Xandrios

Thats odd. Every single upgrade that I have done has resulted in a new e-ticket number. Usually within minutes of the call, but recently sometimes week(s) later. Last datapoint from me was end of May (and the ticket number changed). I would recommend double-checking the ticket numbers and possibly giving them a call to verify..

byrnesyliam

Couldn't easily find an answer to this question although may be buried in the history of this thread. I am doing a MR to get the 4 A3 legs required for the lower mileage requirement to reach gold.

I'm wondering if attempting to use the upgrade certificates would somehow invalidate the legs as counting to that "4 flights with A3" requirement. Anyone with experience of this who could comment would be gratefully received.

irishguy28

Mine dates from the (very) end of May, and I've (double and triple) checked and the e-ticket number remained identical. The original economy ticket arrived by email at 12:28, and the upgraded business ticket arrived (in duplicate; i.e. two identical copies were sent) at 12:45 and 12:46 respectively; the same e-ticket number appears in all 3 emails (and in all 3 attached PDFs).

When I plug the eticket number into the Saudia website, it shows the old Economy Flex P booking (but this is of itself not unusual, and not something I am worried about. I have seen, for other different tickets that have gone through other kinds of changes, that the "original" version appears to live on when viewed via external/third party tools).

Having logged in on the A3 website to view/manage the booking, I've again verified that the e-ticket number is unchanged.

I, too, was surprised that there wasn't a new e-ticket number, but I am 99.99% sure that the ticket has been correctly upgraded to business class (not least because that's what the A3 website indicates, and I have been able to select seats in front of the curtain on both sectors) and I'm not going to waste some poor stressed agent's time to reassure me.

It's not for a few months yet, but I will report back if there are any difficulties with the ticket (such as finding myself travelling behind the curtain!)



(perhaps because I upgraded so soon after purchase - I mean, it was literally only minutes after completing the purchase - that the re-issue to a new ticket number was not necessary. I received an email with an invoice 2 days later (which I don't recall specifically requesting) - perhaps because some (background/back-office) aspect of the ticket hadn't been "finalised" yet at the time of my request, the upgrade was able to be done without the need to copy everything over to a "new" ticket number. I don't know much about the exact workings of ticket issuance, so this is all just speculation, that somehow an immediate upgrade can be processed somewhat more simply/speedily than on an "old" ticket)

irishguy28

No, it won't invalidate those legs. However, they may post incorrectly as non-earning sectors, so you may have to contact Miles+Bonus to have the flights post correctly under the originally-booked Economy class.

Xandrios

That should work. I'd just suggest to keep an eye on it because it is unusual

As long as you are booking the flights via Aegean, and crediting the miles to Aegean, this should be no issue whatsoever. Go ahead and make use of those coupons on the qualifying flights! They will count as qualifying sectors.

byrnesyliam

thanks for this. I actually re-read the wiki here and found it there. Apologies for reposting the Q.

giorginho

​​​​​​I wouldn't guess this to be the explanation. Last year I did the same, booked and immediately called (as there was I availability) to upgrade. It was in the afternoon and the confirmation e-mail came before sunrise on the next day (less than 15 hours later), but there was a different ticket number (just the last 3-4 digits, but different nonetheless).

headingwest

I find this rather odd. Did you by any chance select seats in Business Class online after the call with the agent? That would automatically prompt a new confirmation e-mail showing the original e-ticket number. Has an upgrade coupon disappeared from your 'My Coupons' tab?

The reason I ask, is that I have never had the same e-ticket number after upgrading using an upgrade coupon. I would say that 40% of the time the call agent redeems the upgrade coupon and immediately sends (within 15 minutes) a new e-ticket. The other 60% of the time the booking shows as upgraded in the 'Manage Booking', therefore I am able to select seats, but the actual e-ticket remains the same until someone, presumably in a back office, redeems the coupon and issues a new e-ticket. That sometimes takes several days. I don't really understand why some agents can do this in minutes, while others seem to pass it on to another department.

Knobbgb

I too just did an upgrade. (Thanks to this thread for reminding me - the flight isn't until October but I've been meaning to do it for a while - I HATE using the phone and actually talking to real people!). I was informed the upgrade had gone through but I won't receive the email for "7 to 10 days". It used to be instant, unless you were on the waiting list. This does indeed seem to imply there's some sort of manual intervention required now - the procedure seems to change all the time. I checked my account and the upgrade has "gone through" in the sense that I can select a C class seat right away (2 minutes after the call) - none of this 'double-booking' nonsense of the past. The upgrade coupon has NOT been taken yet and my ticket number has not changed. Interestingly, I can actually choose a specific meal. This is the FIRST time I've been able to do this in around 20 upgrades and two or three paid C class flights. The only oddity I can see is that I am still only allowed ONE checked bag (it says it's the free Gold one) although it is showing the C class allowance of 32kg. I guess the other two will appear later...

romans

requested upgrade today afternoon (MXP-ATH availability YES), now see "'double-booking' nonsense" so hopefully will be sorted tomorrow as usually

giorginho

I can't remember right now at what page exactly this was first reported, but I remember reading here a couple of months ago when this phenomenon first started, that the reason why the upgrades now take several days to finally process (though the seat is reserved immediately, with given I availability) is that the call center agents forward the re-issuing if the ticket to someone else in order to save time and assist more callers. It was also reported here that this only happens if the flight isn't due for at least a couple of weeks time, in order to assure it will get processed in time. If the flight is, say, within 5 days of the upgrade request, then the phone agent will still complete everything in real time.
Or did I read this elsewhere?

Xandrios

Not sure where that was posted but it makes a lot of sense. That's probably the reason.

Knobbgb

That kind of fits what happened in my situation I guess, although the agent still went 'on hold' for about two minutes while she performed the upgrade, even having already confirmed to me that it was available. It's usually in that time on hold that I get the 'bing' of the confirmation email. So, I'm not sure exactly how much time is being saved really - it still take just as long as previously.

djjaguar64

I know I should know this but just got confused. I am booking an L fare in Light, can I use the UG coupon, I know UPT is not valid for UG coupons. Can someone please clarify my brain fog.

NextWhiteDeath

Any ticket can be upgraded with a voucher except UPT light fares.