No need to argue. It has been reported many times that some Airport Manager jumped on the gun and op-up a person unnecessarily, and then they end up downgrade you back to where you purchased the ticket. I don't know why some poster think just because a mistake is made you are "entitled" to that mistake. Say you go to a restaurant and ordered a hamburger, but the waitress mistakenly bought you a Ribeye steak, but then she realized the mistake and tries to take it away, do you stop her and say since it's been delivered to you then you are entitled to that steak?

No. But you could. Would I? Probably not. But I may - I need to see how I feel at the time. It's very easy to say that you'll play by the rules, but when given the opportunity, temptation overcomes intention.

2 things here. Advice to the OP. Second is the customer service aspect. I think the second I've expressed relatively clearly enough, and others as well.

As to the first, I'm not sure I would do what I presented, but I leave it as a possibility for the OP to decide if they would want to do it. For themselves to decide as a possibility. I think I might try it, but I might chicken out, or think it not worth the effort to argue. But I felt that as a contribution to the OP, regardless of what I feel, that it is something they themselves can consider.

Do I feel it is something I'm not entitled to? Perhaps not. But the other side of me says that it also doesn't feel right to be given a J BP as an Op Up, then have that reverted to a Y. If it was explained to me politely and with sincerity (say I was called at the gate or over the phone), I would likely feel differently.

Anyway hope u get the opup, but if u get bump down Pls don't come back here and complain

Thanks. I'd probably feel embarassed if it did happen.

But if I'm game enough to do it, and it works, I'll also post - in case anyone else wants to try it. I'm usually the "try anything once" type of person, more than the risk adverse type.

Make sure u don't earn itself NsU status

I think we are better back to the topic...
Arguing on a certain PERSONAL opinion is a waste of time. Nothing can be accomplished.

^

What did availability look like before OLCI opened, do you know? I've found that frequently in the day or so before departure, availability on ExpertFlyer etc appears to swing wide open even if the flight is probably overbooked. Would be interested to know why, if anyone knows. My assumption has been either that once a flight opens for check-in some other inventory-management system kicks in that ExpertFlyer doesn't see, or they "open" all fare buckets to facilitate same-day changes for irrops.

Even when Y is overbooked, the premium cabins may not be. CX will release those inventory also to Y close to departure in order to maximise their revenue. Therefore J9...Y0 ... can become J9...Y5 and eventually to J9...Y9... If someone buys a J ticket, CX will be happy to sell it. If the person buys Y, CX will then figure out the lucky person for op-up.

Also, sometimes CX may hold some J and Y seats for GO & DM members, and will release them when fewer than expected take advantage of their seat guarantees.

Yup. The manifest is key. I was on a BA flight a few years back in CW when a lady seated herself in J (flight was pretty empty I recall). She took over that seat with authority, so much so that when she sat down I assumed she was a regular J pax. She was spotted only after we had taken off by the cabin crew, who were taking roll call for meal service wanted to know who she was, since nobody was assigned to that seat. She was told to get back to EY after they sorted it out.

If you are talking about KA488/21DEC, I see the Y fully or over-booked.

Less than 4 hours to your flight OP, please report back!

Seems like this provoked quite a lot of discussion!

In the end I turned up to in-town check in at HK station on the morning of the flight (around T-12) and was issued the J BP. Agent said "because the flight is full, we have upgraded you to Business Class."

No downgrade at the gate, luckily. Didn't walk back to see whether Y was, in fact, full. But I heard the purser saying to the pax behind who had ordered a special meal whether it was ok to serve the economy special meal to her in J ("because you were upgraded from Economy to Business"). So clearly there were other op-ups.

In response to the discussion re. disappointment at having an op-up revoked, I think that although I'd clearly be disappointed (especially if it were a long-haul flight), I certainly wouldn't kick up a fuss. I might think that their op-up system could be better organised (for example, delaying the decision to op-up pax instead of issuing a J BP and revoking it), but that's about it.

So which meal did you receive when you were in J? Given that yours would have been a 'standard' one...

Yes, other that can be a disappointment. While I was never handed a op-upped BP and then revoked, it did happen in my seat assignments after the OLCI.

At least in the past, CX did most op-ups at the gates, even for DM. Lately they seem to do more at the check-in counter. They may already know of the situation through OLCI, and start op-up early to avoid chaos at the gate.

All op-ups for me happened at check-in, except a couple of times. I always wondered if that's because some last minute Y-fare sales that caused the need to op-up in last minute?