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#938545 by Phil.Durrant
20 Sep 2017, 10:36
Hi,

Would anyone be kind enough to run a load check for this flight. Currently have Economy reward tickets booked for the outbound leg but have a reward upgrade voucher burning a hole in my pocket

Have been checking daily for a few weeks but no further PE seats have been released. Just curious to know what my chances of bagging one are

Thanks
#938546 by David
20 Sep 2017, 11:37
VS 93 LGW 30/09/17 12:20 PM
CUN 30/09/17 4:35 PM
744
T,Th,Sa
70% / 21m
J0 C0 D0 I0 Z0 W9 S9 H0 K0 Y1 B1 R1 L1 U0 M0 E0 Q0 X0 V0 N0 O0

Might get one for nothing ;-)
#938547 by Phil.Durrant
20 Sep 2017, 11:55
Thanks. Am i reading this correctly; there are only 22 more seats that Virgin are willing to sell (9 W, 9 S, 1 Y, 1 B, 1 R, 1 L). Do you know which cabin class these relate to?

As somebody who has never been upgraded in my life, is it true that Op Ups are pre determined by Virgin so it makes no difference is if check in online or at the airport, check in early or late etc?

Im Gold but we are on reward tickets, so im guessing other Gold members who paid for their flight would take priority. Im also travelling with the wife, who is silver, so guess that would go against me in terms of upgrade ranking?

Thanks
#938548 by SlimpyJones
20 Sep 2017, 12:10
Phil - if you take a look at this page:

toolbox_fare_codes.php

This should explain what each of the fare codes correspond to cabin-wise. The info is a little out of date (in terms of miles and TPs earned), but there's also a section at the bottom that explains what all the numbers mean as well. :)

As far as getting op-upped, I'm also in the club of "never happened to me". But yes, Virgin will have a system of who to upgrade in the event of overbooking, etc. I'm not too clued into it so I'd rather not speculate but others may have some input!
#938549 by gumshoe
20 Sep 2017, 12:18
Phil.Durrant wrote:Thanks. Am i reading this correctly; there are only 22 more seats that Virgin are willing to sell (9 W, 9 S, 1 Y, 1 B, 1 R, 1 L). Do you know which cabin class these relate to?


No, it means VS are prepared to sell at least 10 seats - at least 9 in PE and 1 in Economy.

It also suggests Economy will be full and potentially oversold in which case opups are likely if they can't find enough people willing to buy an upgrade.

How likely are you to get one? No-one knows - there are many factors at play.
#938550 by CommanderB
20 Sep 2017, 12:31
Lots of factors on the Op-Up front.

Personally, I think single traveler with status helps (which is a category I am lucky(?) enough to fall into).

Beyond that, Its all witchcraft really.

*speculation based on my experience*

The check in staff will usually have a list of flights which are overbooked/require some shuffling if its ex-LHR. Usually this is carried by one of the senior check in agents who walk the floor in T3. Very rarely you may get a glimpse of this if you are paying attention.

At the outstations, this list is usually half a page (sometimes even a post it note!). How the people on that list got selected, is something I do not know. However, one time on HKG > LHR I checked in, asked about an upgrade... the agent checked this little hand written list and found I was not on it. (Therefore no Op-Up). However PE was full (I knew this as it was W0 S0 H0 K0). The agent offered me a mileage upgrade, which I took. I had the last seat in UC. I can only assume, they took the miles from me in order to avoid Op-Up'ing someone else for nothing.

Op-Ups do happen on VS, but very rarely. If you are willing to pay a bit for it, ask at Check in if upgrades are available, and if they are - pay for it if its a price you are happy with.
#938553 by tontybear
20 Sep 2017, 13:25
Virgin like BA hate doing op-ups as they belive it devalues the premium nature of PE and UC etc if they have to give it away. They work on an 'want a better cabin class then pay for it' basis.

And when they do rather than just offer a freebie they will go down the check-in queue (or via MMB) offering paid (cash or miles) upgrades first (even if you were on the list for a free one they will rather take your miles because someone else might offer theirs - it's not your seat until you bum is in it) - that's why most people don't know they have been op-upped until the gate (it's also why op-ups don't get the extra luggage allowance or lounge access).

But if they have to then both also have algorythms on who to op up. This generates a list for the local station. BA staff are severely restricted on what they can do to change it - if the list has split up a couple then so be it if the person being offered refuses then they are off the list and someone moves closer to the top. I would assume VS staff are restricted as well. Having a centrally prepared list (even if it ends up on a post it note) stops any accusations of check-in staff upgrading their friends or taking bribes.

Being Gold is but one factor but not the main one. Fare bucket is another one - the higher the better. Being a long term economy seat buyer might be a flag on the basis 'if we bump him up this time he might cough up for it in future' and put you ahead of a Gold that might expect one just because they are gold.

They don't like op-upping couples even less larger groups - on the basis that they will start asking to sit next to each other which then causes other problems when you want to get a plane full checked-in, boarded and sat.

BA has programme that decide who to offer its airport upgrades too and a seeming limit of 3 per year for regular flyers. If you ask about a cash upgrade they check your booking first and you'll get an 'oh sorry sir none availale today' if you're not on the magic list even if they are willing to offer another passenger it.


It's a lot more complicated than wearing a nice suit or dress or being last to check-in!
#938555 by Phil.Durrant
20 Sep 2017, 13:55
Thanks All

Will ask at check in about miles upgrade as assume by that stage its way too late to be using my upgrade voucher?!

Managed to bag some UC reward seats for the way home so just looking to get PE on way out if possible. Happy to pay miles just wondered if it was likely anymore will be released at this late stage. Guess its unlikely given how full the flight is looking
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