hokiebuy

Any idea how much is upgrade at check-in? Do they try to sell all seats?

Also, can a passenger upgrade a ticket with miles from another passenger's account?

sydtogla

I'm assuming you are speaking about Y-J upgrades. On some occasions there will be an offer price (I think USD1000). Usually this is the same value as any email offer upgrades that are sent out and there is still availability of that offer. This is not something to be relied on, however. The other day I was on a flight where 2 people bought J Flex+ last minute at the airport, so revenue is always the priority.

The only way to guarantee your seat is to pay full price for it. If you upgrade your current Y ticket, you will also incur a change fee unless you are on Flex+

You can upgrade your flight before check in with another passenger's account on the conditions that they know you're using their miles, you pay relevant taxes (if applicable), and you are on a flex ticket or above. If you are on a saver fare then they must upgrade you after check in.

m3red

Change fees are usually waived when upgrading to a higher fare.

skywardhunter

As m3red points out, no change fees for cabin upgrades, this is in fact recorded in the fare rules. EK almost always will charge you the fare difference except for special upgrade offers available at check-in (usually sent by e-mail in advance), which are not always available and not available at all stations.

Here's an excerpt from a typical Saver fare for IAD-DXB with advance purchase of 7 days for travel in November:

vytas315

I'll confirm that the typical email/counter offer for IAD-DXB is $1000, but as others said this is not always available.

Worth checking load on this route. They recently changed from a380 to 777. It sounds to me like this has resulted in very heavy loads in premium cabins so upgrade space may be limited. I heard that they were actually downgrading passengers on my DXB-IAD flight last week.

pokeable

I wonder if this is permanent; December flights on EK232 still show up as the A380.

But can confirm that EK232 on the 777 has limited J availability, especially for rewards.

skywardhunter

As discussed here: IAD switch from A380 to 777?

Seems to be September and up to 7th October when I checked, not sure what the current status is

hokiebuy

Thanks for all your feedback. This is for an elderly grandparent. I might do IAD-DEL Air India direct instead. Just spoke with someone who said Air India J cabin upgrade costs about $1000 and runs with 50-70% occupancy so upgrade is almost always available.

It may be several notches below the Emirates product, but it's only $1000 vs. $1000+$400 (IAD-DXB-DEL) and probably more convenient for someone using wheelchair.

pdh

I fly 5 Nov and 14 Nov and both are 777

skywardhunter

Hm they must've extended it then, that discussion and check was several weeks ago.

dc2005b

From Emirates:

In addition to the aircraft change during September 21 - October 8, the Washington IAD to Dubai service will also be operated by a 777-300ER aircraft rather than the Airbus A380, during the period of October 18 - November 24.

tallblazer124

Why the downgrade. not enough seats sold?

vytas315

That's my guess...EK232 today was surprisingly light despite the downgrade.

tallblazer124

I notice the flight on 10/9 will be on airbus 380. This was a last minute change. So random.....

washingtonian_2017

I believe the downgrade to 777 was due to the AF 380 engine issue that happened a few days back. My guess is that EK wants to check their A380s for any suspected micro fractures.

my wife recently used the EK $1,000 upgrade option. it doesn't give you lounge access but otherwise its a great deal if available.