Originally Posted by
mecabq
I'm not sure why you think of this as a scam. Emirates is offering close-in upgrades for a fee, which you are free to accept or not based on your own preferences. Whether or not any of the people who have booked the flight have the necessary miles in their respective accounts for an award upgrade isn't a factor as they manage the loads and decide whether to offer last-minute cash upgrades.
I don't know about the loads on the KWI flights, but it's always a crapshoot when one waits until check-in to try to get an upgrade. Plus they wouldn't put a 380 on the route if they didn't think that there was generally enough demand for paid premium cabin traffic.
I agree that not granting lounge access with a paid upgrade is unfortunate.
Paying $200 for an upgrade for a 1.5 hours flight excluding lounge access is extremely unacceptable. What is the purpose of flying business class then for a short-haul flight? Have you seen how luxurious their exclusive lounge is at KWI? It's shameful that Emirates lounge is both, more luxurious & exclusive to their airline than Kuwait Airways. Kuwait Airways, the national carrier of Kuwait, does not have an exclusive lounge in its own country neither does it have a lounge as luxurious as Emirates lounge in KWI, hence why I believe paying $200 without lounge access is a scam (literally.)
In response to your flights between KWI and DXB, there are 3 other airlines out there which offer daily flights between these sectors. These airlines include FlyDubai, Jazeera Airways, and Kuwait Airways. Emirates offer I believe 6 or 7 daily flights to Kuwait (this excludes the several daily flights from competitors as well,) hence why I believe that the load in business class should not be full and why I believe I should easily get an upgrade upon check-in.