Originally Posted by
StuckinITH
My experience is totally different. BA does give upgrades to World Traveller + under certain conditions. 3 years in a row my wife and I got upgraded in one direction on Transatlantic flights ( sometimes it was JFK to LHR, sometimes LHR to JFK; it always happened at the gate just before boarding). So, my wife wondered what would happen if we booked directly the World Traveller + class: happy result, in one direction we got upgraded to Business Class. And again it happened at boarding. We are still wondering why we were selected for these upgrades but feel very special.
As a percentage of total seats, BA's economy/main cabins are substantially smaller than most US-based airlines. As a result, it's more common for BA to oversell economy and "cabin roll" to accommodate the extra coach seats they've sold. As a result, they'll roll some people from Club World (business) into First, some people from World Traveller Plus (premium economy) into Club World, and some people from World Traveller (economy/main cabin) into World Traveller Plus. That said, as you say these happen on the day and not in advance, whereas Main Cabin Extra/Economy Plus type seats can be booked in advance by elites, and don't offer a materially different experience than other economy/main cabin seats. World Traveller Plus has upgraded seats (not just a bit more legroom), upgraded catering, and FAs assigned to work just WT+.