in June i flew YVR-HKG on CX829.
the flights back to HKG were quite packed before they added flights back on.
I had a M-class ticket and they surprisingly at the gate to J.
at the time i was just a basic AAdvantage member and Asia Miles (no MPC Green).

A lot of people were apparently upgraded today on CX508 HKG-NRT. Sunday, Aug. 10, is the last day of a mid-summer holiday season for many Japanese workers.

If you are a MPC member and have your AsiaMiles number in the record, you can check if you are upgraded on the web at the Wing or the Pier, just before borading.

You mentioned this in the past, but I was never able to do so. When I try to log-back onto the check-in page, the page does not load saying there are no flights available for check-in. Or am I supposed to look at the personal itinery?

I usually go to the online check-in section. Then I get a list of the flights I have checked in online, saying 'already checked-in.' The list shows the class I will be flying.

When I have another flight to check in, I go to personal itineraries.

I had NRT-TPE last week. It was upgraded at least five hours before the scheduled departure. Also HKG-NRT a few days ago was upgraded at least seven hours earlier.

I am Oneworld Emerald (AA EXP) travelling on a J award ticket SFO-HKG-DEL and back in December and January. There are 2 of us, travelling on our honeymoon.

Anybody care to hazard a guess on what our upgrade chances are to F if I mention that I'm on my honeymoon?

Also, any tips on who to ask - in the lounge, at check-in, at the gate?

[This message has been edited by rgoel (edited 08-11-2003).]

If you want to go first class, book first class and pay for it with either points or money. [20K difference each ticket isn't very much for the difference in seating and other amenities that go with First.] But don't count on an op upgrade. As well, unless you both have status, it is even more unlikely. If you beg and grovel, honeymoon or not, you'll probably only look foolish and demeaning in the eyes of your new spouse. Don't embarrass yourself. If the fates want you to be upgraded it will happen. Your begging will not make it happen.

Er, AA EXP is OneWorld Emerald.

AA Plat is OneWorld Sapphire.

christep - you're right. emerald and not sapphire. i even looked at my card before posting but my mind must have been elsewhere. previous posted has been edited.

shareholder - thanks for the advice, or should i say nothing? i called exactly 330 days out and tried to book F, but they had no availability. so my only option, after being advertised to by AA for redeeming awards on CX, is to pay for F and not redeem an award. unfortunately, don't have the funds for that.

in any case, i don't think i mentioned grovelling anywhere in my post. and since you don't know my spouse, you probably aren't in a good position to judge about being foolish, demeaning, or embarrassed.

i have read numerous posts in the CX forum recently about op ugrades based on Marco Polo or Oneworld status. thus my question - what are the chances? if you think they are low, then a simple low or 5% will suffice. no need to cop an attitude and become hostile.

if anybody has a more helpful perspective, i would very much appreciate hearing it.

I think chance of upgrade if you don't ask for it to start with, is pretty nil. Having considered it's an award ticket, I don't see any reason why CX would put you in higher class cabin.

Having said that, there are maybe good ways to ask for upgrade. For example, pretend to be ignorant, and ask if the rules allow use of additional points to upgrade your ticket to First class if spaces are available, explaining that it's your honeymoon. This way, you won't look like a greedy fool even if they refuse. In fact, you "might" be able to get those F seats, whether for additional points, or for courtesy of check-in agent!

But I wouldn't count on it...


[This message has been edited by fakecd (edited 08-11-2003).]

I have been upgraded from coach to business on 3 of my 8 (paid) CX flights this year so far. I am oneworld emerald (AA) and did not ask for anything - I discovered the upgrades either when checking in or upon boarding.

You meant 50K each ticket? Business class award on Asiamiles is 90K and First Class is 140K. If the distance is over 100,000 miles, the requirements are even higher.

He said he was AA EXP, so assumed use was made of old AA chart, where I believe J/C to Asia was 120K and First was 140K. At this high level with AA, he'd surely have had more than enough miles to book the whole trip in First : 280K in this program as a Plat or ExecPlat can be earned flying just 140K, or less with class of service bonuses. Since ExecPlat requires 100K to qualify, the miles would certainly be in the account.

As for the "can I upgrade with more miles" ploy, it only sounds foolish coming from a oneworld Emerald. How does anyone reach this status without having a clue that award tickets cannot be upgraded with either miles or by payment?

If the flight is overbooked, as an Emerald -- a fact not revealed in the question's preface either -- he could likely be moved up, but as a party of two, the other person having no status, this is less likley to happen if there are other top tier elites on the plane. Also, these are award tickets, not revenue so CX would also look for rev elites as singles. [A couple would also pose problems for the agent in case of a move, since most other F seats would have been prebooked. Finding the two centre pairs vacant might not be possible, and asking F passengers who had selected those seats might not be a welcome practice.]

My point is that the odds are significantly compounded by travelling as a couple, and one of those has not elite status. Honeymoon or no, the chances are very, very slim.

I am AA/Emerald. Since March 2003 I have been upgraded from J to F 5 times. HKG-LHR, LHR-HKG, HKG-JNB and JNB-HKG ( two times).

I never ask for it. I don't think it would help to ask. The upgrade normally happens when I get to the wing, not at the gate. A very good reason to keep my AA/Emerald status.

However, CX do not upgrade unless J class is completely full. ( or Y class if you are in Y class).

I can relate one upgrade experience on an award. My wife (who has no status) and I were op-upped from J to F HKG-LAX. We were on an AA J award, and I was very surprised with the upgrade. We did get the upgrade at the gate - it was not asked for, but very much appreciated. I had been op-upped previously on a paid J ticket. The downside was that my wife's first taste of transpacific F was on CX

[This message has been edited by ak333 (edited 08-11-2003).]

that is the problem. they dont release award seats in tourist peak seasons (summer and christmas). so it is very difficult to plan, unless you are booking 2 weeks prior to departure, when cx is releasing seats.
otherwise you risk redeeming a Z class ticket and sitting in J.

imho, it doesnt make sense for cx. they should block F/J seats in solder season (which is peak season for front cabin), while releasing front seats in tourist season (low season for F/J)