Upgrade with no notification - op-up?

[carambola]

Hello! This is the first time I've experienced a potential op-up it's probably a bit of a rookie question -

Mr Carambola recently got a complimentary upgrade to J on a QF flight to Asia. We found out the evening before the flight, when he checked in and the boarding pass showed a business class seat instead of the Y seat we'd selected just a minute earlier.

It was so unexpected that we spent a few minutes checking that we hadn't somehow accidentally upgraded him on points, and generating his boarding pass a bunch of different ways. He's a gold FF but was booked on a discount economy fare, and the flight still had a handful of unoccupied Y seats when we did the seat selection. We actually thought it was a glitch... all the way until he finished his second glass of champers and figured that the upgrade might stick!

Interestingly, he didn't get any sort of notification for it, nor did his listed seat (on the Manage Booking page) reflect his new seat. It seems a bit different from the posts I've read here on AFF about upgrades at or after boarding.

So my question is - would this have been an op-up or some other kind of upgrade? And is this normal, in the sense that there were no notifications from QF and the upgrade didn't show up on the Manage Booking page?

 

[justinbrett]

Yes, in my experience op ops don’t clear like points upgrades (where you get a text / etc) - you’ll usually find out when you arrive at the airport, or even at the gate, or earlier as in your case.

I would not expect the airline to notify you saying you’ve been upgraded, until you arrive at the airport.

Also the booking seat is not necessarily updated by check in seat selection, or in your case an op up.

Your story sounds like a vanilla op up to me.

 

[mrsterryn]

My son and ,at the time last year , his brand new wife both had a similar type of upgrade. No points just a business class seat
They are bronze.
We were on a family holiday to Tokyo. Husband and I had been officially upgraded with points to business however son sent me a message to say that he and his wife could pick business seats when they were checking in online the day before . They were thrilled.

 

[carambola]

Thanks mrssterryn and justinbrett. It's the first time we've been lucky enough to score one - so good to know!

 

[Guvner]

Put it down to luck and good timing.
I've been a QFF member for over 25 years, QP member etc, flew 2-3 times a week on Qantas for years. Still fly regularly, Never once did I get an op-up.

(Not complaining, merely providing a data-point)

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

Put it down to luck and good timing.
I've been a QFF member for over 25 years, QP member etc, flew 2-3 times a week on Qantas for years. Still fly regularly, Never once did I get an op-up.

(Not complaining, merely providing a data-point)

Also no pop-ups on QF for me, apart from one trans-Tasman just after I'd first qualified as P1.

 

[justinbrett]

On my AA flight this morning (LGA-BOS), 5 pax were op-uped during taxi after the safety demo. Weight and balance issue.

Slightly concerning that stuff wasn’t sorted back at the gate. I was in paid first anyway.

 

[Anna]

I've had a few QF op-ups over time, including on one flight where I had asked for a points upgrade so it was weird that QF gave me an op-up without taking the opportunity to deduct points for it. Maybe different departments handling different things?

Anyway, the most likely time to get an op-up IME are when you are travelling solo, in school holidays, on a weekend, and usually when travelling with status. The least likely time to get an op-up is on a peak-time flight for business travel. But as others have said, it is always down to luck.

 

[Rangalad]

Also no pop-ups on QF for me, apart from one trans-Tasman just after I'd first qualified as P1.

Same here. No QF op ups.
Only once on BA when a ‘gentleman’ demanded to sit in the seat I was allocated. Was asked I would move to another seat. Given this guy’s temper, I agreed.
Moved downstairs to an aisle. Then ‘suggested’ I would be more comfortable in 2A.

 

[carambola]

Anyway, the most likely time to get an op-up IME are when you are travelling solo, in school holidays, on a weekend, and usually when travelling with status.

Useful to know, thank you!

 

[juddles]

Op-ups are truly a mysterious beast. I do not know how to get one, but I do know how to NOT get one - by hoping The op-ups I have had all came completely out of the blue, when I least expected them, and thus held no hope.

 

[justinbrett]

Well, quite simply op-ups happen when Y is oversold and there’s spare seats in premium cabins. It’s just a matter of predicting that...

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Put it down to luck and good timing.
I've been a QFF member for over 25 years, QP member etc, flew 2-3 times a week on Qantas for years. Still fly regularly, Never once did I get an op-up.

(Not complaining, merely providing a data-point)

17 years with QF at that time and only once have I gotten an op up with QF.
Several shadows though.
My Y seat got taken up by one of 30 odd students.
No notification till gate.
Only MEL ADL so no biggie.

 

[Lemon_Party]

In a reasonably significant amount of flying I’ve hit a grand total of 4 op-ups, of which two of them I haven’t been flying alone and we’ve both been upgraded despite me being the only one with status. And only barely status - one of those was as VA platinum flying SQ, and the other at the dizzy heights of EK silver...
Enjoy them when they land, always put a smile on your face but just so very rare and unpredictable....

 

[juddles]

The issue of "op-ups" is like many things here - we share our experiences, but none of us actually know how they work. That is half the fun of being a frequent flyer - trying to understand the system

Apart from upgrades where you have applied for same and they cost real points, there seems to me to be two distinct upgrade chances that QF flyers have. The first is a "nice touch" from QF where they reward status flyers - this is where I think I have got most of mine from. The second is where they have a situation where they have oversold a class and bump you up to a higher class. I think it is these latter that are truly "op ups".

Regarding the first type, I have enjoyed P1 status for some years, and have had the (very infrequent) upgrade. These have all occurred "at the gate", or at checkin at the airport. These have been recently fairly identifiable as the boarding pass often gets a little message like "enjoy your flight from the P1 team" printed on it. Apart from IRROPS I do not actually think I have ever got the second type - from over-selling or whatever. I suspect that because of the way Qantas manages things, these are really really rare. And it does appear that this is what resulted in the OP's thread. I thank the OP as it is yet another tiny morsel (data point) that helps us all try to fathom the reality.

But I really do not think status plays a significant part in these "op-ups". Maybe they do look at status when deciding who to upgrade, but in a new era where half of many flights are full of WP or above, this becomes individually irrelevant.

 

[justinbrett]

I think your chances of a true op-up are higher on leisure / non business routes, that have low demand for premium cabins and high demand in Y. I think that’s because the airline knows it won’t sell J so oversells Y, and also you’re then competing with fewer premium flyers.

I’ve had 4 opups in my life, two QF domestic, DRW-BNE just before Christmas (two years in a row actually), and two BA international, both Asia - London.

 

[Mike65]

Well, quite simply op-ups happen when Y is oversold and there’s spare seats in premium cabins. It’s just a matter of predicting that...

Although you'd think the op-ups would then go to higher tiers. As another data point, no op-ups in 15 years (about 300 flights!) of QF flying as SG and WP. Three Cx flights - 1 op-up! Have not even thought about a QF op-up for years. Saves disappointment.

 

[mrsterryn]

Husband had an unexpected operational op up a year of two ago from business to first on Syd to lax

 

[Supersonic Swinger]

You should buy a lotto ticket with your luck.

I am three quarters of the way to Lifetime Gold and the only op-up I ever received was in transit at LAX where the inbound flight was delayed and they could only give me a business class seat on a flight via BNE.

I've had way more op-ups on other airlines especially where I haven't had any status. Op-ups on Qantas are like the proverbial unicorn.

 

[kpro]

Haven't had an op-up in almost 10 years. Back when QF first introduced PE, got a few Y - PE. Once got PE - J on BA. Generally happens on boarding, BP scanned and machine beeps "unable to board", new BP printed in higher cabin. Sometimes also happens on check in.

Then again I'm lucky to typically be travelling in the highest cabin for international flights nowadays.