Can I upgrade my seat on a flight operated by a partner?
The short answer is that it depends. Currently only one partner officially offers upgrades on all fares for OnePass members, Copa (CM).
Copa
For Copa, upgrades are handled exactly the same as a regular Continental flight, as they share the same program. This means that all mileage upgrades are handled through Continental's reservations desk and the upgrade costs are based on the appropriate charts, including
Series 5,
Series 5a,
Series 7,
Series 7c and
Series 7D. It should be noted that the Series 7* awards, which cover upgrades wholly south of the United States are limited to certain fare classes for non-Elite passengers,
similar to the Series 0 reward:
Originally Posted by T&C
Select Economy Fares not available on Copa Airlines. No connections allowed in the U.S. Non-elite OnePass members can only upgrade from H, K, N, B. Waitlisting is not permitted.
In addition to mileage upgrades, CO elite passengers on Copa flights will be
upgraded automatically based on the EUA process and companions can be upgraded at the airport
following the appropriate rules.
Star Alliance Upgrades
As part of the Star Alliance Upgrade program OnePass members can redeem miles for a single cabin upgrade on select *A partners. Such upgrades can only be redeemed from C, D, Y or B fares.
- Upgrades are valid only on participating Star Alliance carriers.
- Upgrades are valid for the next higher class of service; double upgrades are not permitted.
- On three cabin aircraft, you may upgrade from paid Economy to Business or from paid Business to First.
- On two cabin aircraft, you may upgrade from paid Economy to Business or First, depending on the service offered by the operating carrier.
- Star Alliance Upgrade Awards are available on all participating Star Alliance carriers.
- These upgrades are charged per segment, not per direction
- Upgrades are only available on tickets booked in C, D, Y, and B fare buckets.
- You must be booked on the code of the carrier operating the flight. Codeshare flights cannot be upgraded under the *A program.
- Waitlisting and airport standby for awards is not permitted.
- Cancellation of an upgrade will cancel the entire flight segment.
- The maximum number of customers who can be upgraded on a single itinerary for a Star Alliance Upgrade Award is four.
Currently the *A partners participating in the Upgrade program are:
- Air China
- Air New Zealand
- ANA
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian
- Continental Airlines
- LOT
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airlines
- Shanghai Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- SWISS
- TAP Portugal
- THAI
- Turkish Airlines
- United