Upgrade emails offers FAQ
 

Note - this 'feature' is now not available. EK have changed the way they send out upgrade emails.


Just got back from a few days DXB - which would have been great except we both had man flu (me) - cold (her), so it wasn't as memorable as in the past.

Anyhow, I watched and watched my in-box for the highly anticipated upgrade offer... only to be disappointed. The flight out looked perfect, rammed down the back, with a few seats up front (the other 2 flights were completely full).

When we got back home, the missus mentions she got an upgrade offer from Emirates. I asked her when, and she says 'Friday' - 2 days before our flight back. Once she'd got out of hospital (she deserved it for not telling me), she showed me the email, and it was an offer for AED1699 Y-J DXB-MAN.

As it happens, I would have been very annoyed, as the flight was switched the old cradle seats.

So, the question is, how come she got the offer and I didn't? What criteria do they use, or do they just send it one person on each PNR? I'd made the booking.

Cheers,

I've seen it when a colleague (Blue) on the same PNR as myself (Gold) got the offer, but I didn't. I've also seen it where both of us got the offer, and where I got the offer and they didn't. So it appears to be totally random.

I had only ever received this email offer once. Ironically it was on a ticket which I had cancelled and applied for the refund already but the EK system still thought I was travelling.

Theuy do seem to have a systems probnlem!

Thanks. I did notice that the code seemed to be generic, so no doubt I could have probably got the upgrade.

Yes, code works whether you received the email or not. I usually try the code out for all my flights just to see if I get lucky and I'd say it works about 10-15% of the time, whether or not I have received a mail offer.

The code syntax is as follows :

YYMMDDxxxx%AAABBB

where :

YY = Year
MM = Month
DD = Day
xxxx = Flight number (with leading "0"s if needed)
% = Cabin you are booked in now (Y or C)
AAA = Origin city
BBB = Destination city

eg. EK 335 from MNL to DXB on 15th January in Y class (upgrade to C) would be :

1201150335YMNLDXB

eg. EK 004 from LHR to DXB on 10th January in C class (upgrade to F) would be :

1201100004CLHRDXB

This is useful info thanks. Where do you put the code?

Go in to MMB from the link under Plan and Book on the front page of the website (ie without logging in first).

You'll see a field titled Offer Code (if any). It looks like it should go here.

Exactly.

Thats really interesting. Thanks. When do these sorts of offers normally get sent out? As assuming you put the code in a week before a flight compared to a day may get a different outcome?

Approx. 3-4 calendar days before the flight is when the mails usually go out.

you and me both!
I had flu all over Christmas, stayed in bed with a fever, felt very sorry for meself!

Flights back to LGW 1st week of Jan. were full for a week, I tried to change or upgrade every day, even tried pulling strings at EK HO, but no luck, it was rammed.
I ended up doing the unthinkable and getting an 8.20am EK15, but it was a nice surprise, although the 777 was parked in the back end of beyond, (Gate 136, first time in years I have been bussed to the plane) it was brand new equipment, everything worked well, seemed to have an all American flight crew too, (seems to be more and more of them on EK these days)
and I enjoyed the arabic breakfast for a change, really wasn't a bad trip despite it being 100% full load!

I haven't had an upgrade email for years now, but will try the code next time!

and for the first time in ages, both the auto baggage check thingy and the e-gate card worked without too much hassle... (only hassle was user failure to comprehend!)

Did you fly on the 5th. If so you must have been on the A6EGG . Just joined the EK fleet in November.I flew in it on 23rd dec on EK16

OT but A6-EGG joined the fleet on 11th October and made first flight on 14th October flying EK420 DXB-PER.

Source: http://theeksource.com/october2011.html

oops, my bad:)

4 years with over 200k tier miles (mostly J) each year (so lots of sectors) and never received a single upgrade e-mail.

Must be totally random. Either that or they have some sort of a policy that does not send it to Golds because they figure that they could pay full price anyway??

I have had upgrade offer emails when I was silver. None in the last 3 years when I have been gold.

For what it is worth I have never had one in six years of being Gold ...

mrtdxb you don't get those when flying F :p

What??? Do you want to be upgraded to the cockpit????You fly F anyway!!!:D:D:D

Ahhh, is that is what is the other side of that locked door near the toilets? - I thought it was a special Premier Class and always wanted to try it! :D

I have flown J a few times I promise (when F was full) so I suppose they did not need to send any upgrade offers ... I guess I just feel left out sometimes!

Interesting that none of the Golds seem to be getting the upgrade e-mails. Any Golds on here who have received them?

I have once shortly after becoming gold, but after that I haven't been flying that much in economy so it's hard to tell whether that was just a system error or something else.

Yes. Multiple times.

I have only recevied one in 4 years as Gold.

Friend who is gold just got their first one last week for DXB-PEK for1750AED (Y to J) I checked Expert flyer and looked like all signs of being overbooked Y and empty J -- It was in the end and he was op-up'd

Just from reading this forum it seems that Y->J offers are much more common than J->F ones and a good % of the gold pax here fly paid J and/or F at least some of the time so the sample is a bit skewed.

I think you are right. It's only the noobs/ non FTers who are being sent the upgrade offers. I protest. Shall we all go and occupy the emirates office at DXB to protest against this discrimination. :D:D

I can't recall of ever receiving an offer to upgrade from J-F (and I'm pretty sure EK don't do this) but don't quote me on it. However, I have received plenty of email offers from Y-J. If the flight looks busy down the back - I refuse the email offer and each time I have done that, have been op-upped anyway.

Is that generally the only time offers are sent or can they be / are they also sent when Y AND J is empty. I'm sure the sample size for this is even smaller since an EK flight empty in J/Y is almost unheard of!

I can only quote from my own experience, but premium loads ex MEL to SIN are rarely full. Y is or can be very high, which pushes op-ups to Golds/Silvers. My op up rates out of SIN would be 3 times that of MEL, but because of the high Aussie dollar, EK loads of late have been very very solid ex MEL.

My take on the upgrade emails is that something within the res system identifies you are a relatively new Skywards member (or Blue) and triggers it. I've not received many upgrade emails as a Gold but received 3-4 as a Blue

I also think that the system triggers the emails when Y is oversold and sends out the offers to try and recoup some revenue before the op-ups have to occur, but I think there is no real system or process. Its hit and miss. No doubt B747 will chime in shortly and wave his arms about EK's revenue management system :)

I know someone who got the offer as Silver, having been a member for a few years. The strange part was that the seat map looked empty in Y and busy in J, made me wonder why they were sending it out.

I've never received one myself though, but I don't remember the last time I was on EK and there were unsold seats in J.

Received the first such e-mail after almost a year as gold (and an other as silver) for EK086 ZRH/DXB last weekend.

And that's the logic that led me to a not-so-pleasant 6-hour flight in Y :D

I've been furiously entering this code for my upcoming JFK-DXB flight. Showing 7s in all classes but no luck yet!

7s in all classes is not a good sign. Ideally you'd need to have C7Y0 for the upgrade offer to be sent out.

When do you need to fill in this code?

I fly in July, can I fill it in now, or need to wait?

I never ever got an upgrade offer even though I am flying a hell lot. But I do everything through my TA - might this be the issue?

I don't think so. I have booked (previously) through my TA, and now directly.

Have never gotten an email like this.

But I am to understand that the upgrades are mostly Y>J, and not J>F ?

From my own experience, I have only ever received the upgrade emails from Y-J and for those bookings they were always booked online.

That's pretty much how the upgrade system works in any case, from what I have seen.

EK regularly upgrades Y>J (in fact, I would say it happens most of the time - at least on the route that I am on), but J>F is rare.

Thanks.