Haha, I'd have to totally disagree on that. I would say that more than 80% of the opoups I get are on EK, even though flying EK makes up fewer than 50% of my flying.

The way the opups are usually done depends on where you are. I think it is very "by the book" in DXB and other middle eastern cities but more erratic at other stations.

However, I agree that ex ZRH opups are rare. I have friends who live in Zurich and fly ZRH-DXB almost every week of the year but have only received an opup (J-->F) once or twice as Skywards Gold members.

From other stations, however, (LHR especially in my experience) you can get an upgrade for random reasons with or without status as long as you make a case for yourself. I think upgrading from J to F is the most common as J seems to be the cabin that EK sells best.

Cheers