Fredrik74

Started the year with an upgrade. It was on a German domestic route though so nothing fancy. The ticket had fare code W so not that expensive but apparently status meant more. The gate agent seemed surprised btw so it may have been their software who decided...

KroFlyer

Jan 1: EWR-CPH from Y to C

I checked in online around 9.00 for the 17.30 flight. Still in 14G at that time. When I got to EWR I asked the gentleman checking me in (who appeared to be a supervisor) if the window seat in 14 was available. He said he could do better than that and handed me a ticket for 6A The flight was full, and at the gate I overheard other people talking about being upgraded as well. Not a bad way to start the new year!

jth

Pretty nice to get an op-up as EBS (as your profile indicates!). I hope i will have the same luck when i go to ORD on a P award ticket then.

KroFlyer

Yes, I was pleasently surprised. Between the op-up and finding 31.000 extra EB points in my account today, in addition to the double promo points (both promos I must have signed up for months ago) 2010 has been a very promising year for me already! Best of luck on your trip to ORD

erwiol

I found it happened quite often as an EBS but might be I was just lucky every time I have never flown IC on a P ticket tho but I do not think SK looks at ticket class when upgrading. It´s purely EuroBonus level + service class.

It was almost like musical chairs at several occassions. I got bumped up from economy to economy extra. While I was moving from my economy seat someone else got moved from my new seat in economy extra and forward to business. (Yes, the upgrades often happened after boarding. Must be pure accident as I have never seen this later.)

As an EBG I have only at a couple of occassions flown on the class that I have paid for (usually I get bumped from economy extra to business).

(Based on 4-5 IC flights per year the last 3-4 years - on SK.)

fbflyer

My girlfriend and I were upgraded on our SAS flight from Dubai to Copenhagen three weeks ago. We had paid P class and were upgraded to Economy Extra.

Thanks SAS!

SirRagnar

Dang, I wonder what you all are doing to get those op-ups. I have still to be upgraded and I always try to keep my flying on SK (am EBG).

ScandinavianUK

I suppose the upgrade success very much depends on the route(s) you typically fly. I did around forty(40!) round trips to BRU last year and did not have a single upgrade. On the route ARN-LHR-ARN I have had loads of upgrades (M to Y, Y to C) during the last few years. My most recent upgrade though was on ARN-ORD (M to Y + points to C) last July. On a longhaul flight is where an upgrade really makes a difference!

fbflyer

For the Dubai flight it looked like economy was overbooked. We never asked for an upgrade but the nice lady that checked in with in Dubai at the business counter told us that we had been upgraded to Economy Extra. Of course I didn't ask why .

I have (almost) never been able to upgrade from Economy when there are empty seats available in economy. The only way to upgrade then is to use your hard earned points or no upgrade at all.

BizflyerNorway

The double promo points plus the normal points should give you close to EBG status then?

BFN

KroFlyer

I agree, the route makes a difference, as well as when you fly (ie. christmas, new years, and other big travel holidays when there are more families and students travelling). Also, the flight I was on was fully booked in M according to the SAS booking engine seat selector for quite a while before the flight, but tickets in M were still available for purchase up to the day of travel. Y only had about 5 seats booked, and C was half full. When at the airport I overheard several people mentioning they had been upgraded to Y, and at check-in the agent told me "the flight will be full tonight." So, as I am sure has been mentioned, the best chance to obtain an op-up is to have some status and try to travel when everyone else does.


Just to clarify, the promo points were 31000 extra points, plus double status points (giving me about 31000 basic points altogether). Still not bad for one trip booked in Y. Now I need a little more than 13K to reach EBG, which I should be able to get on my next IC trip . Hopefully there will be more promos like these to sign up for in the future as the promos I took advantage of ends 31 Jan 2010.

ramo

I think that this is actually quite common. It is also a clever way of doing op-upgrades - they make two people happy with one business class seat. I guess that we rarely see it this clearly, since the op-upgrades are often done at the gate or even before.

ILS2

I got upgraded on my two latest IC-flights between ARN-ORD and back. Y+ to C. Nice that they still haven't turned totally into LH who desperately try to make people buy upgrades with cash/points before turning to op-ups of elite members. The 31.000 extra points bonus (the 'fly in Economy Extra/Business'-campaign) was also a nice start to the year.

Well done, SAS

SKILLSEN

Upgraded yesterday DXB-CPH on award ticket economy to economy extra. Nice since I had wife and in-laws with me and they got upgraded as well...^

Still in economy at check in 2hrs before the flight but got the nice "beep" at the boarding gate...

Cheers!

trouble_

I was successfully able to upgrade a friend who was travelling with me to Tokyo from punishment class to business class both ways last week (I was booked in business class). On the return flight, he got the very last business class seat.

On the flight to Tokyo, I got his upgrade without miles deducted. Not sure why, but I'm not complaining. Thanked the gate-agent profusely.

In general, I've been pretty successful upgrading on SAS. Upgrading on other *A carriers with my EuroBonus miles has been less successful. The website form always tells me there are no seats left, and I've had no success with calling SAS either. I'm sure I'm missing some key secret there...