Originally Posted by
elitefreak
1. Pray that coach is oversold.
2. Be Plat
3. Ask when you check in to confirm that coach is oversold. Ask if they are looking yet for Plat volunteers to be moved up to BF. Note to the agent that it is your birthday (and you do have proof, right?)
4. If (3) doesn't pan out immediately, find the concierge for your flight (not the easiest thing to do - usually at the gate and maybe an hour before departure) and politely let him/her know that you understand the flight is oversold, that you are Plat, THAT YOU WILL BE CELBREATING YOUR BIRTHDAY IN-FLIGHT, and that you would be available to move into BF "to help their oversold situation".
Good luck.
PS - My favorite op-up success story was on a 757 to somewhere in Europe (eew - a 757 in coach to Europe?!). Traveling with my colleague, I let the concierge know that I was available if needed (flight was supposedly oversold) and was traveling with one colleague. My colleage boards early; I wait to see if I will win the lottery. BINGO! Gate agent delivers my two BF boarding passes. I board the plane - my colleague is sitting in the first row of coach with a grimace on her face. I grimace back as if to say "sorry, not this time" . . . and then I wave our new BF boarding passes in her face. We were so happy - BF was never sweeter.
The thought (not even a prayer, nor even the need for steps 3 & 4) worked for me last night EWR-LHR!
I wandered from PC to the gate exactly 60 minutes before scheduled departure, knowing flight was sold out in coach, but with apparently 1 seat left in BF.
I could tell it was an VDB opportunity (which I did not really want, as needed to get home, and had my preferred exit row window seat), as I overheard agent saying "see you same time tomorrow" to pax. I was thinking about either the VDB or steps 3 & 4 above when I caught the eye of the BF concierge, who at that very moment announced my name (weird!), up I went, and she asked for my boarding pass so that she could exchange it for BF seat due to "operational reasons".
Great result - my second ever TATL op-up - and an excuse to re-open one of my favourite CO threads on FT! BTW, it was also a great flight - excellent service throughout.
And this after my first failure in many, many months not to get upgraded on a RSW-EWR flight (and was even as low as #6 on the list!).