OP-UP Question
 

Hi all,

Many people say, if one asks for an op-up at check-in, his/her upgrade priority will be put at the bottom..!

Then, does it mean that the check-in lady would over ride the system and put a message like "never upgrade this person because he/she asked for one!"??

How does it work? Anyone know?

Note: I had tried to ask for one at the lounge before, I did not get op-up, but the lady seems to be helpful to check wheather I can receive op-up. May be she was just pretending to give good customer service...? I am not sure...

You really need to read the FAQ and sticky

Read the FAQ, but I am suspicious of this myth that check-in agents will bounce you if you dare to ask for one. I have seen people who made a scene at the check-in and the supervisor came over and gave them op-ups!

The best answer is op-up are determined by system pre-set rules, and asking for one will only get you a reply of "no"

Use your points at check in, it's easier

Yes, I did read the sticky post already. Below is the quote of the sticky post. It tells how a person get upgrade and how Cathay determine who gets op-up first, I understand. But my question is: how does check in lady put you the bottom of the list, when you asked for one?

If my question is already answered in another FAQ section etc, please do let me know where I can find...

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1. How do you get upgraded? (credit to Sam7 and kchika for editing)
Ans: You can get upgraded 3 ways.
- Mileage Upgrade
- Cash upgrade
- Operational Upgrade
Operational upgrades (op-ups) do not occur frequently, usually when the cabins in a certain class is oversold. Op ups usually are given to Marco Polo members first, followed by OneWorld Members, and then non-members, either at check in, at the lounge, or at the boarding gate. The order of op-up priority is:
1. CX Diamond Plus
2. CX Diamond, CX Invitation
3. CX Gold
4. CX staff
5. CX staff nominees, Non-CX staff
6. Oneworld Emerald
7. Oneworld Sapphire
8. CX Silver
9. Oneworld Ruby
10. CX Green
11. Asia Miles
12. Non status

Note: Asking for op-ups will put you at the bottom of the list for upgrades. Boarding number (BN) has to do with upgrade priority. When there are more members of the same status than there are seats that are available for upgrade, the person with the lower BN gets upgraded. However, as with any airline, there are certain exceptions, and unique situations.


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there is a possibility that "NSFU" will be placed next to your name... but i think this applies more to attire than for any other reasson

however having said that, I personally dont agree that asking for an upgrade will be detrimental to your chances for an upgrade... if it is the case that they have pre upgraded you, you will find out in check in and when you ask the question they will answer you in the affirmative *but asking or no asking, you will have been upgraded anyway

however, if its the case that its too early to determine... they will simply leave it to passenger control to determine - you asking therefore really does nothing!

but the FAQ does answer your question in the sense that op up is determined by first and foremost the loading, even if you are DM on a not full flight there is no chance... then it comes to MPC priority ... so really asking for an upgrade is a bit pointless IMO... you are better off asking the loadings and whether a) your class is overbooked b) the class above is not to capacity (and indirectly CX staff will know what you are getting for!)

Looking at how people dress in CX J and F class, clothes have no bearing on upgrades.

that is because these people will most likely have paid for their J or F tickets in the first place...

Just wanted to share my experience regarding an op-up then op-down for HKG-FRA last night. I was at the Pier and knew that I was op-uped through expertflyer. I went to the counter then they printed out my new boarding pass 4K. At the gate, the machine gave the red light and there was my 81K. I found out later that because J was not fully booked as they suspected and hence there was no reason for them to give the op-up. anyway, I was happy as I didn't want to leave my parents alone on the upper deck. so, it worked out just fine. Merry Christmas to everyone and a very happy new year! :D

You mean expertflyer.com ?

Never heard or experienced the attire being a factor in op-ups on CX (which I totally agree with).

Using attire to decide is pretty stupid since most rich people dress very casually, and most fakers will dress nice. Many DMs have shared in this forum that they get ask to go to the "economy line" when they dress in jeans and T-shirts. Anyway, my son of a ..... rich friend frequently gets ask to Economy line ex-LAX with paid J, they don't even bother to check his boarding pass, but he is one of those jeans, T-shirt, and looks like a jerk... :)

Anyway, saw a funny Yahoo Question-Answers exchange today:

Q: "How do I get free upgrade with Cathay Airline?"

A1: "Use your miles. They are not likely to upgrade you unless the plane is very full and you have high frequent flier status" (so far so good)

A2: "Just walk up and sit at the empty seat and refuse to move. They will eventually give up on you, but bring your own food and drink as they won't serve you" (LOL, sounds like the answer person did this before, LOL)

Based on experience, on an NRT-HKG leg, i tried to ask for a free upgrade, the check in staff in NRT politely gave me one, saying the flight is full so i will be given one. On an YVR-HKG leg, i requested for one but was declined saying that i can only get upgraded if i use my miles which i dont want to, so i was given a Y boarding pass, but upon boarding, i was surprised to know i was upgraded to J. All these happened within the last 6 months, that as a silver MPC

you also have to bear in mind that thanks to ft the spongers out there have increased ten fold and just how many upgrade seats are there to go around

Yes. I did use the seat alert function to track if I was moved. I know that it could have been for quite a few reasons e.g. aircraft changed etc...

Interesting. Do you "alert" yourself by creating a seat alert of your original seat? :D

Bingo!;)

this is fantastic - wait until this person gets sent off the plane and straight to the police authorities!

Smart!

However, I assume the seat alert function works by checking the availablity of a seat periodically. Therefore if the query is not made in the vacant period between re-seating you and placing another pax in that seat then you won't know for sure.

A more reliable method is to check your e-ticket under MMP whilst you are at the lounge. When a pax is upgraded their ET needs to be updated.

Could you or someone here please elaborate on the bolded very briefly? I clearly do not do this/know about it, but am interested to find out.

The new website functionality allows you to download your E-ticket.
This one is always up to date. Once they process your upgrade they also update the E-ticket on the website of MPC

as in the seat number will be changed on the site?

Seatnumber only seems to change if Op-up is processed at least 1.5hrs before departure. E-ticket is always up-to-date,

I keep refreshing the OLCI page to see if I've been op-upped. Which one is more reliable (or faster)?

You know CX's IT. It does not always work as you think. What you see in your account is for reference only. In the past, when I change my booking, I can see that by refreshing the "Manage My Booking" page. A month or two ago it only worked intermmittently. Sometimes I had to log out and log back on to see the updates. So I am not sure if you can see updates by refreshing the page.

What's the earliest you have seen an op-up online? 24hrs? 48hrs (i.e. op-up as soon as you checked in online?)

I used to see alot of op-ups online the night before the flight (HK time) but these days, more op-ups seem to be processed at the airport.

Please define RICH and FAKERS.

Do you realise what you just said?

Think again.:td:

Is it a sure sign of old or new money if someone is wearing jeans and a casual shirt? ;) Most wealthy people are also regulars at McD and Walmart then?

don't know what's your issue but I'm merely posting based on empirical evidence.

Having work with and knowing a few millionaires I would say you'll be surprise. I have learned one thing from them: you don't become rich by throwing money away.

Theres really no need to get into a debate on the correlation between dress code and wealth.

First, a distinction must be made between paid and op up. Whatever travel class you have paid for you have the right to dress as you wish. Pay for F wear a wifebeater and sandals, or pay for Y and wear a tuxedo. As long as you dont turn up naked (as that would be contrary to s.148 of the Crimes Ordinance for Indecency in Public) Honestly no one cares!

My point about upgrades is that if you are thinking of getting a free upgrade into F/J and wear a wifebeater and sandals, there is a possibility that CX will not upgrade you. This is because as an "upgradee", you must to some extent at least dress business casual.

At the end of the day, the point about upgrades is so that its not "noticeable". How would you like having paid for J only to find out everyone around you is upgraded for free? Agreed, what CX can do is limited. I was on a flight in F once and a passenger (will not disclose nationality as this may offend) who would not stop yabbering on to his partner so that the entire cabin could hear about how lucky he is to have been upgraded. Don't even get me started on the phototaking. Thank god for noise cancelling earphones.

In the end of the day, I really think this is a non issue. The threshold of decent dress code is pretty low. Wearing a t shirt with jeans will usually make the cut.

I wonder what George Clooney would have to say on this!

I see your point, but for the only time I got op-up on a long haul, i was wearing a tshirt and the biggest backpack possible... FWIW

Last summer, my family and I were travelling SFO-HKG-CNS. We had booked J tickets. We were going on vacation and were dressed very casually. I think I had on khakis and a t-shirt. I'm sure my son was wearing shorts. We arrived at SFO and were handed F boarding passes. I think the op-ups had been determined before we even arrived based on OneWorld status (that's the only status I have) so our clothes never came into it.

On board, we learned that the entire F cabin, except one, was filled by op-ups. The flight attendants and purser seemed particularly bothered by this. I would think the paid F passenger was also, but I don't know. All op-ups were given J rather than F service--meals, etc. Incidentally, that flight is the only time I've been disappointed with CX service. The crew seemed lackadaisical and the plane was not as clean as it should have been. My wife's seat was broken, and wouldn't recline properly and the crew did not seem to want to help. She fixed it herself. There was really a sharp contrast between this flight and our onward flight in J to CNS where the crew were wonderful--typical of CX. But, no complaints. I felt lucky to have the F seat transpac. I'm flying CX again this summer on my birthday and hoping against hope for another op-up.

Good points here in your whole post, but my experience with probably 15-20 op-ups this year both Y-J and J-F op-ups is that this isn't the case at all. I make a point of dressing as comfortably as possible, which means T-shirt and jeans and T-shirt or sweat pants if I can get away with it and can change after my meetings. Frequently wearing flip flops. Sometimes a baseball hat. And almost never looking like I "belong" there.

I actually had a strange situation with some guy in the F lounge last year, I was in paid F to LHR, and wearing a plain tee shirt, sweat pants, and sandals. I also lug a full-size pillow around with me on long hauls so I really look like a clown, and I had that with me then. Minding my own business. I had made eye contact with a middle aged male pax - dressed quite well - a few times, he stared at me a bit and I felt a little uncomfortable but didn't think anything. I moved to sit by one of the computers in the lounge above gate 2, whichever one that is. I noticed the guy get up and talk to the CX attendant who sits at the post near The Haven (where people from the J lounge could potentially enter the F lounge as well). Immediately after that conversation, the lounge attendant came over to me and checked my BP. I asked her why, she muttered something about just making sure. I guess the pax figured I was crashing the party or something, still surprised I was asked by the attendant. We ended up both being on the same flight - him in J, me in F.

Classic! :D

Cheers,
Joe

[QUOTE=baclubflyer;12986975]Theres really no need to get into a debate on the correlation between dress code and wealth.


At the end of the day, the point about upgrades is so that its not "noticeable". How would you like having paid for J only to find out everyone around you is upgraded for free? Agreed, what CX can do is limited. I was on a flight in F once and a passenger (will not disclose nationality as this may offend) who would not stop yabbering on to his partner so that the entire cabin could hear about how lucky he is to have been upgraded. Don't even get me started on the phototaking. Thank god for noise cancelling earphones.

I pay and fly F on almost all my flights and quite honestly I don't really care if everybody else in the cabin is upgraded. Ok I paid more than they did but I was sure to fly F and was able to pick up my seat rather than hope for an Opup. Also if somebody is upgraded he/she probably deserves it for being very loyal to CX.

How did he end up in the F lounge?

Maybe he is a DM, DM+ or AA EXE Plat.

The Wing F attendants have always been busy "directing" people back to the J side. The main entrance is so convenient located that many people going to the J lounge just come by. The rear entrance is even worse. There are people from the J side dropping by once every 5 minutes or less. I do not know why they do not put a door there.

FWIW, FAs have been adding distinction to pax who have been op-upped. I have noticed that from the seating chart that they have been adding an "up" arrow next to the names of op-upped pax.