I wouldn't consider myself a frequent flyer, but mostly thanks to a couple of overseas trips and Aeroplan's lower qualifying levels, I have qualified for Elite in 2004. I will probably never qualify for Elite again, so I'd like to make use of my S/SWUs to fly international business class, which I've never done.

My question is, can anyone give me some advice on a strategy to improve my chances of actually getting an upgrade? I'll probably only have one opportunity to travel overseas on a paid ticket this year and I want to make the best of it! I was thinking of flying YVR-LHR in April or May. Are there particular days of the week or periods during that time that I should avoid? I'm not totally set on LHR, so is there another route that might have a greater chance of getting an upgrade?

Thanks very much for the help.

generally this a fairly good route to be able to upgrade on, however as of right now there is only one flight operating that route, but it does have 42J on it, so i'd say pretty good, probably better chance the earlier you go is my guess

As an Elite, it all depends on the fare basis you chose to LHR or wherever. Since there is only one flight to London from YVR, you might be best to book via YYZ or another gateway such as Calgary so you could always fall back to the direct flight if space comes available. I often use this strategy but as I am a SE usually never have to. On the otherhand, you could book with UAL and try your luck getting their SWU certs.

It will be harder than previous years to upgrade on any route because this is the first time that both Elites and Prestiges can upgrade from the low fares to Europe.

Flights to/from LHR are usually emptier during the middle of the week. You could also consider the option of going via YYZ as there are 4-5 flights per day from YYZ to LHR so more J seats available. It's usually best to book closer to departure date so you can get a better idea on your chances.

shore9 - it's not 42J; it's 40J on this route.

it is?? i thought that it was 30 in the front part and 12 in the other mini part behind?

5HK used for the relief pilot on long flights like YVR/LHR and YYC/LHR. So only 40 J seats can be sold.

o ok, i thought that they only had one relief pilot on this route though, or do they just use both seats for one pilot?

Thanks for the replies. One question about flying through YYZ since there are more flights to LHR. Are you saying that you could book on one flight, monitor C class availability, then close to your departure date, switch flights to one that has availability? Would you have to pay a change fee to do that?

Thanks.

No fee change needed. You just need to ask at the airport to be put on the direct. I have changed my itins at the airport before (at LHR especially and have been offered several times in YOW) and had no problems.

They use both seats for one pilot. 5HK reclines almost to 180 degrees on the A330.

On a discounted ticket, you can't change the outbound segment just by paying a change fee. The whole ticket has to be repriced. That's why it's better to hold off booking until closer to departure time when you can get a better idea of the availability of C class.

He will be last on the list to be considered for an upgrade as he was not originally confirmed on the flight. Not a wise idea if one is looking for an upgrade.

one other thought is that because the SSWU's appear to be a much more limited commodity this year, your probability of using it without competing with other users increases as they use them off in the first part of the year. So, in theory, as supply dries up as the year goes on, your SSWU's become more "valuable" and "easier" to use.