Thanks - very good to know! Maybe I should reconsider flying long-haul on my birthday (I will for sure not be able to convince my wife flying on her's...).

There's no dilemma at all. The only thing to do in that situation is to swap seats with your father. @:-)

Who really wants to fly on his birthday? Not me for sure! Had to do it once on CX/KA, didn't got upgraded, but they handled me a nice bottle of champagne from first on KA.

It may not have been the best champagne, but nevertheless, it was a very nice gesture.

I would love to fly on my birthday OUT of my home for a holiday, second best will be flying home after a holiday, but never business travel!

+1

My wife and I have been flying on our birthdays only for short-haul out of HKG and it's a pleasant surprise to be upgraded for that. I think all such flights were in the morning time, so that we still spend the majority or at least the evening in our holiday destination to celebrate properly. There was only one time I asked my wife to come from HKG to SYD on her birthday due to difficult work scheduling. She has been luckily upgraded as SL that time and we made up by celebrating in a very nice SYD restaurant - ironically named "PIER", similar to the CX lounge...

I never have considered to fly long-haul and spend the entire birthday on a plane before. A potential J-F upgrade would be very pleasant and at least I would not mind to try once. But then again, if you don't get it, then I personally think that the birthday was a bit wasted in comparison to everything else one could do. I can't imagine Long-haul Y on a birthday - even if flying out for holidays, as that could be outright a quite miserable way to spend the birthday (at least in my opinion).

Just in case anyone was wondering - we both got upgraded J-F. That was amidst all the snow related delays/cancellations. Im sure the flight was full and im guessing I was upgraded ahead of some Diamond members that would have inevitably been on that route - so it seems that the birthday upgrade is worth something...

I'll be flying CGK-HKG-YYZ smack dab one week before my birthday. Do you think I should even bother to ask for an upgrade? :D

If I am flying J on a 2 class flight, will they change plane to upgrade me? haha

Both of these routes are great for op-ups anyway even without special occasion.

Does one usually ask (with no special occasion)? Does one usually ask when a birthday is coming up within a week? Or does one just wait and see what card is dealt to me (in both situations)?

Wait and see...

The birthday upgrade is only good for the day of birthday and is subject to availability and not guaranteed. A week before/after doesn't mean anything.

Rule of thumb: Don't Ask !

Mate, I think you have almost no chance, sorry. As a DM I've flown both the day before and the day after my birthday many, many times (and I'm sure I've also flown both the week before and after many, many times)....and did not receive the birthday upgrade. Only by flying on the exact day itself did I receive that (sweet) benefit. I am not even sure they do it for SLs. Sorry.

^^^

Actually since the new 77G was introduced, not the case. J is now often full and sold out. Just look at dates in June and July. They are all full. If you think about it the number of premium seats has been reduced massively.