I don't think that was the case with my seq. #121 (surname 'C') on EK375 BKK-DXB departing at 0955. There is no connecting flight from HKG on that one, nor is there a connecting QF which might figure into the equation. Looked to be about 80% load, so if it is first letter of surname that determines the number, I would not think I would be 121 out of, say, 450.

I am still mystified regarding exactly what the sequence number is that appears on boarding passes.

tookay : you say there is no (obvious) connection to EK375. However, I would imagine "connecting flights" could include all manner of flights coming into BKK from various originating points - ie not just those operated by EK or QF, but any carrier that has an interline agreement with EK and which would therefore have the facility to issue an onward BP.

But I may be entirely wrong on that, and no doubt eternaltransit will clarify.

Correct - there are actually many flights that connect onto EK375 where interline check-in is in place. For instance, EKs main partner for connections in BKK is PG (Bangkok Airways). Just in the morning you will have PGs early morning domestic flights that arrive c. 0800 from e.g. CNX, HKT, 2x USM - as well as regional connections such as RGN and PNH. Incidentally, there are regular fliers on these routes ex-DXB (one iO I know of at least does it in F weekly).

That is just for EKs main interline partner arriving in the morning. EK also interline with other carriers on stranger itineraries that involve BKK. You also have people who have arrived the evening before on the latest flight and are taking an x hour layover either in BKK itself or in the airport (as you will see by the numbers of people sleeping on level 3 at BKK at 0200!) who have already received onward boarding passes at origin.

And finally let's not forget the check-in window for all those connecting flights will not be 24hours from 0955 on day of departure, but in the case of some airlines, 48 hours from the departure of the initial flight that connects to EK375. EK might have their own restriction on partners that makes their own window 48 hours internally and for interline - but what this means in practice is that when check-in opens for an EK flight there will already have been passengers checked-in via inward connections a significantly long time before EK check-in even officially opens, or from departure time.

In practice, to be seq 1 on an EK flights means you need to not O&D at DXB and not be travelling to/from an important onward travel station (i.e. you are interlining from/to another carrier!).

Thanks for the additional info eternal (I can take some comfort in knowing that I wasn't wide of the mark on this ....! ^)

I do think we often forget just how many pax on any given flight will have joined it by way of transit/interline connections, ie over & above those merely beginning their journey at the point of departure of said flight. This of course is very much the case at BKK, being one of Asia's major (THE major ...?) hubs.

In some ways, I see a certain similarity in conclusions drawn purely from the pax load factor on flights which happen to be unusually light : tempting to assume that "they won't have made any money on that flight ...." ; without realising that the cargo holds may well have been full to the brim .....:cool:

ps apologies for taking the thread well OT

I suppose I should be the one to apologise for diverting the thread. But thanks for the info, as I had not thought about overnighters and other feeders, including PG.

So it does seem as the the sequence number is indeed the sequential order of which passengers have checked in, rather than by surname. Accordingly, perhaps EK do take that number into account together with status when running op-ups.

I seriously doubt that. I've been flying EK for the past 13 years or so and regularly check in for my flights which are ULH originating in BOM or JFK/DFW. Irrespective of when I check in, my sequence number is typically in the very late 300s or early 400s on the A380 when the flight is close to full - actually, I use the sequence number to kind of figure out how full the flight is and if I am in line for an op-up. On the 777s, its around 100 notches lower depending on how full the flight it.

I know it for a fact as it is not dependent on your online check-in sequence as very few folks from the Indian Subcontinent actually bother to check-in online and I've tried to check-in right at the start of the 24 hour online check-in window to see if had any bearing whatsoever on my op-up chances. Doesn't have any effect on your op-up chances or the sequence number on your BP.

BTW, my last name begins with an 'S'

I agree with jackiedada - whilst controllers have total discretion when assigning seats, i think that none of them ever use sequence numbers to make a decision.

There is no EK defined rule when it comes to op-ups, but guidelines - the controller's job is to fill the plane as much cash (e.g. offload staff if high value cargo wants to travel) as possible and most importantly, get it off on time. Helpfully the manifests group by status to make it easier for them, but in the end the final decision is up to them. They could in theory upgrade a group of non-status pax from Y to F for operational reasons. They can even disallow someone who's been upgraded not go back down to the lower class (or refuse to refund miles for a processed upgrade) - hence "involuntary upgrade" :D

Of course, whether a controller would do this when he/she would most likely have to explain this to audit (either at DXB or when they come around to the outstation) or the ASM is a different matter :D

In practice, it's generally done in status order until you have more status pax than seats, then they pick one they think won't be much hassle to move (e.g. kids, WCHR, SPML, group travel). Also they'll take into account if any of the check-in staff or lounge staff have called to say the person is unsuitable for upgrade (e.g. aggressive with staff, reeking of alcohol, boorish behaviour). Yes, this does happen :)

OT reply: depends on the plane - A380-800s on EK have poor cargo capacity (only 8 metric tons) whereas a 777-300ER has 23 tons at full pax load. EK average revenue of 5170 AED per ton (~1400 USD), so revenue managers have to be quite wise as to what cargo they put on A380s - (high-value/specialist only, I'd imagine!).

That said, if you send 2 sports cars from DXB-LHR (so, quite a normal thing), that's 3 tons already. And I'm sure you could charge more than 4200 USD for transporting 2 Lamborghini's to London :D In fact I think the going rate right now is around 8000-10000USD for the lighter cars, 20000USD for say, a RR Phantom.

But that is a post for a different thread!

Upgrade given: J-F

Upgrade location: Gate

Route: DXB - BKK

Flight number: EK372

Type of ticket: Economy flex upgrade to J with miles.

Date of travel: 16/07/15

Tier status: Gold (wife is silver)

Tier miles to date: 45,000/20,500

Skywards miles balance: 75,000/95000

Number of pax on the same PNR: 2

This was actually our last flight out of Dubai as we were re-locating to Singapore after having some time out in Koh Samui. We had upgraded with miles to J as a treat. Before check in the flight was wide open in all classes with 2 spare seats in F on EF so we were happy with our J seat.

When we arrived at check in we were told the flight was delated for around 3 hours. This is the first time we've been delayed substantially on any EK flight we ever took over 5 years of living in Dubai so were a bit gutted not least because it meant we missed the last flight to Samui which we had booked on a separate PG ticket since it wasn't possible to book a through ticket.

So after a bit of .....ing and moaning to each other about what a rubbish way to leave Dubai we settled ourselves in at the lounge. At the new boarding time, people started milling around the gate but no EK staff were present so people were getting a bit tetchy. Eventually someone turned up and we started to queue to board. 1 woman was on a huge rant about she had a huge journey form the UK to Australia and the service on the previous flight was rubbish so they all should have been upgraded to F for the whole journey (there were about 5 or 6 in her group). The 3 people behind her were upgraded from Y-J with the guy in front telling the agent he loved him. Our turn came and I said to my wife imagine if an F pass came out, not thinking we had a hope in hell after looking at EF. To our surprise my wife's BP came out with F. She couldn't contain her smile and I'm surprised she didn't leap over and kiss the guy! So the anxious wait for my BP and out pops another F pass. I could have kissed the guy!!

We were sat in 4A and 4K and when we got on board the stewardess apologised for us being apart. They did say they would ask the people sat in the 2 seaters however one set were a couple already and she said one of the other guys looked grumpy so she didn't want to ask him. However neither of us cared in the slightest. Neither of us had flew F before and on the A380 it was the ultimate end to our time in Dubai.

My wife absolutely adored the Dom Rose and we obviously had to have a shower just to say we did.

On arrival in BKK we were also hugely surprised that the board for the missed flight to USM was held up and we thought let's ask just in case, and to our surprise our name was on the list! So we also got a hotel for the night courtesy of EK and booked onto the first flight to USM the next morning. Thankfully we hadn't arranged a hotel or anything personally.

Having never experienced F before I never quite understood how it could be that much better than J. I was completely wowed by the whole experience to be honest and thoroughly enjoyed everything about it. I still think I would struggle to put my hand in my pocket though to actually pay for it, although never say never!

A huge well done to EK on this occasion, perfect end to our life in Dubai :)

^

Upgrade given: Y - J

Upgrade location: Boarding gate

Route: DXB-GVA

Flight number: EK89

Aircraft: 777

Type of ticket: Your guess is as good as mine (see debate in other thread!)

Date of travel: 24 Oct 2015

Tier status: Gold

Number of pax on the same PNR: 1

Last name started with Letter: V
____________

The previous segment SYD-DXB was in Y but I had four seats to myself (most passengers had either a 3 or 4 seat group to themselves). :cool:

I've had three op-ups this year on the same route in both directions on EK. Unfortunately they're the typical India routes that tend to be good for these but too short to truly enjoy the benefit:

1st:
Upgrade given: Y - J
Upgrade location: Checkin
Route: HYD-DXB
Flight number: EK529
Aircraft: 772/3
Type of ticket: Y Flex
Date of travel: End of March 2015
Tier status: Blue
Miles: at the time around 15k tier miles
Number of pax on the same PNR: 1
Last name started with Letter: H

2nd:
Upgrade given: Y - J
Upgrade location: Lounge
Route: DXB-HYD
Flight number: EK524
Aircraft: 772/3
Type of ticket: Y Flex
Date of travel: 21/22 July 2015
Tier status: Silver
Miles: at the time around 26k tier miles
Number of pax on the same PNR: 1
Last name started with Letter: H

3rd:
Upgrade given: Y - J
Upgrade location: Lounge/Gate (saw on mobile BP)
Route: DXB-HYD
Flight number: EK524
Aircraft: 772/3
Type of ticket: Y Flex
Date of travel: 11 October 2015
Tier status: Silver
Miles: at the time around 36k tier miles
Number of pax on the same PNR: 1
Last name started with Letter: H

I'm 100% certain upgrades are decided by a computer based on status and not by any agent at the time you approach them, as I have twice been able to see the upgrade via MMB/mobile BP before I had been informed. The last one in fact I lost my printed BP and just boarded with the updated mobile BP so no one specifically even pointed it out (the gate agent just asked if I'd seen that my seat changed, then did a double-take when he saw my BP already had the correct seat showing, 8F).

Unfortunately never upgraded on the JNB/CPT-DXB routes as they tend to be emptier. I know for a fast that Y was oversold everytime I was upgraded, definitely no op-ups without good reason.

Yes and J and F will be full. I'm travelling next month and F is 2 and 1 left with J full....

You may be 100% certain, but I'm afraid that is not actually the case in reality - a member of EK staff (the load controller) at the station (or departure control at DXB) will make those changes manually - however, once the seat assignment is changed in the system, that gets propagated out to the customer-facing systems. As a passenger, you will, in 99% of the times you fly, never see this individual.

When a boarding pass is then scanned at any point, the data is checked for consistency with the authoritative manifest loaded into the departure management software - if there is a mismatch (e.g. due to seat changes), then a new boarding pass can be printed. Obviously in the age of instant connectivity directly into airline systems, you can see your changes update in real time - and so an updated mobile boarding pass is the electronic equivalent of constant checking with the authoritative version held in the airline system and being reprinted upon any changes.

Also at most outstations, EK uniformed staff are generally outsourced agents who don't have access to the main airline management software - they are informed of things such as op-ups (such as, 1 or 2 pax going to get upgraded, pre-print their boarding pass for collection at the gate) by EK staff if they want to try and speed up the process by pre-printing boarding passes. This is especially true for stations with no boarding pass printers/EK system online access at the gate. Some stations don't bother with this.

Am a little wary of commenting given that this thread is designed purely for reporting op-ups in the standard template formula. So will keep this as brief as I can !

Regardless of how certain you may be, I can tell you from personal experience that this is simply not the case. Yes, status is of course the single most important factor within the overall upgrade criteria equation - but the theory that ALL such decisions are based exclusively on some sort of computer algorithm is simply not borne out in practice.

Human interaction is in fact very often involved (and frequently very close to departure time) not only with Emirates but - to varying degrees - with virtually every other mainstream carrier (or at least all those I have flown with, which is a good number)

eternaltransit has far more insight than I do wrt the technical/IT processes and has already added some useful background above ; but suffice to reiterate that personnel with the appropriate level of authority have a lot of discretion when it comes to making 'human' decisions - as opposed to simply implementing computer-based choices.