Your first OpUp
 

I never really thought about it because it was a while ago and has not happened since, but a few recent OpUp threads made me realize I too once had an OpUp.

It was on Pan Am on a 747-100 from LHR to JFK.

I was originally upstairs in Clipper Class but someone's seat was broken, they needed a business class seat, and I was moved into first.

I did this with mixed feelings since I always liked the quiet upper deck on the 100 but first was great of course.

I was a student at the time, platinum since I flew a lot

What was your first OpUp?

Backpacking far too many years ago as a student on a short hop from CDG to LHR. I had previously been lucky enough to fly (real) F and J on family trips and was feeling the pain back in Y, so the upgrade to C was terrific, even for such a short flight. I actually enjoyed the omelette! :p

My first ones would have been as a child, but I don't remember where / airline etc. the first one I recall was when I was a teenager flying from London to the Caribbean, airline was BA.

Few years ago, Korean Air, an unespected bump from Y to J on ICN-FCO.

No status. Never knew why me.

Only the piece of cake of the usual amazing kindness of korean people, KE staff included.

Just had my first upgrade last Monday on Swiss from CAI to ZRH.

Was travelling with a friend, me on an award ticket (Y), he on a regular discount fare (obviously Y).
We checked in together in Cairo, asked if we could be seated together.

Then the check in agent tells me that I can be upgraded, but my friend could not.

Obviously I moved up front...:D

Mine was about as unremarkable as they come... from Y to J on a YWG-YOW flight. The gate agent called out asking for pax who wouldn't mind being bumped in exchange for a flight credit and I stepped up, so I was a little bummed to end up with a seat on the flight (and no credit) although the J seat took away the sting a bit. Not that J means that much on a short-ish domestic flight, mind you...

Never, in well over three million miles of flying, almost all as a top tier elite on the carriers operating the flights. Ages ago, I once negotiated domestic FC as part of a VDB that I wanted (the flight was obviously going to be a zoo with a huge group of kids traveling together), which was the only VDB I can remember.

My first was on ua Milan-iAd.
 

My father was premier exec and we moved from coach to business class. This was my first international business class flight. Compared to coach it was fantastic. I enjoyed the food and entertainment.

my first and only (not counting boring US domestic ones), I was in the first row of J on a CDG-JFK flight. On boarding I got the beep and was informed I would be in First. It was an AF 777 with 4 F seats. Nice way to get home and my last (by choice) longhaul experience w AF. I hate their J product and I will never pay the $ or mileage they command for that product.

My only OpUp was a good one. I was one of the first coach passengers to board, sitting in the exit row of an AA 777 from JFK-LHR. As the plane filled up, I was surprised to see the other exit seat wasn't taken. Once everyone was seated, an FA came up to me and asked if I was willing to switch seats for a couple whose seats were soaking wet. I agreed, and she lead me up through J to a seat in F.

Oct 2011, my friend and I were taking advantage of the dirt cheap round-trip fares to Europe after 9/11. We had booked $200rt JFK-DUB and got bumped up from coach to business on the way there. On the way home, the flight was virtually empty so we each had a row of 5 seats in coach to ourselves and slept the whole way back.

I was a Platinum on AA and we were flying Aer Lingus

June 1988, BRU-SVO on SU (!!) I was 20. That was my first-ever trip to Moscow, for a summer study program. To this day, I remember Aeroflot serving crab salad in an avocado half as part of the meal, which impressed me greatly. I also recall that every single passenger on the plane was individually photographed by a mysterious Soviet functionary when starting up the steps to the aircraft.

A rather dull move from WT to WT+ on a BA flight LHR-SEA. Notable because I was with my mother and brother - none of us had status but we all got upgraded

The first one I remember happened a long time ago as a kid on NW. We (a family of three) were flying in coach from US to Japan (forgot exactly where). At check-in at the airport I requested a window seat, to which the lady at the counter responded "I'll put you in business class" and gave us upper deck seats. I was actually mildly disappointed because the window was far from the seat so I had to lean over the storage bin to get a good view :p.

My first time was maybe my best time - coming back from a long St. Pats weekend in DUB to JFK in 2000 on Aer Lingus. Started out not so good, I had lost my wallet the day before with all my cash and cards, and only had about $40 on me that I'd borrowed from a friend. When I got to the airport, I was told that they could not give me a boarding pass yet and was in great jeopardy of being bumped (no idea why as I was there in plenty of time - perhaps because I was on a really cheap ticket). They gave me a voucher for lunch, and I was told to check back 45 mins. before departure. I think I was the only one they did this to. I was a little worried as I did not have a lot of cash on me for contingencies. I get back to check in at 45 mins. before, and finally given a boarding pass. I race through immigration clearance, get on the flight, and find I was bumped to Business (Aer Lingus only had two classes). I had no status whatsoever. Nice one too, loads of good food, enjoyed in seat video (Y did not have it then), champagne, good, comfortable napping. I was first row with no one next to me too. :)

I have had a few op ups over the years, only once was it on an airline where I had status (or even belonged to their FF program), and I'm not sure I even had status at the time, plus it wasn't even on my account, it was an award ticket from my bro-in-law's miles.

Not too long ago, CAI-LHR on BA. Husband and I had 62J/K on UD and got upgraded to 2A/K :). First upgrade for the OT having been a gold card holder for about 8 years.

Sadly 2A was broken. The seat couldn't go fully flat and the footrest wasn't working at all, and there was no other seat I could move to in F as it was full. Fortunately the flight was about 4 hrs so I pretty much put up with it. :(

I was flying home for xmas this year and my g/f happened to be flying out the same day. After getting a hold of her schedule i booked a mulit-city trip to be on the same plane as her.
A few days earlier i had put in my upgrade request and it cleared while my g/f was still seated in the back. While boarding i rushed ahead and told the flight attendent that i wanted to give my "friend" my J seat and i would take her's in the back. My g/f was a little flustered when they FA directed her to sit in 1F. I settled into my seat back in 27c. Once the doors were closed the FA came back and said to me we have a seat for you up front. 1d was unoccupied and they sat me next to my g/f for the flight.

In early December of 2008 my daughter and I completed a Platinum Challenge.

Two weeks later we flew from FRA-DFW and at check-in we were offered an upgrade from Y-J.

Two weeks later I flew FRA-DFW and ORD-FRA and was Op-Uped on both!

So as a brand new mid-tier I received Op-Ups on 3/4 of my first TATLs.

About 3 years ago I was flying back from studying abroad in Norway when I received an opup on BA LHR-IAH (no status) from Y to Y+. It was better than Y but I still haven't flown BA since.

June 2004, flying FCO-FRA-IAD on LH/UA.

Check-in at FCO, given a boarding pass and then a gate pass at FRA for my seat to be assigned at FRA.

Land in FRA, kill some time, go to the gate and am told to wait for my name to be called. They start calling names. Everyone but 1-2 people have boarded and I'm called. Seat was something like "14C." I took the boarding pass and as I boarded the plane I thought to myself "this is awfully far to the front..." when I stumbled onto my seat which was in J.

Was a student and originally booked in a cheapie Y seat, but was LH Silver at the time. First op-up and first time in J.

My flight from MSP to PDX after Christmas was canceled due to a blizzard early in the 1990s. NW called and said that I was being rebooked on a flight two days later.

I had visions of being stuck in a non-reclining middle seat, but when the agent handed me my boarding pass, it was Seat 2A--first class.

I had a fair amount of miles on NW at the time, but no status.

Note that my parents and I were non-elite passengers at the time.

1988 - I was 9 years old traveling with my dad from NRT to BKK on NW. During our layover in NRT, my dad dozed off in an isolated part of the airport, so we arrived at the gate just before the flight was about to be closed. From my point of view a kid, the agent typed in our surnames into the computer, took our original boarding passes, and gave us new ones. My dad just smiled as we were walking to the gate and said, "We're seated in executive class." I had no clue what that meant, as all I knew about classes of service at the time were coach and first class. What stood out to me was that there were only 2 seats together and that I was able to get out of my seat without asking my dad to get out. That was my first introduction to premium travel. That was the beginning of my addiction and hope for getting upgraded in future flights, more for ego. :)

1991 - I was 12 years old traveling with my mom from NRT to MNL on NW. Unlike the incident above with my dad, my mother and I arrived at the gate on time. Waiting to get to the gate agent to lift the ticket, my mother pointed out that the agent was asking coach passengers if they'd like to be upgraded to business class, and my face lit up, hoping we'd be given the same offer. Fortunately, we were. I think Y was severely overbooked and J way open.

Then came 7 years of dry spells on international trips with no offers of op-ups. :(

But since 1998, I've been flying J on international trips. :) I'm wondering if I'll ever get an op-up to F. :D However, I've mentally prepared myself not to expect to fly F or to even book travel in F. I'm not even elite on the carrier or alliance.

SEA-PIT back in the early '90s. I was a young 20-something just starting to fly, and US bumped me up to First. I remember spending most of the flight wondering what I was supposed to do and trying to not make it obvious I was a newbie up front.

Does it count as an OpUp, if it was a bribe to keep me from demanding IDB compensation? If so, USAir, back in the 1990s... very full flight, no checked bag, no status, no online/phone check in back then... checked in a few minutes ahead of the whatever the minimum required was (40 minutes, I think) and discovered they'd already given my seat away.

Initial offer was "it's your fault, you're lucky we're offering you a seat on the next flight," but given that I was on time (by about 2 minutes left) and they were not budging on giving me my seat back, I asked for bump compensation. I was offered a voucher, or an upgrade to domestic F on the flight they'd moved me to. I'd already decided to give up on USAir, so I took the upgrade. If I'd known about the difference between IDB and VDB back then, I'd have held out for cash, but I didn't.

Was also my first flight in any kind of F/J.

First "real" op upgrade, and my only one on AA, was coming back from London at some point in 2003. I'd flown a lot of domestic F on stickers by then, and a tiny handful of J awards/mileage upgrades at that point. Was flying with my wife, on separate itineraries (mine paid, hers award.) I spotted after at check-in that my seat had been moved and was not next to hers any longer but didn't immediately realize where I'd been moved to. When we got to the gate, I asked to get moved back to the original seat next to her, and the gate agent moved her up to J next to me instead.

Score.

I've gotten a couple of op-upgrades on CX; one regional J from HKG-SIN, and a couple HKG-SFO. My wife and I also once got a half-upgrade on JL, from KIX-LAX -- the upper deck J cabin was being run with Y service. Worked for me, the seat is the important part (this also makes me miss the couple of years when every Christmas we'd fly to visit my family through Newark rather than JFK so as to take advantage of the 762-sold-as-2-class flights.)

Not sure what it means that virtually all of my op-ups have been returning to the US, rather than starting from in the US.

First op up was also my first flight with UA, back in Dec/1998 for ORD-NRT on the 744.

Had an H class ticket, asked for an aisle seat at checkin, didn't even know I was given an aisle seat in C until I got on the plane. Looked to the front and looked to the back of the plane it seemed like the entire plane was C class layout, but discovered later on UA's seat map chart, there was 3 configs of the 744, OA/OB/OP, I was on the OP one with F: 36 C:123 Y:142

When UA installing E+, both 744 OA and OP got reconfig to all OB. The current OC version is similiar to what OA used to be.

Because of the op up on my first ever UA flight, UA had my business since then.

My first op-up was on my first flight as a 1K in 2005. Really pleasant surprise, since I had never had any status prior to 2005 and was saving my E-500's for the future. Too bad that today UA is doing everything they can to undo the goodwill earned by past gestures like this.

My first and only op-up was on MSP-PDX in 2005. I was on my way to interview the next day, and my connecting flight had come in late, I ran to the gate, as the gate agent closed the doors. The gate agent automatically re-booked me on the next flight.

I had no status, I did not ask for anything (I was a kettle, I wouldn't have known better)

When she handed me the boarding pass it still didn't dawn on me until I actually got to my seat in 2B, on either an MD-88/MD-90.

That was GREAT... I made myself useful by ordering a Gin & Tonic for a PDB :-)

In 2006, on Emirates DXB-HYD, I was bumped from Y to J class, and I thought I was in heaven for 3 hours. It was my first time in business class, I had a huge grin on my face the whole time:)

March 2000, travelling on one-way tickets LGW-BOS on VS. We were emigrating -- leaving Britain behind for a new life in America.

We'd booked Premium Economy tickets for a little luxury on our trip across the Atlantic. As our stuff got packed to go on a boat, we discovered there was rather a lot more left than we'd realized, and we turned up at Gatwick with about seven large bags, fully expecting to be charged some serious baggage fees.

The check-in agent said two amazing things: "I can't be bothered to charge you for all those bags." and "By the way, you've been upgraded to Upper Class."

We crossed the Pond in serious style and twelve years, two children, and one citizenship ceremony later we're still here!

Back in the early 80s, as a young child, flying unaccompanied LAX-HEL on Finnair. Was a flight I took 1-2 times per year to see family, but typically was with at least my Mother, if not other family members. This time I was alone, and they had mistakenly put me in the smoking section of economy. Grandfather was the one who took me to the airport that time, and I distinctly remember him raising his voice and demanding they move me to a seat away from the smokers -- I ended up in F.

Frankly I can't remember much of the details of Finnair's early 80s F. Obviously I couldn't appreciate the booze, and didn't really appreciate the food. But there was a lot of room for a little guy ;)

First real op up was last summer - YVR-LHR. I was euro cheating my way home to Kent via AMS, and was in 62K on the upper deck, and my hubby who had upgraded to Club using his miles was in 64K....

I handed passport and BP to the girl at the gate and got the beep - she vanished with our tickets - going to talk to a supervisor and returning tearing up our boarding passes and handing us new ones - me for 4K and hubby for 5A in First class. (He had also managed to get a free upgrade from WT+ to Club on the way out as well!

A couple of weeks later - on the way back to YVR - I was in 62K again, and got the beep at Heathrow for 4A.....

I've probably had a few more but recall only two. Used to fly Biz as a kid (lucky) back when Biz seats were not as nice as now.

Was flying back from Japan to the US (LA? SF?), most likely on Northwest back when it was JAL, Pan Am or Northwest only, and I got bumped from Biz to First. I don't think I had status as I don't think they had such things back then. Was my only experience in first trans-pacific. Was nice, but probably would be much nicer now.

I had a bump from economy to biz once going to Japan on ANA JFK-NRT. No idea why. I had a lot of miles on United, not even in the ANA program. But they called my name at the gate and I was upgraded. Again nice, but no lie flat seats back then. Still couldn't sleep a lick.

June, 2003. AA JFK-SJU on a 767-300 (those were the days when AA cared for SJU :(:rolleyes:)

I was 17 years old and an AA Platinum. My Dad and two of my brothers and I were going to San Juan for a baseball game. My Dad had bought four coach tickets and then upgraded himself with miles and used a sticker upgrade to sponsor one of my brothers. At the gate I found out the flight was oversold by 33 and that I had the highest status on board. They not only upgraded me but they upgraded my brother who was in coach at the same time. I remember being paged to the podium and going up with my Dad. I said to him "I think they're going to op-up me" and he said "shhh! Don't say that!". The agent said "I wouldn't have called him up here otherwise".

Ended up being a great flight.

Glad I started this thread. There are some great stories here.

I got my first and only OpUp in February from SIN to MEL on EK, I was travelling home with a friend he was a few people ahead of me at the gate, they told him he had to be moved and he automatically thought that he was just being moved to another Y seat as the person in front of him was, he asked to be seated with me, I get to the gate and they cross out Economy on the boarding pass and write Business, most exciting news ever.

Probably 20 yrs ago from LAX-MPS. I was in my best suit and checked in early on NWA in coach - probably a 757. When I double checked my seat with the gate agent she told me there was a plane change to a 747. I told her I had never been upstairs in a 747 and hoped I could try that. She told me the upstairs wasn't open. About 20 minutes later she called my name and handed me a boarding pass to First Class upstairs.

Turned out it was a brand new 747. Boy did I enjoy that ride!

Mine was just last week. A 12.5 hr overnight flight from HKG-LHR on BA. Upgraded at the gate from WT+ to Business. A very welcome bonus!

Royal Brunei Airlines from DXB-BWN, the flight was completely packed in economy and my dad got an op-up to J. I was stuck in economy with my mother and had to sit on her lap for take off because my seat was allocated to someone else! After take-off, the hostess moved both my mother and I into business!

join the crowd. had one ugly involuntary move with a 12 hr delay that ended up with a move from y to c.

Many years ago, possibly even before FF programs existed, I was traveling with a boyfriend from Boston to Paris. I think we checked in late enough so that our seats together had been given away, or maybe we didn't even have seat assignments. Bump up to business. Wow! Reclining seats with footrests, amenity kits, champagne, cognac after the (relatively) lavish meal...and the morning after, the very worst headache (i.e. hangover) I've ever had before or since. I've had a handful of op-ups since but you always remember your first time, for better or for worse.