Upgrade question
 

I realize that all airlines have been very stingy with upgrades--
We flew back LHR-ORD on 4/26 on the 747. I had confirmed business upgrades
from PE on the outbound but could not clear the return. I called until the last day but no Avios upgrades. The business class section of the flight [at least the bottom level] was almost empty. Is there a special phone number, handshake, to get them to clear an almost empty flight which they know will not sell out?
Thanks for the help.

No there is not, and there is no reason to expect BA to open award seats on empty flights.

If there was certainty that BA would open aware space close to departure on empty flights, then passengers who would buy business class fares may instead buy WT+ in the knowledge they could usually upgrade.

If you want to travel in J, then the best way is to pay for it upfront.

When you saw the bottom section was empty was this when you flew or by looking at the seat map?

See also these threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ard-space.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ing-avios.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-same-day.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...available.html

Yup, if you know you want business class, book business class.

Ah, the perennial US v Europe upgrade policy difference. I'm tempted to wade in but will resist :)

Nope. BA would rather protect the product (and the sanctity of actual J tickets) rather than open up endless award space. :)

I'm surprised that BA don't want to make more money and offer bidding upgrades to sell out the cabin and empty seats.

After all we keep saying they are penny pinching, so filling up the J cabin with people who bid on an upgrade is almost something I thought they would do.

See nux's post above. If you knew UuAs were pretty much always available then you would book WTP and it isn't clear BA would actually make more.

It's about protecting future revenue.

If they went to the US model of upgrades, it would create a strong incentive for people like me (20+ paid CW sectors a year) to play the odds on getting a bump and book PE instead...

The Net Present Value of the few pounds they receive today from an upgrader is less than the several hundred pounds I will spend in 3 months time.

Business case doesn't stack up hence no dice...

Indeed, during a rare CSM greeting yesterday (and the very welcome gift of a CW size water), he apologized for not being able to improve my seating situation. I had paid for WTP and was in WTP, so no apology necessary.

Why did he apologies, I would never do that as it makes it seem that if we had a choice we would upgrade?

Nothing special about the phone number: it's 1-800-AIRWAYS. You simply phone up, tell them which flight you're on, and pay the change fee and fare difference to get one of the many business class seats still available.

There was a similar thread on the DL board not that long ago asking why there were empty seats in D1 on a TATL flight when there were mega diamonds and plutonium elites 'suffering' in economy.

Same answers as here given so it's not just BA not giving freebies.

I agree. But I took it as a rhetorical pleasantry. Anyway, I was glad of the water, something I had not received in this manner before.