How will I know before booking an economy ticket whether a business upgrade will be available? Is it simply a case of seeing whether a business reward is available using miles? Are there a set number of reward seats available which are shared between upgrades and tickets purchased outright with miles?

Also how far ahead can I book using airmiles?

Thanks for any help.

I usually do a dumby award booking and check for space. I then book and upgrade from MMB.

You can upgrade at anypoint form ticketing to T-6hrs space permitting. Not sure if the T-6hrs is applicablt for online as well-- it is for over the phone though.

You need at least 24 hours before departure if you want a limo in Dubai and 48 hours for outstations.

Many thanks. What does MMB stand for?

Manage My Booking.

Take care I was told when I booked my last flight 24 hrs notice that 48 hrs notice is now required for flights ex Dubai. The only exceptions were Gold members would be put on priority for 24 hours notice

Gold is now T-12 for Dubai -- when you try to do it online it will say errpr-- but then call to Emirates and they will have the info there as a request and they will then tell you to check back that it was confirmed-- (about 1-2hours it will be visible on line)

I fly AKL-GLA 4 times a year and always a problem to use points for an upgrade as only a 2 class 777er on this route. With 3 class routes much better chance, most always i can get a seat upgrade with points.

Are the number of upgrade seats fixed or does it vary according to how many empty BC seats there are and how soon the flight is? Has anyone tried to upgrade but found there's no availability but subsequently tried successfully at a later date?

Hiya

I flew DEL-DXB-BHX on 3 March and always fly economy. When it was booked in early Feb, there were no upgrade J seats on the DXB-BHX leg (there were only 3 seats available in J at that time so it makes sense that there weren't, in the 2 class A330). So instead I booked an upgrade on the DEL-DXB flight. PS - At the gate on that flight I was upgraded to F which was very nice.

Anyway while in India I both rang and checked online a couple of times, still no upgrade available for DXB-BHX. I had one last stab at it on about 28 Feb - and there was now an upgrade available, so I upgraded to J for the BHX leg.

So, it's worth looking online to see if you can upgrade right up to the flight - I guess they had some cancellations in J.

Incidentally, there were a couple of silver card holders gate upgraded to J on that flight, so seats obviously had become available. And as a gold card holder, i'd probably have been upgraded free had I not used my miles! And on the DEL-DXB leg too probably, as economy was overbooked.

A good thread would be on whether to use miles to guarrantee an upgrade, or hope for an upgrade at the gate.

Martin