does anyone know exactly when cx does its operational upgrades?

i have been very lucky with op ups from cx (i'm running at about 30%, biz to first). my situation is a bit odd as i am current exp with aa but am about to switch to qf's program and will be a qf and oneworld "nothing" for a few months until i accrue qf platinum.

i have a biz class syd-hkg at the end of the month enroute to mru to pick up a rtw ticket there and don't want to destroy my chances for an op upgrade by using my qf ff # but want to count the miles to my lowly qf account.

my idea (perhaps naive as i have never done this before) is that i would check in with my aa ff # (exp) and then change it to my (lowly) qf number at the gate right before i board.

do you think this would this work? if so, how should i time the ff # switch-a-roo?

The op-up priority has been changed with effect from 1 August 2007, and looks something like this:

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

As Oneworld Emerald, you're a fair bit down the list so don't put your hopes too high. Are you on 110 from SYD? This is the only flight that still has F class.

Yes I'm quite sure that your FFP no. can be changed anytime.

My OP UP rate on CX used to be about 75%. Since this change it is 0%. My flight patterns have changed as a result. I'm flying AA through NRT way more often.

Are you talking long-haul J->F op-up? The chance for that should be pretty good as CX overbooked long-haul (and even some short-haul and regional) J quite often in the last few months. (For Y->J op-up, the chance is not good lately even for a CX DM.)

Also, this change only happened 2.5 months ago. It is hard to draw a conclusion except with 10 or more long-haul sectors.

Actually I have always wondered why CX bothers to put DMP on the top of the op-up list. In order to become DMP, a flyer has to do a long-haul round trip every month on full F fares. There is no more op-up possible when already in F. Would the op-ups be for his/her traveling companions?

wow. this is very useful info but i think that my chances of getting an op up are diddlee-squat now.
yes. i am on cx 110.

thanks for the great info.

Perhaps I was extremely lucky, but back in August I got a Y-> J op-up on HKG-LHR. I'm AA PLT and had purchased a Y fare ticket (does booking in a higher fare bucket help?). When I got to the gate the GA took my Y boarding pass away and fished through a separate stack of boarding passes, and gave me a new one. I was about to complain since I had called a while ahead to get an exit seat, but when I noticed the low row number I kept my mouth shut

I'm flying tomorrow LAX-HKG booked in J. Seatcounter is showing 3 F seats, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Even if I don't get it, I'll still have cause to celebrate. I'll finally make it to EXP when I return

Don't complain when you are told "Mr. brenc3, we have a new seat for you". If you really want to say anything, just say "thank you" without even needing to look at the BP.

One time when I received a Y->J op-up, I did not even take a look until boarding. I got 86H^!! I wondered who was that "unlucky" fellow who got "bumped" from 86H by me.

Which flight were you on?

Row 86 are often occupied by Diamond members.
So, probably, one assigned in 86H was bumped to F class.

Last year, I had 86C seat assignment on flight HKG to LHR,
and was bumped to F.
I don't have a concrete idea about who occupied my 86C.
But,....

251 or 255?

I was on CX 253, which I believe was pretty full (it was a Sunday, 8/26). I was traveling MEL-LHR via HKG.

J to F. Used to get them a lot, now not at all. Switching to AA/JAL Asia connections. CXJ>AAJ but AAF>CXJ.

I did not take your seat - probably my twin did.

However, if the passenger bumped by me liked to keep his 86H seat, I would not mind being bumped again to his newly assigned seat.

That's not necessarily true. I'm CX Gold and Jul 1st I flew with my son (CX Silver) JFK-HKG on 889 and confirmed a mileage upgrade for the 2 of us 2 days before departure. I was able to confirm 86 H and K for both of us then. I do admit though, that I was surprised that the 2 seats were available.