Originally Posted by
em123
Thanks for everyone's help. I did ask the agent about buying an economy return and upgrading but he said he couldn't tell me how much the upgrade would cost. It looks like I'll have to get the business return or use another airline.
It's a bit of a gamble. They can't quote you the cost without seeing your current fare and the exact fare you upgrade to, but if you're willing to read the fare conditions properly and take a bit of risk you should be able to predict it.
Though I'm not sure if EK takes the J fare as if it were a one-way on that sector or the component fare of a full J return. I think the latter based on upgrade costs I've seen quoted to me before. so 3600 whatever proportion of that is for AKL-DXB return, minus the proportion of your economy ticket for that part of the ticket, plus any change fees, is your upgrade cost.