tabTX

Got the EuroBiz Op-Up once on LH FRA- VIE as a UA Plat, but Econ was oversold. Best one (for my kids at least) was a op-up for them AC ICN - YYZ from E to PremE, when they were traveling on my miles. They were ecstatic.

whipwhitaker

StuckinITH

Remembering the good old times. That 35 minutes LHR-BRU flight on Sabena was having a real good meal. The food plate came with a small bottle of red wine but you still could ask for a small bottle of Champagne (or two) and take the red wine home.

I have never been upgraded on LH as a *G when it was coming from the US Airways side. And I will not be feel bad when in March I'm not upgraded on an 1 hour flight.

cfischer

Been upgraded on OZ, LH, LX and AC. From Y to C and from C to F. It does happen.

a9504477

Had a few upgrades over the years.

My favourite one was C to F on LH when flying back from Japan. Had used a GPU on my flight to MUC and was asked at check-in if i wanted to go via FRA and arrive earlier in the UK. After i said no (it was shortly after they opened the new LH lounges at MUC so thought of checking them out) she asked what if she managed to upgrade me to F. That of course changed the game but the best part was that she profoundly apologised for the inconveniences when i left the check-in desk smiling with my F boarding pass. At FRA i then went to the FC terminal and for my flight back to the UK, when being driven to the plane, i saw the bus with passengers had to wait until i got on the plane (and went to my seat in Y).

Another nice one was SQ Y to C from LHR to SIN which was not too long after they introduced charging for reserving exit row seats. For some reason i was still able to select a seat next to the exit and was sitting there when another passenger turned up with the same seat assignment (and presumably paid for that). Flight attendant was called came and asked me to get up and, just when i was about to protest, mentioned in a low voice that he'll take me upstairs;-)

Apart from that a few short-haul upgrades on LH/LX (typically away from a selected exit row seat to a seat with less legroom), one on NH NRT-SFO, and maybe a few others. Also an Economy to PE one for 3 of us (i as only one with any status) on LH from FRA to ICN which was quite as i was travelling with my kids and it made that trip quite a bit more comfortable.

rankourabu

Yeah, I too have been moved up while Y and J had empty seats (BOS-YYZ), and while their own elites (they seem to display their tags proudly) walked to the back.

mspflyer3

Just traveled to/from BOM via FRA. On my way there (FRA-BOM), I was upgraded from economy (Q) to premium economy at boarding. On the way back (FRA-SFO), I was upgraded from premium economy (E) to business, also at boarding. This was a United-issued ticket, flying Lufthansa routes. I am MileagePlus Gold.

Was I extremely lucky? How often/why does this happen?

jsloan

Yes.

Extremely rarely. LH, like most airlines, would give operational upgrades first to members of its own program. To go all the way down to *G means they must have been seriously overbooked in economy/PE.

(Looks like I assumed too much. I would be livid if I were a M&M customer, but that's neither here nor there).

mspflyer3

I see - so it's not just that they have space in higher classes, it's also that they are overbooked in the ticketed class?

findark

LH will generally op-up OAL *G before LH*S (FTL - note that LH*G is the equivalent of UA 1K), and op-ups are more common on LH because they have far fewer free (including certificate) upgrades than UA. PE in particular is very commonly overbooked because the cabin is tiny.

That being said, you were still lucky

jsloan

Yes.

tods27

It actually happens more often that on UA. I've gotten multiple op-ups as a *G, so I would not say that it was 'seriously overbooked". Just got one in June and there were at least 3 of us op-upped. I suspect that there are far less elites on any given LH long-haul flight.

Nope. LH will only do this if they are overbooked in Y (or PE).

jsloan

Good point. Compared to Miles & More, getting *G in MileagePlus is child's play.

Still, while you can sometimes have a pretty good idea of when you might be able to get an op-up -- e.g., major holidays, school vacations, etc., when family travel is up and business travel is down -- all it takes is one cancelled connecting flight to free up a couple of seats in Y.

findark

Op-ups out of Economy can be quite a grab bag, but it's not really that rare to have the PE cabin over by 50% or more, which tends to be good odds

tods27

Yep. I would agree on the PE oversell. I don't fly LH that often, but it seems like PE is often booked out full and they are pretty willing to oversell it.

As a side note, I love that they print out the new seat assignment at the gate when flying out of FRA (probably MUC as well). It's great to see the little printer spool up and spit out the receipt.