plus partner gold (business to first) and the other occurred whilst platinum. I do approx 10-15 domestic flights in economy and 5-7 international flights in business a year.

 

[Pleb Status]

Prior to being a WP, I never received an OpUp of any kind. Since being a WP (which is almost seven years now), I have received two international OpUp's and several domestic OpUp's. I have not received any OpUp's since WP1 has been in existence. Hopefully this drought will end when I become a WP1 in June.

If OpUp's are pretty rare for WP, they would be even more scare for lower level FF. Also, some WP1 will earn more SC in one year than the OP has in LTSC so their chances of an OpUp are statically better in any case.

 

[love_the_life]

Things have changed as well - in the past a QC member had an enhanced (that word again!) chance of an upgrade by asking at the lounge. This was before points for upgrades came in and Q realised they could make money from upgrades. We have had them off and on over the years, as QC members, Gold and WP. Last OpUp was last year Y to Y+. Less success recently with points for upgrades though - seems to have been about 3 years now.

 

[Paddy55]

It does help to dress nicely and be polite at all times.

FWIW Almost 10 years I received an op-up to business on QF1 SYD-BKK as a Silver at check-in and sat in 11K upstairs. On the return leg I did not receive an op-up at check-in and was disappointed (still young with very little understanding of airlines and op-ups) and when I got the gate my boarding pass beeped and was handed a boarding pass for, yes you guessed it, 11K.

Some say that only high status passengers receive op-ups and while that may be true most of the time, some of the time life does not quite work out the way we expect and you end up with strange events like my story above. Perhaps small payback for the constant misery....

JohnK

Just awesome!

 

[Janeski]

So from this feedback, I AM more likely to see a rainbow unicorn than ever get an upgrade... esp as I'm a lowly Bronze and travelling on a sale fare.... ahhhh but a girl can dream!!

Been very interesting hearing everyone's stories.. I really did think that loyalty would be slightly better rewarded.... esp for FF. I wonder do airlines go," Yes, I know we have a few extra Business Class meals in the trolley but really cannot be bothered to upgrade anyone" ???? Or if there ARE meals on board and there ARE spare seats.. is the most "rewardable" passenger ALWAYS upgraded?? curious

 

[Pfisher004]

I think what would be interesting is to see the correlation between Lifetime status credits and number of operational upgrades and how long each member has been in the program for: I'll go first:

Current status: Platinum One
Lifetime Status Credits: 7043
Years with the QFF program: 3
Operational Upgrades: 2 international (Bus to first, econ - bus) - zero domestic

 

[mannej]

So from this feedback, I AM more likely to see a rainbow unicorn than ever get an upgrade... esp as I'm a lowly Bronze and travelling on a sale fare.... ahhhh but a girl can dream!!

Been very interesting hearing everyone's stories.. I really did think that loyalty would be slightly better rewarded.... esp for FF. I wonder do airlines go," Yes, I know we have a few extra Business Class meals in the trolley but really cannot be bothered to upgrade anyone" ???? Or if there ARE meals on board and there ARE spare seats.. is the most "rewardable" passenger ALWAYS upgraded?? curious

I think you are over simplifying things, as there would be many factors as to who gets an op up and who doesn't, and these factors would be different from flight to flight.

 

[jastel]

Have had 3 points upgrades to Business from 3 requests on international.
One random upgrade to Business on check in flying with my mother domestic.
Only Silver, maybe 6 flights a year with one International.

 

[richie9x]

I would put the odds of a free upgrade at about 1%. Of course there will be some people who will do much better than than and some will do worse.

The thing is if someone is lucky enough to get a free upgrade they tell everyone about it. However you rarely hear from the the rest of the people on the flight who didn't receive one. So therefore they seem a lot more common than they actually are.

Best not to even think about them. Keep your expectations low. If you do get one then it will be more of a surprise.

 

[JohnM]

JohnK your story gives me hope!! And congrats on the upgrade!!! I ALWAYS dress up to travel- to me it is part of the adventure- I still view flying as a treat & somewhat of a luxury (even after all these years and even when it is for work) Apart from the fact that I like to look well put together on a day to day basis- my pet peeve is tracksuits on planes... You CAN be comfortable and not have to wear sportswear!

And even more comfortable in the QF F pyjamas when the mother of all UPGs comes through .