Op UG / the walk of shame
 

Have read spotewelder's many [seasoned] observations about the risks of travelling on a *ONEx. Assuming that you're travelling in D class, what's your experience of being operationally up (or, perish the thought) downgraded?

How was it handled? (immediate/prompted offer of compensation in the negative); Here's your new boarding pass Sir / Madam (in the positive)? Nada?

Mine for starters: 3 DONE5/6s: none either way.

I have done many (can't remember exactly how many, but more than a dozen) DONE4's. Never had an op-up on any of them. Once almost had a downgrade at the gate on a BA flight following a last minute aircraft change from NCW to OCW. The OCW had less seats and I was handed a Y boarding pass when the scanner rejected my original BP. Luckily, another passenger failed to make a connection and I got his CW seat. Perhaps I should have taken the Y BP and asked for a palm tree?

D Class is not the Lowest Class in Business. "I" is.

However I think the Sub Class is not the ONLY Prereq for op UP/Downgrades.

I got upgraded twice from D to F class on my DONE4
It was also on CX HKG-AKL.

I am a CX MPO Gold

I don't believe they even looked at the fare paid for that trip. It was a late aircraft change and I was unfortunate enough to be in one of the rows that did not exist on the replacement aircraft. Those with boarding passes that matched seats on the replacement aircraft remained the same, those that had seats that no longer existed were put elsewhere.

But they did it really badly. I was in the BA lounge for about 5 hours prior to boarding, and they could have paged me to discuss my options. I was traveling home LHR-HKG-BNE and would have been happy to take any other routing on BA, QF, CX to get me to my destination to arrive on the same day. But instead they just waited till I got to the gate and handed me a new BP. Nothing was said until I asked why I now had an economy (WT) seat. No compensation offered at that point, just told I would be given a complaint form to complete on the plane.

What aircraft did they substitue the LHR-HKG with? I thought it is always 744? (is it because of the smaller J Class config on 744 that cause the problem?)

The reason why BA did nothing is that they don't want to pay EXTRA! Somtime they people are dumb and offer Y Class when they pay J Class! Then they ask you to fill out the form! I heard on SQ same thing happened to someone in J Class and even after filling in the form! NO COMPENSATON!!!

Therefore if anyone is in that situation (and can be a bit flexible. REFUSE to get on! YOu are within your rights on your J Class seats (especially when they gave you a J Class BP already!) Eitherwise MAKE sure they give you the compensation or SOLID documentation before you take the DREADED Y Class BP.

Op-ups or just no seats available
 

In most of my cases, the DONE down to Y has been because there was no D inventory available but J was. Therefore, the flight was confirmed in Y and waitlisted (or more likely the ticketing agent forgot to bother with this bit) D.

I never had a single J trip from LAX to AKL or SYD, always Y. Often the ex LHR transatlantic to IAD was Y as well (OK, I could get an exit row and it was a day flight for my body). Short hauls were usually OK.

The worst was a confirmed Y, waitlist D EZE to SCL. The inbound from SYD to EZE was delayed by 4 or so hours. I got AKL QF lounge to rebook my AONEx in D for the next flight. The gate agent then ripped up my J boarding card as the coupon only had confirmed Y for the original flight. That was a walk of shame.

I once got a Y to F upgrade on IAD to LHR. That was more to do with my occupation and BA Gold appearing on the pax print out for the CSD than anything else. I had already been upgraded Y to J because I offered to get off the overbooked aircraft. Then the right number of pax turned up but too many Ys.

I guess my paid D travelled Y long haul outstrips my paid Y travelled J by about 3 to one. As for AONEx, well I have got smarter, I have experience and I have asked others what to do. I have joined FT and I have a 1W ticketing agent as a girlfriend. I would suggest that bitter experience and the last two are the best mechanisms!

There are the links around here to check on the D availability for you chosen flights and you must remember to get your "entitlement" for D entered into the booking. That way, they will not op-up someone from paid Y ahead of you. You have paid, they have not. The entitlement also ensures that if a J seat is free and you are checked-in confirmed Y then the BP should spit out at the gate.

Why did you guy the DONE4 ticket? What a WASTE when you travel the sectors in Y (especially in Long Haul). No matter how many time you have being Op-Up, that does NOT mean you should travel in Y!

You might as well jsut buy a LONEX

Despite the DONE4 is great value, it is still a Business Class ticket, and there is NO WAY I will travel in Economy on Long Haul (unless I really have an emergency or something). I had this problem before but a quick call to the CX MPO they will release a D for me! I never experienced not being able to get on a flight because D or J is not available!

Am inclined to agree with part of the previous post, I've tried booking on the notorious AKL-SCL run (the QF codeshare op by LA) and have found that calling up a combo of both carriers has made D0 mysteriously become D1 (or even 2).

I've received a few op-ups on CX, including one yesterday, never on any other of the OW carriers. It's been handled in a variety of ways, once at ticketing in AMS on a AMS-HKG flight, once a CX rep was waiting for me with a new boarding pass as I got off a flight in HKG and was connecting to SFO, and a few times by asking or responding to an announcement at The Pier/Wing in HKG. I'm AA EXP (OW Emerald), but not part of Asia Miles.

Your chances are the best if you can talk with a ticketing agent, or better lounge personnel, about 1-2 hours before the flight. Depending on where you're flying to/from, this could mean getting ticketed to the first CX gateway only, collecting luggage in transit, and then going to CX ticketing for ticketing for the rest of the journey.

Why not LONEx as opposed to DONEx
 

To answer the question, yes, it was a waste but the sectors that I did get in J with my DONExs (or equivalent in those days) were still vital to me getting some sleep. If I knew that I had no chance of getting a J seat then I would call ahead and try to get a row of three reserved in Y so I could sleep.

Remember, I was flying up to four nights in a single week and up to 10 night flights a month. A guy has to sleep sometime, even an insomniac like me.

The DONEx was not good value but I built up a relationship with the RTW desk at BA and they tracked the seats for me so when I did the odd economy long haul on other tickets, they tried to get me an op-up if possible.

Then... I discovered that an AONEx equivalent was cheaper in Copenhagen than a DONEx of London. As I worked in CPH a fair amount, well that is the start of the facination with pricing RTWs in different countries.

Rule of thumb: Don't ask for an upgrade at the CX desk at the Wing/Pier esepcially if you're not a MPC member.

You'll be considered if the flight is full, and only after MPC members have been upg first.

If you understand Cantonese.. just hang around the desk when other Oneworld members ask for upgrades and you'll understand why.

This was in the early days of BA's New Club World (NCW) cabins. I chose the LHR-HKG-BNE return specifically to get the NCW config on the LHR-HKG sector as that was one of the few routes that was supposed to be 100% NCW aircraft.

The substiture aircraft was the Old Club World (Cradle Seat) config 744, with the reduced CW cabin on the lower deck, resulting in less J seats available that the original config.

I had refused to board, and was finally the last to board when the last remaining J pax with a seat allocated (on the upper deck) had not arrived at the gate. They shut the door behind me. I am not sure what I woudl have done if that last passenger had arrived. I may have been able to refuse to board and they would have had to pull my bags off the flight. And since I was on a DONE4, I could have asked to be put on the next OneWorld flight t0 HKG (CX or BA). But I suspect availability would have required at least one additional night in London and a later arrival home, so I probably would have reluctantly boarded and fought for some sort of compo (upgrade to F on next flight, perhaps??).

I presume the HKG-BNE = on CX?? BA never flew to BNE before??

No, actually it was a QF flight HKG-BNE.

BA did used to fly 744's to BNE via SIN a few years back. I only used it once on a MONE4 trip. They stopped and now codeshare with QF on the daily 747 QF51/52 services.