kkl

how would i try upgrade from J-F? Need to call or?

thijsseh

I have no experience on that particular route. But it's the same as for a Y to J upgrade ex UK (where you have to pay additional APD), you can do it by 'upgrade using miles' on the website and it will then ask you for payment (by card). It's just the 'auto upgrade' that does not work as they need to interact with you to get the payment.
As an aside: if you upgrade on board in the UK Y to J scenario, you don't pay the additional APD, I have no idea how that would work on MLE/DXB

m0hamed

I noticed my flight in a few months, which I asked to be notified of upgrade availability, now says 'No Upgrades Available' today.

Is this across the board because taxes have increased across most routes?

thijsseh

Nothing has changed for me (for mrs t to be accurate). Just still says ‘no upgrades available’. As always. Flights are 1 and 2 July. This is a Y to J upgrade from an airport where there is no difference in taxes.

m0hamed

Thanks. My flight is early August. Booked Business Flex redemption. There was no F available like most routes, but only 1 F seat has been sold according to the EK agent.

I registered for auto upgrade, but then saw this thread and called to waitlist as well. When I checked last night that's where I saw the No Upgrades are Available message. A dummy booking for another 2 awards shows taxes have increased by around 1,000 AED.

Of course, it could also be EK preparing to combine or cancel flights to AMS as well.

thijsseh

I flew into AMS a week ago today. Driver thought traffic was almost back to pre-Covid (judging by the number of colleagues waiting at arrivals to pick up clients). So I would be surprised if they are considering cancelling or combining. More likely changing EK149 from 77W to 380 as it used to be.
On my flight, F was 13/14, J seemed full.

m0hamed

Thank you. The flight is very light, but the agent says they often fly full.

I also managed to also book Meet & Assist through Schipol thankfully!

thijsseh

The big problem at AMS at the moment seems to be departures, especially security.
Arrivals last week was OK, queue for immigration not a problem (neither EU nor non-EU passports). I was there early, traveling F. Don't know about arriving baggage as I was HBO. Usually wait for baggage at AMS is not good!

I left on a BA flight to LGW a few days later, wait for security plus passport control was 50 minutes, which was quite a bit better than I feared.
Transit in AMS should be OK, as you don't pass through security, just immigration when transferring between Schengen and non- Schengen flights.

But yes, meet and assist certainly takes some of the stress out!

m0hamed

I’ve travelled HLO for over a decade!

Is there a timeframe when waitlists clear? Agent said expect mid July for early August.

thijsseh

Technically, 'waitlisting' is actually quite difficult. You can either set an 'upgrade alert' or an 'auto upgrade' in MMB. Waitlisting is possible by an agent in the call centre and I have found them a bit reluctant to do this (they'll refer you to the above options). I have managed to have it done twice and both times the waitlisting disappeared from MMB at T-72 hrs (just like the other 2 options do). So maybe then is when they 'clear' the waitlist. In both cases I managed to get my upgrade at the lounge, once in DXB (although the BP was only issued at the gate) and once in CPT (requested at the check in desk, asked again at the lounge desk and had a new BP issued when leaving the lounge).
As long as EK think they can sell a ticket for cash rather than miles, they'll wait with giving the upgrade. Latest is T-60minutes when the flight is closed and you can get a 'space available' upgrade. Anecdotally, they have known to make extra seats available for upgrades earlier on when the cabin is empty. I have once missed an 'upgrade alert' about a week out because the email announcing it arrived at 4am and when I tried to bag it at 7am it was gone. Cruel game....

m0hamed

Thanks. The agent was very willing and helpful to waitlists me which shows in MMB.

I have no ability to check if I am registered for auto upgrade because it now says No Upgrades Available. I might call and seek clarification.

thijsseh

No, that's as per my experience too. Once you are waitlisted the other options disappear. Waitlist seems to be sort of a 'upgrade alert' which they keep for you for (I think) 24 hours. A normal upgrade alert is 'first come first served'. But with the waitlist you still have to call in to agree that they can take the miles (and cash if there is a difference in taxes).

m0hamed

Thanks to the info in this thread my waitlist cleared at T-10 days from J to F.

Notified via email and I called to pay the difference in miles and taxes. Both were charged but agent unable to issue the ticket. They said they need to send to back office as it's not recognising the miles as deducted. Agent says it's common issue for awards being upgraded with miles and should take 24 hours. Now the nervous wait until etickets arrive...

smichelm

Thanks for the info in this thread. They were very happy to add the waitlist to F (currently confirmed in J on a Flex Plus redemption) for SFO-DXB for next Spring.

chloealyce

Has anyone had any luck upgrading from SYD to LHR recently?

I am waitlisted for an upgrade from Y to J, leaving on 4 August. I have done a dummy booking for 9 adults for the three days before, the day of, and the three days after, and there are at least 9 seats in business class. So it seems there is likely to be availability.

My question is, when am I likely to be notified if my waitlist is successful? I've seen posts on here about people getting notified a while before the flight and others at check in, but haven't seen anything about what has been happening in Sydney?