There's a lot of people posting about upgrades on EK at present. So I thought I would do a little bit of housekeeping and tidy things up (ie merge, move, tidy, add etc).

As at July 2011, loads across the network are high - so op-ups are somewhat more frequent for those with status (and some lucky ones without).

We have heard that changes are on their way, but until we can confirm and have approval to publish here, anything you might hear is innuendo.

At present, op-ups only happen as a result of "oversales" in the Y or J cabin. EK rarely oversells J and never F.

All flights are handed to the airport at the T-24 mark (meaning the airport staff have control of the flight and load management). The load controller working the flight will look at the overall load and start to "manage" the flight around the 6-hr mark (sometimes earlier, sometimes later) depending on the airport.

Here's a couple of myth-busters as far as I know...

Currently, the fare you paid (ie saver or flex) has nothing to do with your chance of an upgrade. In fact, the load controller doesn't even see your fare basis.

Upgrades are processed via your Skywards status. That's it. That's all the science to it. Not on tier miles year to date, not on date of birth, date of joining the program, not on total Skywards miles in your account. It may just even be decided alphabetically if they have more Golds than seats.

OLCI (online check-in) does not impact your ability to be upgraded from Y to J.

Sometimes, selecting a middle bulkhead seat helps (as one of the first things a load controller will do is see if/how many families are travelling) and if you are taking up a seat they need, voila, they'll move you.

Rarely does "the speech" work in remote stations as EK use a lot of contract staff and they are told to do things by the book. In addition, it is usually only an EK staff member (one in EK uniform) who has the power to upgrade. No point smiling sweetly at the check in agent who's making minimum wage, using the "we're celebrating our 12th honeymoon", or "you wont believe what happened last time we flew with you" or anything else you can think of.

However, if you are in DXB, anything goes as the staff have heard it all before and are used to it. They may put you on the "upgrade" list and if you do have status, you need to check with the agents or the desk staff at 30-40 mins prior to departure. It cant hurt, but dont count on it. And no amount of arm waving will shift them.

The other piece of advice is this. If your schedule is semi-flexible, use a tool like ExpertFlyer to monitor loads and pick the busiest. For example, I know that loads ex SIN are always busiest Fri/Sat/Sun as the flights are typically full of Aussies on their way home from holidays. Also, the most Golds I will see on a flight like that are maybe 6 in total. So chances are high.

However, if I go to DXB from SIN, then this sector is much much harder to score an op-up as the flights are elite heavy (meaning a lot of Golds and Silvers) plus the fact that the J and F cabins are typically full of rich oil guys and bankers...

If you cant get your head around using EF, then call your local EK office if you have one, and politely enquire as to how busy the flight is. Do not ask "oy, how busy is this flight as I'm looking to score a free upgrade?". Better to ask nicely "I'm thinking of upgrading one or more of my flights using miles, could you tell me my chances?". The second way is more likely to get you a co-operative agent. The agent may innocently let you know that Y is very full and using miles to upgrade would be a good idea. If they say this, do nothing, especially if you are Gold, as an op-up is likely.

If they toe the company line and give you nothing, simply hang up and call again. It is the FT mantra.

Remember, upgrades only happen because the airline wants them to happen. Rarely do they "comp" good customers for their loyalty. They op-up because they need the seat. Your seat. Anything can happen on the day though. Boarding late doesnt seem to help. Nor does boarding early.

99% of all the op-ups I have received have been given to me at check-in (not at the gate). Typically, its non status passengers who receive gate upgrades - because the staff are still working the flight and are under the pump to get the flight out on time.

Hope this helps...