KillaPowa

Hi Guys,

I am flying to following two sectors:

EK036 - NCL-DXB - 17/03
EK376 - DXB-BKK - 18/03

Does anyone have detailed access to the loads....?

Have been offered a cash or miles upgrade on the latter however wanted to see the loads to see if worth holding out for an op-up (Silver, Economy Flex)

Have been upgraded on 3 sectors (check in and gate) on same route in past 12 months.

Thanks!

skywardhunter

Welcome to the Emirates Forum and FT in general, KillaPowa.

Before posting please search for similar threads to avoid creating duplicates, we have a dedicated flight load check request thread: Flight Load Check request

That being said, the type of loads we have access to here are the general availability published by the airline which we can access via ExpertFlyer. There is a 7-day free trial so you can sign up yourself and check it out, alternatively it is only $10 a month for the subscription that can be switched on and off at will and is well worth it for regular travelers. I use EF several times a week.

Generally DXB-BKK is notorious for op-ups, but they can be hard to predict using EF loads, best advise is generally to upgrade with cash or miles if you really want to sit in the higher cabin. FWIW the only time I flew DXB-BKK (Gold and Y Flex) i wasn't upgraded, after I'd got my hopes up reading about all the op-ups on that route, so don't count on it.

KillaPowa

Thanks Skywardhunter. Sorry, newbie mistake, but thanks for your patience.

Yes, I am in agreement with you. I have had a go with expertflyer but I haven't got to grips with it...!

The upgrade offer is 285GBP - not bad so might as well just go for it in this instance.

I will repost in the correct place and see if anyone can help. Thanks again!

skywardhunter

Look at Flight Availability, all the letters represent specific fare buckets, they appear in order of cabin class, highest to lowest, i.e. F, Z, A appear first which are First Class, then J, C, I, P, etc (not sure of the exact fare buckets, going off the top of my head here), then Y onwards for Economy. So things to look out for:

- availability in first class never shows higher than 4, i.e. F4 or A4 this means 4 or more, in J (J, C, P, etc) it never shows higher than 7, i.e. J7 = 7 or more. In Y classes it shows 9 as the highest. so Y9 could mean 9 seats available for sale or 90 seats.
- EK oversell, by my estimation they oversell by the number of unsold seats in J and F, which could be 40+, you can't see if a flight is oversold from EF data, though one can sometimes make an educated guess in concert with the J and F seat maps to estimate number of seats available there and looking at which Y buckets remain for sale
- higher Y fares (incl full Y) which book into Flex Plus generally remain for sale much later than others, as EK will sell you a full-fare Y ticket even if they need to bump someone sometimes as it's just so profitable for them, indicators of a full flight are when Flex fares disappear or have low availability, e.g. the M bucket. if there is any availability in T, V, X then the flight is probably not that full (X = Special).

thijsseh

I have posted the availability in the Flight Load Request thread.

KillaPowa

Thanks, you guys are great!

Still trying to get my head around it though....

285GBP is pretty reasonable for this sector right?

skywardhunter

6-7hrs in a higher cabin, seems good. Everyone has a different perception of what is good value. Keep in mind you won't receive the chauffeur drive service or lounge access (and no increased mileage earning)

KillaPowa

Thanks Skywardhunter - Already get lounge access in DXB and I am connecting to a Bangkok Airways flight at BKK so neither would be of benefit.

As I only travel once every three months, I think I will just go for it....my op-ups have only come when least expected so far anyway!

skywardhunter

You never know, you might get an op-up to F!

thijsseh

skywardhunter

Yeah no idea what the odds are, but one never knows, I wouldn't count on it. And while it might be a P fare, my understanding is that op-ups are based on fare type, not specific bucket, i.e. Flex Plus > Flex > Saver. I don't know with the online upgrade offers but a miles upgrade takes you from Y Flex to J Flex, so you'd be ahead of Savers.

ft101

No. It's about the same price as if you could book one leg tlike that in Business Class to start with. OK if you wanted too, but just EK commercial bullcrap now trying to increase income.

skywardhunter

While the fare difference between Y and J on NCL-BKK might be in the GBP600-700 region (no idea, but I'd guess somewhere there) one-way, that doesn't mean DXB-BKK would then be 300-350. It isn't possible on EK to book mixed segments, i.e. NCL-DXB in Y and DXB-BKK in J, thus there is no fare one could compare it to.

ft101

I know, hence the "if you could" bit in my post, but I also know that what is offered by EK at this late stage makes it a win for them and not the customer if it's purchased.