Flight Upgrades

neilbond007

Aidenr wrote: »

Lmao

I have been called many things and that being one of them, Skywitch being another :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

No there is not a dress code in Upper Class at VA. BUT, as already said if PE is over booked they will look at upgrading those that are frequent flyers ie Gold first etc, then it will be full fare passengers who are smartly dressed.

I am assuming that this was the case when being bumped to Upper, to have the miles for Economy to PE , I am assuming a Silver or Gold card holder ??

A

apologies if the "trolley dolly" remark touched any nerves
when i was upgraded from PE to Upper I was indeed silver.

I'm now Silver automatically due to some sort of tie in between the company i work for and Virgin... not that silver helps that much!

Aidenr

no nerves touched LOL

Silver is good, you should get to Gold reasonably quick then you get access to the clubhouse at LHR and use of the onboard bar when you fly

Good luck on the tier upgrade !

A

LHR777

All,

Long time lurker and having picked up many tips from this site, thought it was about time a offered some information back, as a long time worker in the airline industry.

Upgrades.

i) Staff are pretty much upgraded first. This reduces customer down trading to the lowest ticket/cabin with expectation/common experience of being upgraded. You may also argue they look after their own.

ii) Frequent Flyers/ high revenue pax will also be upgraded. Naturally airlines, want to keep these passengers sweet, expecially in these dark days.

iii) Always check in online, 24 hours before hand, if they know you are coming you have more chance of an upgrade.

iv) What you wear only has a marginal effect, as most upgrades are done pre airport. Looking tidy may only benefit last minute changes. Alas babies (need for a bassinet) or ordering a special meal will also mean you will most likely be overlooked.

iv) However, overbooking does occur, seatcounter.com is an excellent free way to determine how full your flight is.

F9 A9 J9 D9 Y9 K9 S0 etc is a fairly light loaded flight currently. (9+ seats available in each class)

F0 A0 J0 D0 Y0 K0 S0 is a full flight.

As a rough idea, upgrades occur when economy letters (Y,K,S =0) and letters before in the string this are greater than say 5. I.e the back of the plane is full and people need to be moved up!!

e.g F5 A2 J7 D3 Y0 K0 S0

Hope this helps a little, upgrades are mystery/dark art. All airlines have their own methods and reasons. T

LHR777

Aidenr

Absolutely agree with the above

for the record if anyone uses the site above
VA basic cabin codes are :
J = Upper Class
W = Premium Economy
Y = Economy

or if anyone wants to check a individual VA flight I can look for you and give you a rough idea, just contact me

A

omelette451

LHR777 wrote: »

Alas babies (need for a bassinet) or ordering a special meal will also mean you will most likely be overlooked.

And the screaming...

shockingmoment

fifeken wrote: »

Can I ask how you managed to pre-book the exit rows? I travel with Emirates quite a bit (and have been upgraded too) but can't pre-book the exit rows when booking the flight or checking in on-line.

Phoned, just after booking and well in advance, complaining that I couldn't get the exit row seats on line. Kind Emirates chap booked them. Checked on line - and there they were.

Didn't pay any extra. We are FF with Emirates though. That may have had some bearing on the upgrade?

It was so so nice. Lovely wife had just finished a stint of nights (nurse) so slept the whole journey - missed all the goodies.

They handed out a really nice toiletries bag - his and hers versions - with evrything in.

bigbaddean

Got upgraded from Economy to Business on an American Airlines flight from LHR to Chicago a couple of years ago along with my friend.

I had an AAdvantage card and they had cancelled an earlier flight that day, so flight was full. Got to gate and they changed my ticket! Right result, instead of paying £3/$5 for a beer, was drinkin wine all flight, while using BOSE headphones!

fifeken

shockingmoment wrote: »

Phoned, just after booking and well in advance, complaining that I couldn't get the exit row seats on line. Kind Emirates chap booked them. Checked on line - and there they were.

Didn't pay any extra. We are FF with Emirates though. That may have had some bearing on the upgrade?

It was so so nice. Lovely wife had just finished a stint of nights (nurse) so slept the whole journey - missed all the goodies.

They handed out a really nice toiletries bag - his and hers versions - with evrything in.

Thanks - I'll need to try that. I'm Skywards Silver with them hence the upgrades (and the next trip to Asia free with miles). The toiletry bags are a nice touch.

yorkygal

Hi does anyone know how i can find out how much a flight upgrade from Manchester to Punta Cana later this month online on a Thomson flight??

koolmummy

My hubby works for B.A.
He says that in order to be in with a chance of being upgraded you should never ask for one.
You should look smart and be friendly and polite and not check in too early.