Dear Alex,
How does the free upgrade system work? Last April I was booked on an Emirates flight between London Heathrow and Dubai. The flight was overbooked and a number of passengers got upgraded.
One, a Skywards silver member, was offered an upgrade to first. But the offer was not extended me to me even though I am a gold member and a very frequent traveller. It seems my loyalty to Emirates is misplaced.
Bashar Jazmati, London
Alex replies:
Upgrading is one of the most complex issues in the airline business. How it is actioned can vary from airline to airline, airport to airport and route to route. Even duty staff have a say in the matter.
As you may have read on our online forum (businesstraveller.com/discussion), no two travellers have the same view about upgrading. It is a subject about which there is no consensus.
In your particular case I cannot provide an accurate answer without knowing all the facts and clearly no airline will admit to its inner workings. All I can surmise is that when airlines know a couple of days ahead that a particular flight will be overbooked, staff will take action to move passengers around the cabin. That is because they have the time to identify their best passengers.
But when flights become overbooked at the last minute, perhaps because of an unexpected number of passengers or delayed transfers, they may not have time to instigate the correct procedures. When working under pressure, staff might simply upgrade on a first come, first served basis.
I realise this is not the answer you might have wanted to hear, but one must always remember that upgrading is a privilege and not a right. I do hope you have better luck next time.
