EK15 Constant Aircraft Changes?
 

I'm booked on EK15 for Christmas Day in J and have been noticing that the plane is constantly being changed.

When I upgraded with miles it was 3-class. It then changed to 2-class about 2 weeks ago. It then changed back to a 3-class a week later, and has now changed yet again to a 2-class.

I have had to choose my seat 3 times now, and have now settled at 6B again.

The load is EXTREMELY light (I am judging this based on the amount of people who have selected seats, not on actual statistics. I'd appreciate if someone could check these for me). Only about 8 other seats have been selected...

Is this normal? :confused:

EK15 does get substituted very frequently between two and three class, yes - it's one of my usual flights! Surely a coincidence though :)

Is the load usually this low though?

It is a Christmas Day flight, so that may be a reason... I am an EK1 regular, so this is one of my rarer flights.

Loads also fluctuate - sometimes it's pretty empty, sometimes it's completely full in all classes. Can only give you realistic loads about a week out.

I am a EK15 /EK 16 regular as well. ( every 2-3 months).

The plane is now back to a 3-class...

I have always noticed that the service is better in J if it is a 3 class. Is this because there are more crew on a 3 class?.


Moreover on a 2 class the seat pitch is quite variable. The middle rows are fine but the others ( row 5 ) are at least 6 inches shorter .

... And sure enough, the plane is back to a 2-class.

I think I check on my bookings far too often.

No additional seats have been selected, so the grand total of seats selected in J remains at 13/42. Looking forward to a (hopefully) empty flight.

Check the Y cabin as well. The problem in a 2 class is that they tend to op up a lot of Y pax to J if Y is oversold. In a 3 class they can then move a few of the J pax to F .However this cannot happen in a 2 class as there is no F cabin.

I suspect there's a lot in what you say ukdoctor. The switch to 2 class would indicate a wish to fulfil additional demand in Y. And with spare capacity seemingly available in J, the prospects of several Y-J moves could (potentially) be high.

Could someone kindly check the loads for these flights? It is next week so I assume the numbers now represent somewhat accurate loads.

EK776 - December 24 DUR-DXB
EK15 - December 25 DXB-LGW

My EF substcription has expired.

The seat map still shows only 15 seats selected in J... I am now wondering if Y is oversold?

Thanks in advance.

It's pretty ugly!

EK 776 24/12/14 J0 C0 I0 O0 P0 Y0 E0 R0 W0 M0 B0 U0 K0 H0 Q0 L0 T0 V0 X0

EK 15 25/12/14 J7 C7 I7 O7 P0 Y9 E9 R9 W9 M9 B9 U9 K9 H0 Q9 L9 T9 V9 X9

Thanks so much, extramileage.

Seems like 15 is wide open - doubt any op-ups would occur.

EK776 is ALWAYS full. I am used to it being that way...

What makes you say that it is ugly?

EK15 is not overbooked in Y and wont be until then :)

I don't understand. Surely it would be a good thing that it's not overbooked, as I am in the highest class (so no op-ups anyway), ensuring a lovelely empty cabin?

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21/42 seats selected now. Damn. It is filling up.

The flight ended up being the emptiest plane I've ever been on. J had 21 passengers, and Y had about a 45% load. I had the entire row 6 mini-cabin to myself. Crew often forgot I was there... I will be doing a TR soon.

Surprisingly, I was allowed into the A lounge! :)

I begged for a shower and offered to leave my passport with the "attendant". I also promised I wouldn't drink. This is before he said anything, as I knew the response that was coming. He softened up after I returned to collect my passport and leave, and just let me stay. I am very grateful to him for doing so. :)

Compared to the occasional 'empty' flight I've experienced over the years, a load of around 50% sounds positively crowded to me !

Anyway, relieved to hear that you were allowed to have your shower Ahmed. (I'm not sure just what level of post-traumatic stress disorder might have resulted from yet another refusal ......;))

It's a christmas miracle! ;)

Could someone kindly check the loads on EK11 on the 11th January (Sunday) for me please?

Many thanks. :)

f4 a4 j7 c7 i7 o7 p0 y0 e0 r0 w0 m0 b0 u0 k0 h0 q0 l0 t0 v0 x0

Why is FT downcasing things? is that new?

( as an aside, constant changes sounds rather contradictory :) )

Thank you so much, Dave.

Hoping some op-ups happen!

Which cabin are you booked in ?

the 1st class cabin seems to have no seats allocated which together with F4A7 suggests not many sold in 1st

Business seems to have 14 seats unassigned ( of which 8 are blocked) , so fairly busy there

I'm in Y (Flex).

Was originally in J with miles but canceled the upgrade a few days ago. Good news as Y seems oversold. :)

Is EK10 a status heavy flight? I imagine LGW being less status heavy than LHR.

Are you on EK10 or EK11? you did ask for loads for EK11

I wouldn't get too hopeful about an upgrade though. Why did you cancel the mileage upgrade?

EK10 ( LHR-DXB ) loadings are quite different at F4 A3 J7 C7 I7 O7 P0 Y9 E9 R9 W9 M9 B9 U9 K9 H0 Q9 L9 T9 V0 X0

If I was in Y on EK11 I'd be hopeful of an op up to J.

Then again I was hopeful of J to F on a DXB MAN flight recently but there were 18 no shows....

You never know ex DXB. Much more predicable ex outstations where loads don't tend to fluctuate as not many pax connect from elsewhere.

Always better to grab the miles upgrade when it's available - assuming of course being in J is important to you.

Things can change quite dramatically in the final days/hours pre-departure on busy routes such as to/from UK, and not always in the way one would hope or wish. Surprised that you chose to cancel the u/g.

Quite a few golds (5-10 depending on loads). I'm often the only Plat in Y on all 3 of the daily departures. Never seen more than 3 platinum in Y (either EK or QF). LGW is quite stingy with the op-ups and they do seem to have a bit of a problem with no-shows recently I've seen, but good luck!

Sorry. Screw up on my part. I am on EK10. It is LGW-DXB :)

I canceled it because, seeing how I will be doing Y flying in the future, I decided to limit my Y-J upgrades to once per round trip. That would ensure a steady 1/4 flights being in J every trip (assuming availability of course).

Looks like the flight is going to be another quiet one. I have selected a row of 4 at the back on the cabin and hope nobody pitches to steal one. LGW has managed to block the seats next to me on two occasions as a UM (they could not find an empty seat next to a woman and you aren't allowed to sit next to a man) I am hoping they can block seats on this flight even though I will not be a UM.