Originally Posted by
rr900134567
A few weeks ago I was flying alone on the inbound leg of a round trip from New York to Europe on Swiss in economy class (W fare class). When I was boarding, the gate agent said, "congratulations! you have a new seat!" and handed me a paper slip indicating a business class seat for me. Of course I happily took the opportunity and had a great flight.
But I'm left wondering - why me? I don't currently have elite status on any airline, and in the past never had it on Swiss or another LH-group carrier. Was it totally random? Was it because I was among the last passengers to board? Or perhaps because I had selected one of the best economy seats to begin with? Maybe because I had travelled in Swiss business once before (on a United mileage ticket)? Because I complained to the check in agent on the outbound flight that I had gotten stuck with a bad seat? Or because I was travelling alone and fit some demographic they have in mind as someone appropriate to sit in business class?
If after asking all these questions, and you still don't know the answer, then it is obvious that in your perspective, the op-up is totally random. However - Op-up, in the perspective of the airlines, does not usually mixed with randomness. It can as simple as your assigned seat was overbooked and there was no other empty seat left.
Always remember - it costs airline money (in their perspective) to op-up. So this is not a random event for sure. Contrary to urban legend, each airline does have mechanism to determine op-up priority. It sounds like that in this case, someone paid no attention to the rule.
Originally Posted by
rr900134567
In short, is there anything I can do to maximize my chances of this happening again?
Sure. Let's talk more once you become a HON Circle.