arrozcomfeijao

I'm flying AF next friday from Rio de Janeiro to Beijing via Paris on Economy Class (ouch...). Even though I've been FB Gold for two consecutive years, as well as being Gold with two other airlines, I NEVER get upgraded! It's true I never ask, though. It would be lovely to get an upgrade for the 24 hour saga, but I don't have much hope. Even getting an exit row seat is a rare feat. Is it just me or does this happen to everyone? Any advice, by the way? Thanks in advance.

tff

As you might find in this forum if you search, complimentary upgrades (and even opups) have become increasingly rare in AF (and KL).

Either way, one piece of advice: if you are flying in AF443, try to get a seat in the upperdeck (rows 60-69)!

sbm12

Welcome to FlyerTalk!!

Upgrades on the long-haul flights are hard to come by in general, as they are not complimentary. The Operational Upgrade (Op-Up) often depends on having an oversold coach cabin or a very generous ground crew.

S.

arrozcomfeijao

Thanks!
I've flown in the past in the upper cabin, in the very first row, and it was nice because of the extra space between the window and my seat. But I couldn't stretch my legs (I'm 6'3") the same way as in a regular seat because of the wall. My dream seat is in row 65, but since these are exit rows, they are always blocked and distributed who knows how.

arrozcomfeijao

Forgot to ask: what do you mean these upgrades are not complimentary: I thought flying with empty seats in business class would cost the same as upgrading elite passengers. Am I wrong?

sbm12

Yes and no. The cost of moving the plane through the air is the same. There are some minor on-bard differences in costs in terms of food an beverage and other amenities, but those are relatively low.

The main reason that the airlines dn't just give away the seats up front is that if they always did the chances of selling those seats - either for cash, miles or some combination thereof - diminishes. So the airlines don't like giving them away for free unless they need to.

The airlines will oversell the coach cabin if they know there are unsold Biz/First seats, as they know that the OpUp is a tool they can use, but they won't just fill the front cabin every time for the sake of giving out free upgrades.

Looking at it another way, it doesn't generate them any extra revenue so why should they OpUp you? Long-term goodwill is something, but it is very hard to quantify.