Upgrading with miles
 

Can somebody just confirm that if a flight is showing as 'Available' in Business Class, then I should be able to upgrade with Skywards miles?

Cheers,
Rick

At the airport its never been a problem for me (using miles)

I think it used to be the case, but it got changed last year. If I understand it correctly, it now depends on the number of "upgrade" seats that are left - though this can change as you get nearer departure and particularly if you are at the airport and there is space. However, by the time you reach the airport, you will have missed out on the chauffeur drive part of the upgrade! :(

I think there's normally 2 classes within business - J class for new (and paid) bookings and C class for upgrades. I'm actually trying to change my flight connections, and even though I can see online availability in business class in my desired flight, I can't seem to be eligible for that seat, probably because I am on C class and that seat is on J class.

Thanks all. I'll phone Skywards before I book to confirm that I'll be able to upgrade.

Cheers,
Rick

The upgrades are hard to get sometimes, i had to call back a couple of times to get my AKL-DXB ... if there's more than 1 upgrade seat available it's alright but if there's only one it all depends on the skywards contact staff you're dealing with ... if they're not quick enough the seat can slip though their fingers ... hehe and for me it did !! But luckily i tried again as soon as i saw Business class available on EK NZ

Upgrades on Business are taken from "C" seats, and First from "A". As long as they are available on your flight, you should be good to go. However, at the airport, as long as there are any business or first class seats available, you can upgrade.
Hope this answers your question.

Is there a difference in the miles required when upgrading last minute at the airport, compared to upgrading a few days prior to flight by phone?

Tnx

Yeah it costs more miles to upgrade at the airport during check-in as opposed to a prior call to the contact centre ... remember reading it somewhere on www.skywards.com

I have only used them for direct flights, and it is the same amount of miles if you had upgraded earlier. However it is different for a "via" flight. I think the miles are taken as 2 different sectors. You could look it up on the T&C's on the skywards website.