What chance BA will upgrade so partners can be in the same cabin?

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    BA744fan
    Participant

    I’m booked in Club World on BA to HKG later in the year and have now decided to treat the wife to a few days away with me. Unfortunately the budget would only stretch to booking her in to WT+.

    Reward flight upgrades are scarce at the best of times even though I have enough miles to cover an upgrade should there be any late availability.

    Assuming there is no late availability to upgrade through miles, is there any chance BA might upgrade for free, even if only for one of the legs? Is it worth asking at check in?


    SimonS1
    Participant

    Why not – if you don’t ask you don’t get.

    You could always be chivalrous and swap with her….


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    BA only does operational upgrades. That is if one cabin is full, and only in this case, they would upgrade the biggest revenue generators. So your odds are rather limited…


    pdtraveller
    Participant

    Offer to swap seats…I find that sometimes helps…..though it has back fired . Thankfully first to club in my case. Still the brownie points were worth slumming it for 11 hours.


    Brett88
    Participant

    I was flying BA ICN-LHR just before Christmas there. I was booked in Y+ but got upgraded at check-in to C due to overbooking. My good friend was seated back in Y as per her original booking and when I was offered my pre-departure drink I told the flight attendant that I had surpised my ‘girlfriend’ by booking the same flight as her and flying back with her for Christmas but explained she seated back in Y and was there perhaps any chance she could get upgraded. The lovely flight attendant checked with the manager and came back to inform me that in there was one free seat and she’d be happy to move her up to C after takeoff. A kind solo traveller also switched with me so we got seated together.

    It goes to show that if you don’t ask, you don’t get. I was just really polite and smiley, and got lucky that the flight attendant I asked was really lovely too.

    Good luck!


    IanFromHKG
    Participant

    I managed this once, on a flight from JFK-LHR, when I had a good friend in WTP and me in F. I offered to “downgrade” to C if they would upgrade him to C as well – and also gave them a bit of a sob story. It caused a frenzy of keyboard but he did get the upgrade (and subsequently in the lounge, I have to confess I asked them to reinstate me in F!). But he spent most of the flight sitting with me in F in the jumpseat 🙂


    StandingThemUp
    Participant

    You could always look out for a POUG in MMB, if the flight is starting to get full and they may have to do some op-ups, then you may get lucky and get a reasonable offer, worth checking for regularly.

    You can check the number of tickets on sale at http://www.flightstats.com, it’s not the same as seats sold, but will tend to give you an indication of whether the flight is looking heavily/oversold, which would be your cue to look for a POUG.


    BA744fan
    Participant

    Club World ticket will obviously get me into the Galleries Lounge at Heathrow. Would I be able to bring my wife in as a guest if she has an WT+ ticket? We are both only Blue Exec Club members.


    ImissConcorde
    Participant

    BA744fan Only Card holders Prem/Gold/Silv may bring guest(s) to the lounge. Your ticket only entitles you entry to the lounge.
    Depending on bookings there may be a possibility to do an “airport upgrade” on check-in/. This is for a set level at the airport.


    TominScotland
    Participant

    My favourite memory on this theme was with KLM, flying Amsterdam to Beijing with my wife and son, all of us in Y. At the gate, I (as a Platiunum Card holder) was offered an upgrade which I was inclined to decline. My wife chipped in that it was not right to separate the family on her birthday (which it was), was it? A big smile from the lady at the gate and three WBC Boarding Passes were produced!!


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    If you have enough miles, I would phone BAEC and see if revenue will release another reward seat – doesn’t matter how many times you ask, you may hit lucky.


    AnthonyDunn
    Participant

    @BA744fan – 11/07/2013 21:47 GMT

    Well, such things DO HAPPEN!

    Last August, returning from Mongolia via Beijing, Senior Management was booked in CW whereas I was in WT+. Politely presenting her BAEC Silver card at check-in, Snr Mgt gently enquired whether there was any possibility of her Admin Assistant (that’s me by the way) being upgraded to join her. “That will be no problem” was the response. There are few occasions in which I am stunned into total silence but this was one such.

    If you don’t ask (gently and politely), you won’t get.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Flying LH from FRA – CPT I was in F with Mrs.LP in Business, in the nose with a window seat. She took her seat then had to take kids PJ’s back to Y. On her return someone had taken her seat. She complained and it transpired Lufthansa had double booked not just her seat but several other as well.

    The FA took her boarding pass (and never gave it back- thus removing any evidence) and seated her at the back of the cabin in a middle seat.

    I was totally unaware until someone sat next to me saying that what had happened and that my wife would probably be upgraded as well and he’d then swap seats.

    Well she wasn’t, despite her having Silver and the the man next to me not even possessing a FF card, but he was German!

    Result, one angry wife with LH who then refused to ever fly with them again. She switched to QR and flies them with the boys. Adding in family and ex-nanny, that’s about 20 revenue seats a year lost. Probably not enough to concern Lufthansa, if at all as they are arrogant beyond belief.

    I continue with Swiss but once I’ve re-qualified for Senator, and if our flights coincide, I also fly QR and recently BA.

    The moral of all this: Unless you are perhaps German, don’t expect LH to behave like BA or KLM and don’t expect an upgrade!

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