Originally Posted by
ft101
You should be able to do it on board if there are seats available.
I've done it on the DXB-(BKK)-HKG route mentioned in the post above. You can only do the current sector this way, but as it's your final sector that's not an issue.
It was for me as I wanted to do right through from DXB-HKG but could only do it as far as BKK upon boarding at DXB.
This turns out to be the correct policy.
I was able to get the upgrade on board, however I wasn't assigned a seat until the doors were closed.
Another thing to note - I was also able to get lounge access in MEL. This might have been due to the very light loads in J for MEL-AKL and the almost certainty that there would be spare seats allowing me to upgrade.