Upgrade to business on Star Alliance award ticket?
 

I have a flight from ZHR to EWR-LX18 Swiss 340 Airbus coming up. This is an award ticket booked on United. Anyone know if they allow paid business upgrades at gate if seats are available? I have done this with Lufthansa from MUC to EWR for a fee of about 800 euros.

I've been researching this myself recently. Mixed data points, but the master thread is here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/swis...ort-swiss.html

Two recent data points which indicate it's possible:
https://runningwithmiles.boardingare...usiness-class/
https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea....port-upgrades/

Gate/check-in upgrades are possible depending on a myriad of factors. It's just not something you can count on. Just ask!

My experience on ORD-ZRH was that there were no seats available for Y-C award upgrade when the flight was F2J2 (they told me J was overbooked by at least 5). However, as I stood at the counter a party of three in J cancelled, sending the flight to F5J5 and opening one upgrade space, which I took my 016-plated X class ticket. Pricing is $1150 on this route when not oversold. It was a more manual process than expected -- agent had to call and wait on hold to read someone my card number.

​​The rule of thumb for discounting in oversell situations is apparently 5, as they said C-F is usually $2k on the route but they were offering it for $1k due to the oversell. I asked and they said you're not allowed to skip forward two cabins in one go.

So any recent experiences with this during Covid. We booked business through UA miles from ORD-ZRH and ZRH-JNB. flight is 9 days away and currently Biz is 38% and 19% full respectively, and first is empty. Wondering the chances of the upgrade to F being reasonable at the gate. Any recent experience on this. I would think they would want any extra money these days.

Also any lockers in the ZRH airport we can use inside the non-Schengen security area (term D). Just in case we want to bring any sprits from ORD, and leave the security area.

You can always do a walk up cash upgrade to F. Pax in transit from ORD to JNB won't be allowed to leave the transit area and enter CH anyway...

Actually with Irish citizenship, after further investigation, I should be able to leave the transit area, at least we are hoping that is still the case, we will roll with the punches though. Also one caveat I forgot in my flight, first leg of the flight is on a UA flight to Chicago, so can you do a walk upgrade at the gate or is it only at check in. Will try at check in but it being a UA check in I am guessing it will not work.

Gate or LX checkin in ORD: United gate/checkin agents will look at you like deers do at headlights if you ask for such exotic things.