Operational Upgrades

One of the common questions that appears on this board is "How can I score an operational upgrade on EK?"

An "op-up" is just that. It's made for operational reasons, normally due to overbooking in the cabin of service you are in.

Most op-ups happen when the Y cabin is oversold and EK need to make room down the back. This means that Skywards members who hold status (Gold, Silver and sometimes even Blue), will be provided with an operational upgrade.

My personal experience with EK is that op-ups only occur when the flight is oversold (or very close to it).

And the upgrade is typically processed prior to arrival at the airport. And would you believe, for the most part, the upgrades are processed in alphabetical order.

OCLI (online check-in) doesn't appear to have any impact on your op-up chances.

Obviously, the best way to score an op-up on EK is ensure you fly routes which have heavy loads. There will be some times, such as during the holidays, where most point to point routes on EK will be full.

There are a couple of ways to check.

Obviously - one way is to look at the seat map on the EK booking engine when you've made your booking. If you don't book travel via the EK website, then you can use external websites such as ExpertFlyer.com

The most accurate way is to actually call your local EK sales/ticket office and politely enquire as to the actual load. If the agent on the phone won't tell you or doesn't seem that helpful, hang-up and try again.

I've yet to have it confirmed whether or not there is any further criteria that EK use when processing upgrades apart from raw status (ie fare basis, tier miles YTD, how long a member of Skywards etc).

One of the things we are trying to find out is how EK process op-ups on routes where for example, there are 30+ Gold's (for example SIN-DXB or MEL-DXB are often very elite heavy).

I dont subscribe to the old fashioned mentality that how you dress, using the "upgrade" speech at the counter, pretending you have a leg injury etc etc all can help with an op-up.

In many ports, EK use contract staff. They are told to follow the book. So flittering your eye-lids at someone is unlikely to help

Sometimes, we get questions from people who ask how they can get an op-up and then tell us that they aren't even members of Skywards. Folks, you have to meet us half way here!

There are always exceptions to the above. Many people will have experienced a double op-up (ie moving from Y to F), but they are rare.

You may also hear of people who are Silver members who have been upgraded over Golds (although that should be rare too).