Originally Posted by eternaltransit

I had the gate upgrade once at DXB in the F lounge - request made at reception, phone call made then "boarding pass will be issued at the gate sir if there is space".

But recently it's been done straight away at reception, so I guess it must be up to the controller at the time.

Given the amount of emails going around about cutting costs and maximising revenue in each little EK fiefdom, the latest reports do not sound too unsurprising.