Upgrading EK operated QF codeshare at airport

[sww199]

Hi all
I have scoured forums and not seen an exact answer to this question.
I am travelling MEL-DXB-CDG-DXB-MEL on EK in a couple of months. QF codeshare ticket booked on QF website.
Friends recently flew EK (booked directly with EK) and were able to ask for a cash upgrade at check in counter in DXB. Received the upgrade for a relatively modest price.
Could anyone please share any insights if they have been able to buy a cash upgrade at EK check in, on a QF codeshare ticketed EK operated flight?
I am well aware QF codeshare tickets are ineligible for online / over the phone / points upgrades.
Many thanks
wws199

 

[tmdl]

I am looking for a similar answer but I have 2x business class DXB - WAW seats booked as a QFF award seat

I have read that you can upgrade EK award seats with skyward miles but wondering if the same can be done with QFF award seats

 

[MrJetset]

Hi all
I have scoured forums and not seen an exact answer to this question.
I am travelling MEL-DXB-CDG-DXB-MEL on EK in a couple of months. QF codeshare ticket booked on QF website.
Friends recently flew EK (booked directly with EK) and were able to ask for a cash upgrade at check in counter in DXB. Received the upgrade for a relatively modest price.
Could anyone please share any insights if they have been able to buy a cash upgrade at EK check in, on a QF codeshare ticketed EK operated flight?
I am well aware QF codeshare tickets are ineligible for online / over the phone / points upgrades.
Many thanks
wws199

While I have no experience, I suspect this can be done. I’ve had EK fix QF issued tix before.

I made a few changes and EK called on the dat of departure to ask if I was travelling and they fixed it over the phone.

You cannot upgrade award seats with QF points, unless QF alter and reissue. Skyward members can upgrade even when on the aircraft after boarding. In fact, this is one way to avoid any additional taxes.

 

[RichardMEL]

I am going to guess the chances of a cash upgrade at check in to be a far more "do-able" option than using EK points to upgrade a QF issued reward. They may book into the same booking classes and all, but since EK wouldn't have issued the ticket they wouldn't have control over it in the respect of reissuing with upgraded seats via EK points. I imagine paid cash upgrades are handled differently (but I have no proof of this theory)

 

[jpp42]

I expect cash upgrades at check-in are handled similarly to op-up's - nothing changes on the ticket, it's basically just a seat assignment override. The airline would collect the funds directly and account for it in some other way. Qantas used to do this on occasion at some outstations - IIRC they offered it to me once at PVG.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Is this a cash ticket or an award ticket? If the latter, my experience is generally airlines won't let you upgrade the award ticket to a higher class of service (albeit I haven't had flown on EK). If the former, it can be really hit or miss. I've had some airlines outright refuse to handle an upgrade because of the ticket stock the flight was on whereas others were more than happy to take my money. The real question though would be whether the upgrade offer is worth it. For instance, if the MEL > DXB offer was $3000 would you bite? I suspect many would not! You need to have ready in your head how much you are willing to pay for those upgrades for each of the sectors and stick to it. Remember too that you won't see the upgrade offers for the inbound sectors (CDG > DXB > MEL) at the same time as the outbound sectors (MEL > DXB > CDG). Sometimes you can upgrade individual sectors (i.e. just CDG > DXB) other times it's an all or nothing affair. As a general rule of thumb the upgrade should cost a fraction of the equivalent cost of the business class ticket.

Hope that provides some insight from someone who has regularly used the upgrade (paid and/or points) feature on airlines.

-RooFlyer88

 

[RichardMEL]

Is this a cash ticket or an award ticket? If the latter, my experience is generally airlines won't let you upgrade the award ticket to a higher class of service

While this is true in the most general sense, it's a bit of an irony that QF actually WILL let one put upgrade requests in on classic reward seats.

Eligibility:
Classic Upgrade Rewards are available on Classic Flight Rewards in Economy and Premium Economy and eligible paid and confirmed Qantas domestic and international flights, with a Qantas (QF) flight number on your ticket and from time to time on codeshare flights operated by another carrier that have a QF flight number on your ticket.

ie everything except upgrades to F from a J reward are allowed.

 

[LozzaWozza]

In June 2022 we flew SYD to LHR and the return flight was with Emirates via Dubai. The tickets were booked on Qantas however I couldn't choose the EK seats on they way back so logged into the Emirates website and there was an offer to upgrade the LHR to DXB route to premium economy for AUD 583.00 per person. So I did and it was lovely!
I have just booked flights on Qantas again to go to the UK for Christmas and the flight out is via Emirates. I thought I might be able to log into Emirates with the same booking ref and potentially do the same ie buy an upgrade to premium however the booking ref is not recognised and on the Qantas website it clearly states codeshare flights are not eligible for points upgrades. No reference to buying an upgrade either for this first leg.
I wondered if anyone else had experienced this? I think I might try contacting Emirates directly to see if there are any options although I'm not hopeful.

 

[AIRwin]

In June 2022 we flew SYD to LHR and the return flight was with Emirates via Dubai. The tickets were booked on Qantas however I couldn't choose the EK seats on they way back so logged into the Emirates website and there was an offer to upgrade the LHR to DXB route to premium economy for AUD 583.00 per person. So I did and it was lovely!

I also booked a QF codeshare flight with Emirates to LHR but no such offer when I travelled in August 2022. Wonder if loads were lighter back in June 2022?

 

[LozzaWozza]

I also booked a QF codeshare flight with Emirates to LHR but no such offer when I travelled in August 2022. Wonder if loads were lighter back in June 2022?

Yes maybe. I know at that time not all EK routes had premium so maybe they were trying to promote it. Either way I think it's just a challenge to navigate the continuing moving goal posts with airlines and what is and isn't possible in terms of frequent flyer benefits and upgrades etc

 

[Warragul]

In June 2022 we flew SYD to LHR and the return flight was with Emirates via Dubai. The tickets were booked on Qantas however I couldn't choose the EK seats on they way back so logged into the Emirates website and there was an offer to upgrade the LHR to DXB route to premium economy for AUD 583.00 per person. So I did and it was lovely!
I have just booked flights on Qantas again to go to the UK for Christmas and the flight out is via Emirates. I thought I might be able to log into Emirates with the same booking ref and potentially do the same ie buy an upgrade to premium however the booking ref is not recognised and on the Qantas website it clearly states codeshare flights are not eligible for points upgrades. No reference to buying an upgrade either for this first leg.
I wondered if anyone else had experienced this? I think I might try contacting Emirates directly to see if there are any options although I'm not hopeful.

have you tried using the EK booking reference to access the booking on EK website? There will be a seperate booking reference issued by EK.

 

[RichardMEL]

I have just booked flights on Qantas again to go to the UK for Christmas and the flight out is via Emirates. I thought I might be able to log into Emirates with the same booking ref and potentially do the same ie buy an upgrade to premium however the booking ref is not recognised and on the Qantas website it clearly states codeshare flights are not eligible for points upgrades. No reference to buying an upgrade either for this first leg.

QF have no input into or anything to do with any offer EK may make for your flights. QF "bid" upgrades are only for QF operated flights. So no, QF won't make you any offer or via the booking at qantas.com for your EK operated flights.

 

[LozzaWozza]

have you tried using the EK booking reference to access the booking on EK website? There will be a seperate booking reference issued by EK.

Initially I only had the Qantas booking ref which didn’t work on the Emirates website using my laptop however I just tried the Qantas booking ref on the emirates app and it worked so I now have the Emirates booking ref also. No option at this stage to upgrade (paid) to premium but I’ll check again to see if the options change. Thanks!

 

[Warragul]

Interesting, several years ago booked QF codeshare on EK (revenue fare), and received email from Emirates with their reloc 10 minutes after QF e-ticket.

 

[sww199]

Hi all, I ended up taking this trip. At check-in in CDG, I asked the EK check-in staff whether I could purchase a cash upgrade. The lady serving me said she did not think it was possible for a ticket booked as a QF flight number to be upgraded, but she tried to process it anyway, however she said the system rejected it. She tried it a couple of times so I sensed she was not trying to pass me off. So - the answer to my original question seems to be - "No!". Cheers

 

[TheRealTMA]

Hi all, I ended up taking this trip. At check-in in CDG, I asked the EK check-in staff whether I could purchase a cash upgrade. The lady serving me said she did not think it was possible for a ticket booked as a QF flight number to be upgraded, but she tried to process it anyway, however she said the system rejected it. She tried it a couple of times so I sensed she was not trying to pass me off. So - the answer to my original question seems to be - "No!". Cheers

Yes, that’s unfortunately the issue if you have QF issued ticket. It sucks, but that’s the reality.

 

[Pumpkins001]

Anyone had any more recent experience on this one? I'm in the same situation, would prefer to book Qantas on a fully Emirates-operated 2 leg trip from AUS to EU so I get Qantas status points and QFF points. But also want to take up cash upgrade offers. Used to get these offers regularly back in 2019 or so. Is the only way to get them to book directly via Emirates, or are people still getting cash offers on QF codeshare Emirates flights by using the booking code on Emirates app?