Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Where to ask for upgrade in HKIA?

I am currently sitting at Gate 2 in HKIA waiting for CX840 which boards at 3:45PM HKG time. At the check in, in Kowloon train station the agent told me the plane was crowded, and when I asked about an upgrade he said to ask at the airport. However my flight is leaving out of Gate 4, which is behind a security screening area because it is heading to the U.S. Currently there is a flight boarding to SFO into Gate 3. My question is, is there a gate agent anywhere for Gate 4 before the screening? I am also about 50 feet from the Wing-Which is the biz class lounge and was thinking of asking in there. I would rather ask sooner than later, I don't have CX status, but I am a single traveller, and I know on my flight coming in they upgraded a lot due to overbooking.

Please Help ASAP!

Asking will almost always result in a "no". You may be upgraded at the gate but since you have no status, you're not the priority to get that. You can ask at the lounge whether the plane is full or not though and get a sense whether they may upgrade a few at the gate.

You should be able to ask the gate agent. I've never asked the agents in a lounge for help without a lounge pass (you could try), but if you have one, they'd be more than happy to help.

I am currently sitting at Gate 2 in HKIA waiting for CX840 which boards at 3:45PM HKG time. At the check in, in Kowloon train station the agent told me the plane was crowded, and when I asked about an upgrade he said to ask at the airport. However my flight is leaving out of Gate 4, which is behind a security screening area because it is heading to the U.S. Currently there is a flight boarding to SFO into Gate 3. My question is, is there a gate agent anywhere for Gate 4 before the screening? I am also about 50 feet from the Wing-Which is the biz class lounge and was thinking of asking in there. I would rather ask sooner than later, I don't have CX status, but I am a single traveller, and I know on my flight coming in they upgraded a lot due to overbooking.

Please Help ASAP!

I would rather ask sooner than later, I don't have CX status, but I am a single traveller, and I know on my flight coming in they upgraded a lot due to overbooking.

Please Help ASAP!


The days of getting an upgrade by asking are long gone, even on CX. If you have no status...or even IF you had status, asking will not work. What are ya? New??:p

But there are some tricks that will only marginally increase the odds. Not much. It's too late for you as you have already checked in, sorry..but for next time: Be one of the last to check in. If they have overbooked, they may UG you but it's a long shot. It's worked for me on LH and BA a few times. And on Qantas I got UG'd to C class on a different flight than my original, but it added hours to my travel time.

Went to a gate agent for another flight and asked.....she said they were just full so they couldn't upgrade me now. Looked on expert flyer seems to be 3 seats in Y, and 10 in J left. I might ask again at the gate for my flight, hey I have a decent seat in Y, what do I have to lose. Chances were I wasn't going to be op-up'd on my own. The flight on the way out was oversold and they were offering compensation for volunteers. I figured if I got in early enough on this one and that happened I might be upgraded.

P.S Yes I know those days are long gone, sigh, but still its nice to remember the good old days, when a smile and charm got you into J or F.

Also I assume you could only use AA miles to upgrade a FULL FARE ticket correct? Just wondering, how many miles does it take one way?

Be one of the last to check in. If they have overbooked, they may UG you but it's a long shot. It's worked for me on LH and BA a few times. And on Qantas I got UG'd to C class on a different flight than my original, but it added hours to my travel time.

I am sorry but CX's op-up priority sequence follows Boarding Number - the earlier you check in, the lower your Boarding Number is and the higher your chance to be op-uped.

Be one of the last to check in can only decrease your chance of being op-uped. It might have worked with other airlines, but not CX I'm afraid.

Also I assume you could only use AA miles to upgrade a FULL FARE ticket correct? Just wondering, how many miles does it take one way?

You can't use AA miles to upgrade on any fare code for CX.

Also I assume you could only use AA miles to upgrade a FULL FARE ticket correct? Just wondering, how many miles does it take one way?

You cannot use AAdvantage miles to upgrade a CX ticket. (The reverse is not true, though, you can upgrade Y/B/H/J/D/I on AA with Asia Miles).

If I'm interested in how likely upgrades are, I'll usually ask how full the flight is, and on some airlines, if upgrades are being offered for cash. CX tends not to offer cash upgrades at check-in, though. But asking directly about a "free" upgrade is unlikely to endear you to anyone working for any airline.

CX has been surprisingly good to me with op-ups as a OW Sapphire/Emerald, so I just do OLCI, get a low BN, and hope for the best. Other than having status and getting a low BN, I doubt there's much anyone can do about getting an op-up.

I am sorry but CX's op-up priority sequence follows Boarding Number - the earlier you check in, the lower your Boarding Number is and the higher your chance to be op-uped.

An FT myth: BN may be one factor, most important is status, and there are other factors too. For example if you have two DMs, travelling alone and DM A has a lower BN than DM B it is not always the case that DM A will get an op-up ahead of DM B.

An FT myth: BN may be one factor, most important is status, and there are other factors too. For example if you have two DMs, travelling alone and DM A has a lower BN than DM B it is not always the case that DM A will get an op-up ahead of DM B.

And you know this is a myth because.... oh, that's right, you guessed. But unlike those who said it's "probably" lower BN (as far as I can tell nobody ever said it's definitively the tie-break between same status), you have no anecdotal evidence to back you up.

For my anecdotal experiences, unless I'm just that darn lucky all the time with a lower BN, I've been hitting the op-up rate at 50% ever since I made it a point to get as low a BN as possible. Before I don't even bother to online check-in and my op-up rate is significantly lower.

But the true misunderstanding is people think BN is an equal factor in op-up priority, not true. It's only use as one of the last resort. Tier Status is the most important factor. If you are a SL you can get BN1 all you want but your chance of op-up is still next to nil.

If you are a SL you can get BN1 all you want but your chance of op-up is still next to nil.This is very route dependant. On HKG-MNL-HKG, for example, even MPC Green gets a Y-J op-up quite frequently.

An FT myth: BN may be one factor, most important is status, and there are other factors too. For example if you have two DMs, travelling alone and DM A has a lower BN than DM B it is not always the case that DM A will get an op-up ahead of DM B.

Agreed. That's been my experience. BN may be one factor, but its not the only factor.

And you know this is a myth because.... oh, that's right, you guessed. But unlike those who said it's "probably" lower BN (as far as I can tell nobody ever said it's definitively the tie-break between same status), you have no anecdotal evidence to back you up.


I've had multiple experiences on flights where DMs with higher BNs than me got an Op UP and I didn't.

An FT myth: BN may be one factor, most important is status, and there are other factors too. For example if you have two DMs, travelling alone and DM A has a lower BN than DM B it is not always the case that DM A will get an op-up ahead of DM B.

Nope, it is not a myth. Those who are reading this forum a lot knows it is not a myth.

It's already a known secret in this forum. It is a factor and can help, but not solely the determining factor.

Perhaps one best evidence I read in this forum is the gate agent slipped by saying to a DM who is asking for an upgrade: "Sorry, but there are DM's who have a lower BN's than you".. then he realized his mistake and immediately clammed up.

This is very route dependant. On HKG-MNL-HKG, for example, even MPC Green gets a Y-J op-up quite frequently.

Not on my experience, I always fly that route as a silver and never got upgraded, even on that day I flew during the Easter holidays where all flights are full..

the weird thing is, the one that got me upgraded was the long haul flight from HK.

Maybe I was just unlucky on the MNL to HKG route and extremely lucky on the long haul route from HK

Agreed. That's been my experience. BN may be one factor, but its not the only factor.

From my one-and-only-one op-up experience with CX last April in NGO, I would say op-up could be just a random play of chance. A CX agent, probably looking like some sort of manager or team leader, was eyeballing the people in the business class line at that time. She just picked up random people (all of which are lone travelers including me) from the line and asked us to follow her to another closed counter. That was where she checked in each of us one by one and gave away the sweet J boarding passes!

The agent definitely had no idea what MPO status or what BN I had when she picked me up from the line.

The days of getting an upgrade by asking are long gone, even on CX. If you have no status...or even IF you had status, asking will not work. What are ya? New??:p

Really?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ptEcRP0bJc

(A quick research on her does not seem to reveal that she is an elite whatsoever...)

This is very route dependant. On HKG-MNL-HKG, for example, even MPC Green gets a Y-J op-up quite frequently.

Even Non-MPC members get upgrades on this route, but it also depends on the flight. I notice the 12 noon flight from Manila to HKG doesn't get a lot of op-ups.

CX904 that leaves at 6am gets you op-uped to the F cabin but normally with J service.

From my one-and-only-one op-up experience with CX last April in NGO, I would say op-up could be just a random play of chance. A CX agent, probably looking like some sort of manager or team leader, was eyeballing the people in the business class line at that time. She just picked up random people (all of which are lone travelers including me) from the line and asked us to follow her to another closed counter. That was where she checked in each of us one by one and gave away the sweet J boarding passes!

The agent definitely had no idea what MPO status or what BN I had when she picked me up from the line.

on a elite light route they may have already exhasted opups to elites.
when i was silver i was once opuped along with my mum (AM only)

Really?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ptEcRP0bJc

(A quick research on her does not seem to reveal that she is an elite whatsoever...)
So you believe every single word that other people say to you?

OP, if you want an upgrade, pay for it.

Mods, can we have this thread closed please?

She posted the following: "No, I am a Cathay Pacific Marco Polo member and they explained it was my anniversary with them that day so I got a free upgrade for being a loyal customer!!!
gourmandchic"

Nope, it is not a myth. Those who are reading this forum a lot knows it is not a myth.

It's already a known secret in this forum. It is a factor and can help, but not solely the determining factor.

Perhaps one best evidence I read in this forum is the gate agent slipped by saying to a DM who is asking for an upgrade: "Sorry, but there are DM's who have a lower BN's than you".. then he realized his mistake and immediately clammed up.

Yeah, it's a truth (although of course status counts more, and probably some other factors are involved). A check-in agent in LAX once told me that it is good for me to secure BN1 as this makes my chanceof getting op-ups higher (although I did not get an op-up on that FLT...and the last 2 years even though I almost always have BN1).

Yes I got bumped up from J to F on a NY-HK flight yesterday afternoon and the reason showing on the check in sheet (reading upside down) was "due to milestone". The only milestone I could think of for me was crossing 200,000 miles this year so there are various reasons it happens. On the other hand we're spending the night in a hotel because the plane's fuel pump broke down and rather than fly the kangaroo route from NY to Vancouver to Tokyo to HK refuelling as we went the captain decided to wait and I guess see if they can fix it...

Actually I found that if I don't do OLCI and I just show up at the airport on an overbooked flight, the chances of being op-up'd are greater - as long as I have some sort of status.

And you know this is a myth because.... oh, that's right, you guessed. But unlike those who said it's "probably" lower BN (as far as I can tell nobody ever said it's definitively the tie-break between same status), you have no anecdotal evidence to back you up.

For my anecdotal experiences, unless I'm just that darn lucky all the time with a lower BN, I've been hitting the op-up rate at 50% ever since I made it a point to get as low a BN as possible. Before I don't even bother to online check-in and my op-up rate is significantly lower.

But the true misunderstanding is people think BN is an equal factor in op-up priority, not true. It's only use as one of the last resort. Tier Status is the most important factor. If you are a SL you can get BN1 all you want but your chance of op-up is still next to nil.

This is very correct 2 weeks ago I was on a party on 4 in biz, I was put in F due to my DM status despite me asking to remain in biz with my family. Then I was told no family can visit me in F and when I went o biz I was told I could not sit on otterman to talk to my wife by the most obnoxious stuck up cabin manager I have ever met.

I was the then told the guy who had my seat cant be upgraded to F so I can sit with my family as he was only silver.

I managed to give the stuck up *** a bit of how I felt when I got of when she told me not not wait at the aircraft door for my family, she obviously regretted upgrading me based on what the paperwork said, the ground staff even commented on her attitude

She posted the following: "No, I am a Cathay Pacific Marco Polo member and they explained it was my anniversary with them that day so I got a free upgrade for being a loyal customer!!!
gourmandchic"

There you go, she is an MPC.. and even MPC GR has priority over asiamiles members and other non ff fliers

My parents got upgraded before and my dad is only a MPC GR.

Me and my sis also got upgraded in the past, both of us with no status and was not even an asiamiles member then.

But I didn't ask for it, it just came...it so happened that we checked in early and we are the first ones to arrive at the boarding gate, and the agent just asked for our boarding passes...

But aside from that extremely lucky incident not so lang ago, I did get upgraded due to status also.. in fact the agent was looking all over for me to ask if I'm willing to get upgraded due to a very full flight

But there are some tricks that will only marginally increase the odds. Not much. It's too late for you as you have already checked in, sorry..but for next time: Be one of the last to check in. If they have overbooked, they may UG you but it's a long shot.

I've actually heard from someone CX staff that at some out stations (eg. TPE) this would usually work, but you have to

1) show up very very late and c/i the second (literally) before cut off, and
2) of course they have to overbook in your original class

But I think this only works for the first leg of your flight (eg TPE-HKG or ex-TPE Japan flights).

I've actually heard from someone CX staff that at some out stations (eg. TPE) this would usually work, but you have to

1) show up very very late and c/i the second (literally) before cut off, and
2) of course they have to overbook in your original class

But I think this only works for the first leg of your flight (eg TPE-HKG or ex-TPE Japan flights).

I did this on Qantas LAX-SYD once, and I got the UG to C for the TPAC. I have no Qantas status. But it's never happend for me on CX

Haven't seen this mentioned on any thread recently. Does a special meal kill chances of an op up?

Haven't seen this mentioned on any thread recently. Does a special meal kill chances of an op up?

Yes

Haven't seen this mentioned on any thread recently. Does a special meal kill chances of an op up?

Yes

No. I've been op up to F from J and J from Y a couple times this year when I ordered a special meal.

When I was upgraded to F earlier this year, I was told I could either choose to eat the J special meal I preordered or the normal F catering.

I therefore don't think special meal kills you the op up chance.

Not doing OLCI on an over booked flight sounds like potential trouble, what if rather than upgrading you they deny you boarding and put you on the next flight or another carrier?

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.6; en-us; GT-I9210 Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

I think they offload non member first before ever touching members. So it should be ok

So if I missed BN 1 and have BN 12 on an over booked flight in J with availability in F, should I cancel check in and show up a little later or just see how it goes with the BN 12?

F upgrade back from London last night. BN85 and apparently was upgraded ahead of lower BN DMs according to the check-in lady "due to my recent travel pattern". Not heard that rationale before, but I'll take it!

F upgrade back from London last night. BN85 and apparently was upgraded ahead of lower BN DMs according to the check-in lady "due to my recent travel pattern". Not heard that rationale before, but I'll take it!

Perhaps you crossed a significant mileage milestone?

Perhaps you crossed a significant mileage milestone?

A fair point, but I just checked and nothing significant at the specific point of this flight (although it is possible I went over some threshold on previous flights where I was F booked, so they carried forward).

Having said that I am not even sure what the increments are? 250, 500, 750, 1000 etc? Or more complicated than that? I couldn't find a thread on this subject.

Apologies, I have taken the thread off topic a little.

A fair point, but I just checked and nothing significant at the specific point of this flight (although it is possible I went over some threshold on previous flights where I was F booked, so they carried forward).

Having said that I am not even sure what the increments are? 250, 500, 750, 1000 etc? Or more complicated than that? I couldn't find a thread on this subject.

Apologies, I have taken the thread off topic a little.

I received a milestone upgrade at 500 and 750k (haven't crossed 1mm yet). None for 250 (despite being a DM then too).

F upgrade back from London last night. BN85 and apparently was upgraded ahead of lower BN DMs according to the check-in lady "due to my recent travel pattern". Not heard that rationale before, but I'll take it!

I wonder if CX is using a "CIP" score similar to BA to rank passengers. I'm pretty sure they have this in some way or another since they are ranking pax for DM+ status.

No. I've been op up to F from J and J from Y a couple times this year when I ordered a special meal.

When I was upgraded to F earlier this year, I was told I could either choose to eat the J special meal I preordered or the normal F catering.

I therefore don't think special meal kills you the op up chance.

My experience was that I was booked into J and upon check in, I was asked if I would downgrade. Since the compensation was pretty good, I said Yes, and then they looked into my record and said that I had a special meal. They said this could be a problem, but put my name on the list anyway. In the end, no one got downgraded anyway.