I flew from Frankfurt to IAH on Friday, January 7th. I am silver elite. I asked the GA whether there were extra seats in business class and whether people would be upgraded. He explained that it was Continental's policy not to upgrade people unless economy was overbooked. He was also a completely supercilious prick who told me that I should buy a business class ticket next time. I am unsure whether he worked for continental or lufthansa. While I take him at his word that economy was not overbooked, it looked completely full, while business class was about half empty.

Is it true that op ups only occur when coach is overbooked? I am ignorant on the subject and haven't found a good answer yet.

Yes.

I have gotten a handful of op ups over the years on CO TATL and TPAC itineraries. If I had to guess I would say it was about 15% of the time. One I do remember off hand was AMS-EWR when I was silver elite. I don�t know if Y was sold out because; hey, I was up in front�

I have found that the best way to guarantee not receiving an upgrade on international flights is to directly ask for one. Your have a better chance if you check in at the airport early, dress presentably, and chat it up with the airline personnel. Developing a traveling rap with some good humor helps... ^

Many here will say that is a good thing that Continental is protecting the integrity of is Business Class product, and I would agree with that statement.


SunLover

I'm at almost exactly 2% on CO TATL / TPAC itineraries. And I never ask

Dude 2% would mean an op up once in fifty flights. I estimate my op ups at maybe 5 or 6 in about 35 to 40 TATL/TPAC Y flights. I remember NRT once, HKG once, and multiple AMS flights for sure.

My reason for saying don't ask is that like retail stores have secret shoppers I am sure that airlines have secret flyers who's job it is to QC the carriers customer experience, and report back to the company. Asking an employee to essentially violate company policy is not a good idea. If you don't ask, and the action taken is within the latitude of their responsibilities, well...


SunLover

My parents fly around 2 R/T EWR-HKG a year since the route started about 10 years ago. So, say about 40 flights each. Minus about 12-14 that they were actually booked on BF, but add about 12-14 other non-HKG longhauls in coach.

My mom has gotten op-uped once for HKG due to coach overbooking. My dad also got op-uped once, but that was right after 9/11 and the whole flight was basically empty. So, about 2.5% each. That's in-line with star_world's 2% number.

I completely disagree. I was Op-Up'ed a number of times as a Plat and, once I learned that economy was overbooked, I always made sure to make myself known to the gate staff and ideally the concierge. They typically do the op-ups shortly before closing the door and there's usually other things going on so the concierge isn't looking to make their life more difficult if they have an eligible Plat standing nearby. And I usually was able to get my Silver colleague u/g'ed with me (in fact, they would ask if I was traveling alone).

I think it is all random. I've been op-up'd 2x. First time was J - F and I had no status on CO or EVA Air. Second time - zero status for two of us on BA - y - c.

Why would they give C away for free when one buys Y, unless they had to? Isn't that an incentive not to spend the $$ on C? Kind of against the purpose of having a C cabin, which is to be able to charge more for it?

Yes, operational upgrades are there for operational reasons, i.e. they would deny passengers in an oversold Y boarding, so they utilize unsold C seats for it.

Let me see - you are the only person in Y who wants or will accept an upgrade?? And no one else on the bird wants to fly up front. And you were the only elite on the flight that even thought about the possibility of an operational upgrade...

Look at it from the gate agent�s perspective � they know already that anyone would be happy to receive an Y to J upgrade: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Civilian, or Non-Rev. So by chatting it up with the airline personnel I send the same message (a presentable guy with Elite status) without having to asking, as they know an upgrade would make anyone's day.

But we are essentially saying the same basic thing i.e. making a personal connection can increase your chances.


SunLover

Of course I am not the only one. And I couldn't tell you how many others were thinking about it. But I was being proactive, and if often worked for me. Why be phoney and "chat it up"? Be direct, polite, and pleasant. Like I said, it worked for me a number of times. YMMV.

Correct - 2 in 98 flights, by my count Once on DUB-EWR, and once on IAH-FRA.

And I was Plat for the vast majority of those.