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Upgrade to First Class airline travel FREE!
bugga-boo
Posts: 50 Forumite
ok. maybe i was wrong? believe me or not.. up to u lot 
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I'd say you were very lucky to get 5 complimentary upgrades to First class.....almost unheard of.....usually they bump Economy to Business and Business to First.....because there's more chance of a Business passenger paying for the First Class next time if they like it.....and they've paid a lot more in the first place.
Out of interest, which flight is it that costs £552 for Economy but only £980 for First ?
Business class usually costs 3 or 4 times as much as Economy as a rule of thumb, First Class about 8 or 9 times. £500 > £1800 > £4000 on Emirates routes.
I've tried for years and only once got a "call forward" between Trivandrum and Dubai on a dead 3am night flight.....but most of the flights I get are jam packed anyway. Best of luck to you !0 -
We fly out for a long holiday a few times every year and have joined Emirates Airlines 'Skywards' to earn airmile points. (Very similar to the average Tesco Clubcard where purchases = points).
They say you earn a certain amount of airmiles, and then can 'buy' upgrades for example, using your points.
These bloomin' cards are great! We were new members, clear from the type of membership (bronze - for new members never travelled before). They get you authority, bigtime!
Basically, we managed to get an upgrade from economy class seating to first class for free - and that was all 5 of us! We only mentioned it at the check-in point. They were soo generous I was shocked, they checked availability and offered an upgrade as these seats would have been free anyway. It was brilliant, we were served the menu meals of first class too rather than the gross stuff in economy.
The funny thing is, they didn't take it out of points (as we didn't even have any yet!), it was clearly just a gesture of goodwill.
After this there has been several times they've offered things as a complimentary gesture. One time only 4 of us managed to get first class upgrades as there were only 4 seats available. Another time they allowed us to move to upstairs seating, where there was more leg room and storage space yet still economy. Additionally, every time we've been at the airports, showing our membership cards have gotten free access to First Class Lounge in the airport + complimentary drinks and snacks (freshly made sandwiches!)
I've experienced LOTS of airlines and have to say Emirates are amazing. We're with them permanent now and alot of points have been collected, plenty of complimentary services provided and not a single point taken from our memberships.
I would suggest, no matter what airline you're with. While booking the tickets (online - not sure if there's other ways), join the airline's airmile membership if they have one. And what's the harm in asking? 2 times out of 3 they upgraded us, the 3rd time they were out of available seats and were very apologetic! Off-peak times will probably be best as there'll be more chance of available seats. The worst they can say is there's none available.
P.S.. Our first time economy travel cost £552 return per person, first class would have cost a massive £980! A damn good saving if they offer it to you free.. (prices obviously depend on time of year, place of travel, airline etc..)
Hope some of you can benefit from this. xx
Skywards, Emirates: https://www.skywards.com/index.aspx
P.P.S.. From experience we've gathered that they only offer upgrades at the check-in point or whilst on the plane. Asking at other places before-hand got us nowhere and we were told to just ask at check-in. One time new tickets were printed out for us! Another time, we were told to sit in our normal seats and would be taken to the first class ones once everybody was seated.
I find your tale very dubious.
As odowdchr has said to get upgraded from Economy to First is almost unheard of for ONE never mind 5 :rolleyes:
You get into the First Class lounge by just showing the card-which I assume is still the lowest tier in their FF club?
Tell it to these folks at Flyertalk if it is true.0 -
It's pure and utter :spam: !0
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I flew to Cairo 2 years back from LHR via Zurich on Swiss.
My partner was adament she wanted a window seat so we asked what time check in open and was told 3am. At 3 am we were there waiting for check in to open. At 5 am someone strolled up in no rush whatsoever and my partner went over and had a word, arguing pursued and a manager appeared and asked what the problem was. Not that i had to say anything but he was told the tale and said sorry etc. He checked us in and away we went.
When we boarded the flight to Zurich we were sat in Business class, (we had only paid for economy) we didnt think it was right, but also our tickets to Cairo were business class too. So at Zurich we used Business boarding and sat in Business class.
Nothing was told to us, it was only the outward flights but it was absolutely fantastic, and to date, on over 100 flights at least 20 longhaul it is the only time i have ever got so much of a sniff of Business Class.0 -
I flew to Cairo 2 years back from LHR via Zurich on Swiss.
My partner was adament she wanted a window seat so we asked what time check in open and was told 3am. At 3 am we were there waiting for check in to open. At 5 am someone strolled up in no rush whatsoever and my partner went over and had a word, arguing pursued and a manager appeared and asked what the problem was. Not that i had to say anything but he was told the tale and said sorry etc. He checked us in and away we went.
When we boarded the flight to Zurich we were sat in Business class, (we had only paid for economy) we didnt think it was right, but also our tickets to Cairo were business class too. So at Zurich we used Business boarding and sat in Business class.
Nothing was told to us, it was only the outward flights but it was absolutely fantastic, and to date, on over 100 flights at least 20 longhaul it is the only time i have ever got so much of a sniff of Business Class.
If you/ your partner were arguing they probably did it to shut you up!
Agree about the OP's story, it was either pure luck or they are making it up. Bronze membership will get you no special priviledges, and unless it was only a v short route, a first class ticket would cost a lot more than £980!Gone ... or have I?0 -
One thing that did strike me here - Economy being £552 pp and First Class £980 pp.
Isn't there usually a lot bigger difference than that?
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One thing that did strike me here - Economy being £552 pp and First Class £980 pp.
Isn't there usually a lot bigger difference than that?
Yep, I would expect first class on Emirates to be over £2K.
I know groups that have been upgraded to first from economy, though more so several years ago. Also, this has not happened once they have boarded the plane, it completely defeats the object.
Also, a Bronze card will not get you access to the first class lounge. The more I read the story the more I think it is someone in cloud cuckoo!Gone ... or have I?0 -
If you/ your partner were arguing they probably did it to shut you up!
Agree about the OP's story, it was either pure luck or they are making it up. Bronze membership will get you no special priviledges, and unless it was only a v short route, a first class ticket would cost a lot more than £980!
No my partner and i werent arguing, she was arguing with the check in person.0 -
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