Originally Posted by
jsloan
Yes.
Extremely rarely. LH, like most airlines, would give operational upgrades first to members of its own program. To go all the way down to *G means they must have been seriously overbooked in economy/PE.
It actually happens more often that on UA. I've gotten multiple op-ups as a *G, so I would not say that it was 'seriously overbooked". Just got one in June and there were at least 3 of us op-upped. I suspect that there are far less elites on any given LH long-haul flight.
Originally Posted by
mspflyer3
I see - so it's not just that they have space in higher classes, it's also that they are overbooked in the ticketed class?
Nope. LH will only do this if they are overbooked in Y (or PE).