Onboard Upgrades

Onboard Upgrades are only available to Silver or Gold Skywards Members.

As a Skywards Gold and Silver member you have the added flexibility of using your Miles to instantly upgrade to the next cabin at the airport or on board an Emirates flight, when a seat is available. All you have to do is present your membership card and enquire with check-in staff or with the flight crew once you are on board. If you have enough Miles in your account the EK staff will be happy to process your request.

Instant Upgrades are subject to seat and catering availability and staff will inform you of your options at the time of your request. It is recommend that you pre-book your upgrade by booking in advance through EK service centres, especially since minimum time is now reduced to just 6 hours before flight departure.

Instant Upgrades at the airport and on board are available for yourself or a family member traveling with you on the same flight. Please visit the Mileage Calculator at ek.com to check how many Miles are required for an upgrade.

Instant Upgrades are only available for the immediate journey you are undertaking. If your travel involves transiting through a destination, you will be required to request upgrades at the start of each journey.

However, booking your upgrade in advance through an EK service centres will ensure an upgrade for the entire routing.

The chart below illustrates the total Miles you will need to redeem for an upgrade if you are travelling from London to Singapore via Dubai...

One way Upgrade
Request through Service Centre - 52,000
Request at airport - 57,500
Request on board - 57,500

Many people use the instant upgrade feature as a last resort. ie if you were anticipating an op-up or find yourself in a poor seat and can't move, this is a handy feature and in the overall scheme of things, the additional mileage expense is not that bad (ie in this example above, only 5000 more miles)

The EK purser has an onboard laptop with mileage balances and can process the upgrade request immediately.