The Operational Upgrade Thread

Interesting, so why is it that some reports of op-ups occur at the gate - after checking in and going to the lounge? Surely they would want you to know ASAP?

The airline will wait until check in closes to see if they have no shows in which case opups may not be necessary.
 
The airline will wait until check in closes to see if they have no shows in which case opups may not be necessary.

Does it follow then that, everything being equal, a late check in would give you a better chance of an op-up?

Assuming that (1) you had done OLCI to secure your lowly seat and (2) you have some status with the airline?
 
EXCLUSIVE OFFER - Offer expires: 20 Jan 2025

- Earn up to 200,000 bonus Velocity Points*
- Enjoy unlimited complimentary access to Priority Pass lounges worldwide
- Earn up to 3 Citi reward Points per dollar uncapped

*Terms And Conditions Apply

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Does it follow then that, everything being equal, a late check in would give you a better chance of an op-up?

Assuming that (1) you had done OLCI to secure your lowly seat and (2) you have some status with the airline?

Nope not necessarily
 
Does it follow then that, everything being equal, a late check in would give you a better chance of an op-up?

Assuming that (1) you had done OLCI to secure your lowly seat and (2) you have some status with the airline?

Don't check in late because if there happens to be an oversale due to a config change etc guess who's going to be up the creek without a paddle? The more status you have, the less likely you'd be bumped but my advice is always do OLCI first.

In the past pre-Altea that may have been true when there may have been more op-ups done at a local level so a J seat may have been given to a late comer who was at checkin right place right time.

When doing points upgrades pax now have a choice whereby if the upgrade doesn't come through the day prior they can choose to 'opt in' for one which would generally come through at flight close about one hour prior to departure at which time it would be apparent if there were commercial noshow pax.

That alleviates the issue of points upgrade requests not coming through only to then have a flight depart with empty seats in J.
 
Well, my op-up luck has continued.

Last month on QF 127 (SYD-HKG) received an op-up from Y+ to J, then on the return leg on QF747 (SYD-ADL) received an op-up from Y to J.
 
Interesting, so why is it that some reports of op-ups occur at the gate - after checking in and going to the lounge? Surely they would want you to know ASAP?

It seems to vary quite a lot. I have had free upgrades when I checked in online 24 hours before the flight. I have had them at the check in desk. I have been paged at the lounge and at the gate desk. Finally I have been beeped at the gate.

For the one that happened 24 hours before check in, the guy I ended up sitting next to was also upgraded free and he was beeped at the gate. So it seems beforehand they already knew they were going to have to upgrade at least some passengers. While for others they waited right until the last moment before upgrading them.
 
First op-up for a few months on the trusty golden triangle yesterday thanks QF!

Mel-Syd : Q -> J
 
Received an op up from Y (O class) to J on QF107 SYD-JFK yesterday. First time flying Qantas with no OneWorld status! Beeped at the gate, think I got the record for biggest gap between seats, was in 69C so seeing 2A on the boarding pass was a head spin. Once in a lifetime experience for me.
 
Received an op up from Y (O class) to J on QF107 SYD-JFK yesterday. First time flying Qantas with no OneWorld status! Beeped at the gate, think I got the record for biggest gap between seats, was in 69C so seeing 2A on the boarding pass was a head spin. Once in a lifetime experience for me.

Good to see QF looking after OW elites...
 
Received an op up from Y (O class) to J on QF107 SYD-JFK yesterday. First time flying Qantas with no OneWorld status! Beeped at the gate, think I got the record for biggest gap between seats, was in 69C so seeing 2A on the boarding pass was a head spin. Once in a lifetime experience for me.

Well done... but defies logic (well mine anyway)
 
Received an op up from Y (O class) to J on QF107 SYD-JFK yesterday. First time flying Qantas with no OneWorld status! Beeped at the gate, think I got the record for biggest gap between seats, was in 69C so seeing 2A on the boarding pass was a head spin. Once in a lifetime experience for me.


I am confused.

Did you say you have no OW status or that was a typo ?

If actually without OW status, I wonder what the op-up was based on.

Thanks
 
Well done... but defies logic (well mine anyway)

Seat went tech during the last flight? Much easier to just move the pax affected then systematic upgrade Y->Y+ -> J. But then that would be assuming the Y cabin is full...
 
I am confused.

Did you say you have no OW status or that was a typo ?

If actually without OW status, I wonder what the op-up was based on.

Thanks

I wonder the same for a recent BA op-up where ~10 PAX were upgraded at the gate, all into Club and none of them seemed to have any status.... one of them didn't even know where row 2 was or what Club Europe meant!
 
I wonder the same for a recent BA op-up where ~10 PAX were upgraded at the gate, all into Club and none of them seemed to have any status.... one of them didn't even know where row 2 was or what Club Europe meant!

I have OW status and don't know what Club Europe means...
 
Just thought I should mention that KA831 11/6 (A330) I was upgraded to J when initially ticketed in O as part of a QF fare PVG-HKG-MEL.

The day before the flight it was displaying J/8 Y/0, so I guess oversold - but was surprised that there weren't 8 DMs (CX OWE) in Y ahead of me.
 
Just thought I should mention that KA831 11/6 (A330) I was upgraded to J when initially ticketed in O as part of a QF fare PVG-HKG-MEL.

Nice work :)
Having not travelled on KA before, is it flatbed or regional J seats?
 
Op-up from TSV-BNE last week. Checked in at counter, window seat previously chosen online in first row of economy. 4A I believe. Get to gate, they scan my phone, and the bit of paper it spits out for me to use as a boarding pass had me in 1C. Did a double take, grinned and boarded :D

I'm WP, but presumed there'd be more P1 on that flight who would get op-up priority over me. The flight seemed fully loaded as well. I didn't bother requesting an upgrade for such a short sector, so it was a nice surprise :)
 
Nice work :)
Having not travelled on KA before, is it flatbed or regional J seats?

Regional J, but I suspect you can sometimes get lucky - eg I did a KA flight HKG-TPE once on an A330 that was international config with the same diagonal lie-flat J seat that CX uses on long-haul.

IFE was also better than QF's int'l A330 that I had to endure HKG-MEL. God the QF A330 product is ordinary on international rights, and J is underwhelming. If it weren't for the DSC offer in combination with the WP points bonus, I'd be choosing CX instead.
 

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top