RBH58

I last got upgraded Bus to F in 2007. In fact between 2004 & 2007 I probably got 10 F Class upgrades. I was QPPS at the time. In 2008 I qualified TPPS and I haven't had an upgrade since. I think SQ have completely stopped the practice since about 2008. Certainly, I haven't heard of anybody getting a Bus to F upgrade in the last 3-4 years.

enelym1978

Well miracles do happen after all...

I flew on SQ346 last Thursday night and got upgraded from Y (M) to C to ZRH.

I'm KF*G since May 2012 and fly at least twice a month regionally. Did my OLCI 48H before departure, picked a seat, checked my bags and was still issued a Y BP.

Until I got to the boarding gate, where it beeped while boarding and I had to wait on a side to be issued a manual BP in C. That was quite enjoyable on the A380, last row.

It is actually my second upgrade to C since I've been KF*G. First time was end of June on a MI flight Phuket. Got bumped to C the same way it happened for SQ.

Fingers crossed for my SQ345 back in September

vinx

Just replying to your comment on OZ program.

Initially I was gonna join SQ Krysflyer, but end up joining OZ and never looked back. IMO, SQ is trying to pull the paxs with their brand reputation, their overall quality has gone down and still heading downwards. Talking about Y here.

iirc, with SQ, you need to achieve and must fly 50k miles in first 12 months and months to keep your status (*g) and 50k miles every 12 months to maintain KF gold, whereas OZ, if you hit 20k you become OZ gold (*s) or 40k for diamond (*g). You can maintain the status for 24 months and need to fly 20k or 40k miles respectively every 24 months to keep the status. Which is far easier to achieve than SQ and have one extra year elite status. Most importantly, you don't have to fly in J or F class all the time to become Diamond (+) or Platinum whereas for SQ, you must fly J or F to become solitaire (PPS) memeber.

When you become OZ gold, increased baggage allowance to 30kg from the usual 20kg and express check in (for OZ flights only) plus get 2 lounge invitation to use plus 5000 miles discount voucher for an award booking. Services & foods wise, very good and consistant whereas SQ is a hit and miss these days.

Lastly, a friend of mine is KF gold and he is always trying hard to keep the status and never got op-up for past so many donkey years.

MKE-MR

Call it random. I had an SQ op-up the other day on LHR-SIN, Y->C on the 380. Flight was hugely oversold in Y and I was on a full Y fare as a *G. I asked for a better seat as they had given me a middle--at the transit desk they weren't able to help, but at the lounge they took my request, and then paged me later to tell me they found me one

I'd have to guess that the full Y fare class might have something to do with it, but who knows really? They're so rare that it seems no science has been reverse-engineered by FT as it has for other airlines (notably CX).

RBH58

I've been PPS since 2004. I qualified TPPS in 2008. I haven't had a single OpUp since I qualified Solitaire. When I was QPPS I probably got about 8 Bus to First upgrades between 2005 and 2008. SQ upgrading these days seems to be a very rare event.

michlflyer

I was upgraded from Y to C on the SQ392 to Istanbul a couple of weeks ago.

Had arrived earlier in the evening from Auckland on a long afternoon flight without any sleep, so it was an extremely pleasant surprise when my BP produced a red light and a beep at the gate on boarding my connecting flight.

Needless to say, it was a very comfortable experience with attentive and friendly cabin service.

I-m the kind of *G who travels mainly in economy, so I don-t usually expect more than the standard benefits of premium check-in, lounge access of some kind and priority boarding.

Wan1dap

Upgraded J to F on SQ285 yesterday. Flight was full of people heading down under for the holidays. Nice Christmas present from SQ!

occasionally flying professor

one thing is for sure with SQ - no upgrades unless they are full behind and empty in front

hence its either you are in a full cabin or suddenly elevated up front to a less full cabin

i may be in a minority here but i am quite happy with sq economy as i find the service predictably good and i find the entertainment adequate and familiar (I am too old to enjoy learning new tricks) but of course am happier in SQ business and beyond

to illustrate the principle, we flew out to NZ in mid december on a completely full plane (econ and business) and on our return were upgraded as econ was overbooked and business empty

lovely way to end the year but it does not raise my expectations for more of the same in 2013

garykung

If you have to jump ship, jump somewhere else.

SQ's program (KF/PPS) can be considered one of the worst in all *A FFPs.

Or I should say to SQ, *G means nothing at all.

(Even PPS has to pay for exit row seating...so you imagine...)

aster

KF isn't that bad, especially if you're burning miles on SQ. As for *G, you get the perks that you deserve and I'm not sure what else there is to ask for. Family membership or companion awards would be nice though.

As for upgrades, forget about KF making it happen. SQ only give upgrades when absolutely necessary (overbooking), and although I've been KF Gold for years I have never had an upgrade...

garykung

It is really that bad. I promise it is the true.

SQ KF *G (not counting any PPS) basically enjoy what other *G enjoy.

The only differences are:

1. KF *G can redeem F Suite.

2. KF *G get to use KF Gold Lounge in SIN when traveling with SQ.

SQ fails to make its program "special". In that case, TK or OZ can easier beat it. At the least, TK or OZ has a low *G requirement.

I am not saying I am a DYKWIA. But I think every FTers would like to feel important at a time by the program you choose, right?

I don't see how SQ can do it (when SQ is kicking their own *G out of SKL).

enelym1978

Another upgrade story but on partner airline MI, not SQ.

Flew from KTM to SIN this Wednesday and got upgraded to Biz class right before boarding the bus to the plane.

Economy was full and when the doors closed, there was one empty seat in C. My neighbor has also been upgraded as a matter of fact. But i did not ask her what status she had. American tourist.

KACommuter

Miracles do happen. My son, an unaccompanied minor who is KF Gold was upgraded from Y to J yesterday afternoon on SQ 305 from LHR to SIN. He was called at the lounge. Apparently there were 3 of them in total.

dannybhoy

I was QPP from 2004 to 2009. Never once scored an Opup. Never once scored an empty seat next to mine when travelling in Y. Never got greeting by name when travelling in Y. So not scoring opups since 2009 as KF Gold doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Too much travel

CX also rarely upgrades unless they are full behind and empty in front (the occasional birthday etc excepted).

However, one material difference in business models seems to be that CX is happy to oversell economy to maximise revenue, and bump top tier flyers up (my guess is that they may miss out on J sales through frequent flyers trying to game the system by booking on flights which are likely to become overbooked). SQ seems to take the approach that premium classes are sacrosanct and should only be available to fare-paying J/F passengers, thus economy shouldn't be oversold.

Not sure which is better for the airline's bottom line, but CX's approach is definitely better from the top tier frequent flyers' point of view!