Upgrading on Cathay
 

I will be going to Hong Kong with Cathay in Jan or Feb of 2008. I am an AAdvantage Gold member and would like to upgrade to business class. From past experience, what are my chances? Also how many miles would I have to redeem and how far in advance would Cathay upgrade me? Thanks.

You can't use AA miles to upgrade on CX flights.

If you do have Asiamiles, the chance is depend on where and when. Remember, Chinese New Year is Feb 8, 2008!

CX has a pecking on based on status. Oneworld Ruby is quite far down the line so your chances are rather slim.

You can only upgrade to CX using asiamiles. But even so, Jan and Feb are peak times for CX flights due to the Lunar Chinese New Year festivities. Chances are that premium classes will go out full too.

CX J gets full before Y quite often, but for Jan/Feb the situation is normally opposite. Most people traveling in J are just on vacation, although there are still a few willing to pay J.

The chance of booking upgrade (using AM) is slim, but that of getting instant upgrade at the airport may still be OK, as it will require K or high fare to get a mileage upgrade. Whether it makes sense of buying K fare for an uncertain upgrade is questionable.