Ever been upgraded

crisco10

OT but the other thing about "is there a doctor on-board?" Is that most of the time they will have had a drink which tbf won't impair their judgement but if god forbid something does go wrong will call their decisions into question.

So plenty of ways to say no if they ask for a doctor!

laserlad2010

2009. Second leg of a flight from Bangkok-Dubai-Dublin. Economy to Business on Emirates.

I was dressed in a Tiger beer tank top, board shorts and flip-flops, the missus wasn't much better. Hadn't shaved in a week or so.

Coming up to gate in Dubai, the agent takes our tickets and hands back new ones. I cop on well before herself what's happening, and start to bounce a bit with excitement.

I actually think that the air hostesses really enjoyed having me there because I appreciated every single thing they did and the look of pure bliss on my face! My right hand held a Heineken and my left a gin and tonic, neither went below half full for 6 hours! How would I like me steak Mr X she asked me! She knew my name from the get go like:D:D

The OH went straight to sleep as the seats went horizontal. I don't think I even blinked the whole flight in case I missed something.

The only downside was that I realised that the plane had a first class area as well, and considering everything I could think of was in business class I'm now completely stumped as to what I'd have gotten in First Class!

mel.b

I got upgraded flyinng with Swiss DUB-CAI which was a pleasent surprise. I was then also upgraded on the way home but that's because i had fallen over and twisted my ankle literally getting into the cab on my way to the airport (and this was after being up all night with food poisioning). So i arrived at the airport not looking the best, asking for a doctor. The lady obviously took pity on my and upgraded me but it also meant i had to be wheeled through the airposrt and onto the plane in a wheelchair!

faceman

Been upgraded on both BA and EI. The BA upgrade was on a 747 so the cabin wasn't as swish as the EI cabin but the service on BA was world class.

It always feels with EI when you're in Business that everyone is in on the joke of "Look at us in Business. lol". Our humility through our Irishness is sweet.

I'm flying Business to LA this week. A slightly better way to have to deal with flying anxiety than stuck being stuck in steerage!

killbillvol2

laserlad2010 wrote: »

2009. Second leg of a flight from Bangkok-Dubai-Dublin. Economy to Business on Emirates.

I was dressed in a Tiger beer tank top, board shorts and flip-flops, the missus wasn't much better. Hadn't shaved in a week or so.

Coming up to gate in Dubai, the agent takes our tickets and hands back new ones. I cop on well before herself what's happening, and start to bounce a bit with excitement.

I actually think that the air hostesses really enjoyed having me there because I appreciated every single thing they did and the look of pure bliss on my face! My right hand held a Heineken and my left a gin and tonic, neither went below half full for 6 hours! How would I like me steak Mr X she asked me! She knew my name from the get go like:D:D

The OH went straight to sleep as the seats went horizontal. I don't think I even blinked the whole flight in case I missed something.

The only downside was that I realised that the plane had a first class area as well, and considering everything I could think of was in business class I'm now completely stumped as to what I'd have gotten in First Class!

A suite with a closing door, caviar, a la carte service, 21 year old Glenfiddich, Hennessy Paradis etc., etc.

"Would you like us to make up your bed Mr. Killbill?"

"No thanks, I'll be wide awake for all this".

ironclaw

faceman wrote: »

the cabin wasn't as swish as the EI cabin but the service on BA was world class.

I found the business service on EI to be pretty poor coming back from YYZ last summer. Upside was the proper Irish breakfast, downside was it took forever for the express meal to arrive, which completely defeated the point of it when you are trying to sleep. A small saving grace was the 2:1 config, meaning you can get a single seat all to yourself and the TV seemed larger than most other flights I've been on. Largest pet peeve, and perhaps its quite petty, was holding business class passengers back to disembark economy. Part of the ticket price is first on, first off which is godsend. Not a huge deal coming home but it still felt disrespectful on a €2.5k ticket.

Shedite27

laserlad2010 wrote: »

My right hand held a Heineken and my left a gin and tonic, neither went below half full for 6 hours!

You're a slow drinker

faceman

ironclaw wrote: »

I found the business service on EI to be pretty poor coming back from YYZ last summer. Upside was the proper Irish breakfast, downside was it took forever for the express meal to arrive, which completely defeated the point of it when you are trying to sleep. A small saving grace was the 2:1 config, meaning you can get a single seat all to yourself and the TV seemed larger than most other flights I've been on. Largest pet peeve, and perhaps its quite petty, was holding business class passengers back to disembark economy. Part of the ticket price is first on, first off which is godsend. Not a huge deal coming home but it still felt disrespectful on a €2.5k ticket.

Was that on a 757?

byronbay2

laserlad2010 wrote: »

2009. Second leg of a flight from Bangkok-Dubai-Dublin. Economy to Business on Emirates.

I was dressed in a Tiger beer tank top, board shorts and flip-flops, the missus wasn't much better. Hadn't shaved in a week or so.

Coming up to gate in Dubai, the agent takes our tickets and hands back new ones. I cop on well before herself what's happening, and start to bounce a bit with excitement.

Too much information, dude!

brettmirl

Few upgrades, some pure chance, others using OneWorld or Star Alliance points.

BA business class to LAX from Heathrow. Crew on the outbound were superb...the way back was a totally different experience. Two of the cabin crew were awful, just didnt want to be there. It's amazing how much a couple of grumpy crew members can totally skew your experience! Check in, lounge, gate agents all dead sound though.

Continental (back in the day) from Newark to Dublin...the check in agent took pity on me as my booked emergency exit seat wasn't a runner - my back was in bits so wouldn't have been able to open the door.

By far the best was business upgrade with Air New Zealand (NZ001) travelling Heathrow to LAX. Was upstairs in the 747. Service, food, drink was amazing compared to any of the European or American carriers I've been on.

Have never flown with Emirates, Qatar, etc so can't compare to their level of service!

smurfjed

........

Yamanoto

Got upgraded to J on AA on a DUB-JFK-MSP flight two days before Christmas some years back. Was doing quite a bit of flying with them at the time but don't think I'd made elite status. Only other long-haul upgrades were to premium economy on two occasions ex-Narita on BA.

Have had quite a few short-haul upgrades in the US & Europe over the years, which is a nice nod to customers who've stuck with certain airlines over a long period. As 95% of my flights are booked a day in advance at most, I suppose they've had enough money out of me to return the favour in a way that costs them very little in real terms.

Jude13

I just checked in on an overbooked Emirates flight this morning. I was asking about the chance of getting an upgrade as I was now a gold member with approx 140k miles. They informed me that the policy had changed and it doesn't matter if you are gold or platinum anymore, it goes by the price of the ticket paid.

So if you purchase your first ever flight with Emirates at Flex plus for say 500 euro. And another person who had flown for years with Emirates and attained gold or platinum status has booked a flex ticket for 490 euro. The first person gets the upgrade.

Absolute joke.

ironclaw

Jude13 wrote: »

They informed me that the policy had changed and it doesn't matter if you are gold or platinum anymore, it goes by the price of the ticket paid. .

I'd say that was a dumbed down version for the masses. Upgrades nearly always proceed by ticket class e.g. Full fare economy (Y I think?) will get upgraded before the cheapest seats. Which would roughly translate to the price paid for the tickets in most instances. You can rarely jump the queue if someone has paid more for a ticket unless you are in the top tiers, airlines hate upgrading the cheapest tickets sold.

mlumley

Not so much an upgrade, but in 1994, I flew back from Stansted to Dublin. I used to do Gliding, and as I boarded, said to the hostess"I fly without engines, would love to see how it's done with them. Was told to take my seat and she would have a word with the pilot. Before I had even got my coat off, she was calling me down. She opened the cockpit door and ushered me in.

Best flight I ever had, sitting in the jump seat. 9/11 changed all that.

Jude13

ironclaw wrote: »

I'd say that was a dumbed down version for the masses. Upgrades nearly always proceed by ticket class e.g. Full fare economy (Y I think?) will get upgraded before the cheapest seats. Which would roughly translate to the price paid for the tickets in most instances. You can rarely jump the queue if someone has paid more for a ticket unless you are in the top tiers, airlines hate upgrading the cheapest tickets sold.

I get that however you would think they would reward the people who have paid the most cumulatively to encourage them to fly with them again. I am gold, 2nd tier and my companion was platinum, top tier. A member who may have only flown once but has a higher costing economy ticket will get upgraded prior to us.

They stated that we would have gotten an upgrade if it had have been before the rule change which they say came into play in August last year. No real point of trying to get gold or platinum. Silver gets you lounge access. The others get you nothing much more.