Having flown exclusively in F and J, I decided to try Y, since Emirates has what posters here termed before the "great J giveaway" for Gold passengers booked in Y, and others have posted about a very high percentage of being upgraded on fuller flights.

I am also flying with wife and two young kids, so Y was an obvious choice from my origin unless I wanted the flights alone to cost over $40k.

So, how have I fared? SFO -> DXB, Y is full and no upgrade. 15 hours contorted in a seat. I actually survived it much better than I had imagined possible, but still sucked. Next leg is DXB -> ICN, Y full and no upgrade!!

So, 0 for 2 so far on full long haul flights. Argh....

I did make sure my ticket was on a separate PNR to maximize chances of the upgrade.

I will report back on how the ICN -> DXB and DXB -> SFO goes next week.

If I am 0 for 4 I will likely need to be wheeled off the plane.