Best chance of free upgrade?
 

Hi, new to FlyerTalk, and new to flying regularly for work following a change of job. Went from Blue to Gold in 4 months.

I’m booked on a flight from Gatwick to Mauritius with my wife for our honeymoon leaving tomorrow evening, booked over a year ago and in economy.

Now, I don’t mind admitting, I’ve got more than a little used to travelling in business and I’m not overly looking forward to 12 hours in economy. So here’s the question:

Do I stand any chance, as a BA Gold member, on my honeymoon, of asking for and getting a free upgrade for us both? How do I best to do it?

Extremely unlikely. You are BA Gold, but not GGL. There are people ahead of you.

Also - 1 op-up is difficult per se. 2? I don't see that happening.

It is more practically if you use avios to upgrade to WTP instead.

Whilst welcoming you to flyer talk you need to be realistic and the chance of an upgrade is virtually zero.

If it happens it happens (and BA will only upgrade because it has over booked the cabin) and asking won't help because BA has an automated process for deciding who it upgrades and it includes factors such as status, previous flights and class of travel, and fare bucket of your ticket play more a part and being on honeymoon will have no bearing on it (I imagine several other couples will also be on honeymoon flights)

Paul Cuckoo Welcome to FT and congratulations on the wedding
I would say the chances of a free upgrade for 2 people on a long haul flight is zero.
Other will be trying for upgrades.
Have you tried to upgrade with avios/cash?

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...19-thread.html

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...ki-thread.html

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...-bookings.html

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...os-com-ba.html

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...ght-loads.html

Welcome to Flyertalk and welcome to the BA forum Paul Cuckoo. I'm probably not supposed to say this, but if you got married today and are going on a honeymoon tomorrow, what on earth are you doing here?! But congrats anyway, and I hope you will continue to participate here.

I'm afraid that is one of the most sought after Club cabins in BA's world. And tomorrow's flight is no exception:
J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W3 E3 T1 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O9 G9
which says "packed in CW, full in WTP, empty in WT!". Moreover it may actually be best to say to the check-in agent "Actually I'm not on my honeymoon, any chance of a upgrade?" since half the rest of the aircraft will probably have tried it on already. So I'm afraid this is a case for enjoying the lounge, dozing off ASAP, and looking forward to the warm seas of the Indian Ocean. Have a great flight anyway.

Just a typical dedicated flyertalker :cool: @:-) ^

With very low loads down the back, a spare seat next to you may the best you can hope for

Thanks for this and the other realistic advice - I expected as much but thought I’d check.

We actually got married a couple of years ago but were too poor for a proper honeymoon.

One other quick thing (will start a new thread if double posting like this is against the rules) - can we both use the first class check in at Gatwick? Even though my wife has no Exec Club status at all.

Yes you both can and use the priority security ane you can take her to the F lounge as well!

Absolutely yes, it's on the left side, you can't miss it. And you can both use Premium Gatwick security and the First lounge together too.

assuming you are checking in together then yes,

if for some reason you check in separately then no

I imagine that's quite a popular route for 'honeymooners' hoping for an upgrade.
12 hours in economy with the one you love isn't exactly the end of the world. Enjoy your holiday. ^

No such thing as a ‘free’ upgrade anymore unless your flight is oversold, in which case pax are upgraded by frequent flyer status.

Not on BA. Far more to it than FF status. :)

At Gatwick, make sure you follow the signposted route to the lounge straight after security. It doesn't actually get you any closer to the lounge but it does allow you to bypass the duty free shop, something that is increasingly rare in today's airports.
Unless of course you actually want to buy something...

If the Y cabin is empty then it's definitely worth asking for a row of three.

Enjoy your honeymoon.

Maybe wear a blazer and cravat, and come up with a dad-joke for the check in agent? That works fairly reliably in my experience;).