Operational upgrades

Hello, I've searched under "operational" and "op-up", and haven't found the answer to this one:

I hope to become a Gold flying club member by summer. Just wondering about a couple things:

(a) Do I have to already have paid an upgradeable ticket fare to be eligible for an op-up if a cabin is full, or does any fare work?

(b) Do they determine your priority based on ticket fare paid as well as FF status? (this is what US airlines do)

(c) is there any way to determine in advance what the chances of an op-up are, using seatcounter.com etc.

Thanks - and please forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere.

Casey

Hi Casey - its not the most obvious place to look - but in the FAQ's - which are accessed using the little box at the top right of the site - there is this information.

Have fun [y]

Mark-

Thanks for the link - yes, it answers my basic questions! It would also be nice to understand some of the practical experiences people have had with op-ups, but my guess is that there is likely no predictable pattern (although it would be nice to know if being in a higher fare class, as well as a gold card holder, helps any)

-casey

Hi again Casey - I think that the answer to all your questions is yes, maybe, sometimes and no!!! Yeah that's vague but I think the experiences of v-flyer members would demonstrate all those answers. I have been upgraded from economy to Upper on one occasion - and I was 1 tier point away from silver, so was that the determining criteria, or was it that we had a pleasant chat with the customer check in rep?

I have also been upgraded from PE to Upper on 3 or 4 occasions and then the next time I flew the same route kind of expected the same - and then it didnt happen!! So who knows?

There are posts on here were members look at expert flyer to see how full a flight or class is to see if they are "more likely" to get an upgrade - but there is still no "science" or "guarantee" to it!

I think there are some things which play a part - being a FC member, travelling without children, being appropriately dressed, being on a full flight - particularly in PE with Upper then not full, having the highest grade of ticket in a class - but none of these are specific to upgrades!!

In fact I even wrote to VS after each upgrade thanking them - did that help? Who knows?

[Scrooge]

Also you may want to look at this post as it gives a general order in which seat movements are made...kind off.

Just read the list from bottom to top and you will get a feel for who is first in line for the op-ups.

[RichardMannion]

I think the old adage of, if you want to fly in a particular class, then book that particular class.

Some may see that as harsh, but I'm sure others like I have plenty of stories/scenes we've seen when people are trying to get an op-up.

There are procedures within VS in relation to upgrades but they are not published, just like other airlines. The shell basics are outlined in the FAQ topic Mark referenced.

Thanks,
Richard

With op-ups, it's done by one person and one person only who is in charge of the flight.

There is no set procedure for op-ups which is why it's hard to determine a pattern.

A general rule of thumb is if you're gold or a full fare paying pax travelling alone you're more likely to get op-upped, but it will only ever be done if the cabin is full or they do not have enough meals.

But as it's done by one person, this can all change and you could just happen to be checking in a the right time when they don't have enough seat or your name just gets randomly pullled from the list!

And of course booking on a fullish flight to get op-upped could also result in downgrading.....

[mitchja]

You can be op-uped from any fare class as well. I've been op-uped from the lowest 'N' fare in the past as well as V Hols Economy and Premium fares too.

Regards

I gave up trying to determine what to do to get an OpUp a long time ago. Its pretty much in the lap of the gods (or more likely loads on the day) as to whether you're lucky.

I remember when I turned gold I didn't get an op up for ages and yet my last two flights in PE have been upgraded to Upper at check in. As Richard said, if you've really set your heart on a particular class I would go ahead and book that. Anything else we get is a bonus.

Cheers!

Dean

p.s I remember years back, before I flew VS on a regular basis (and long before I joined V-Flyer) I remember somebody saying that all you need to do to get an upgraded is "to ask for one and they give it becaused its good advertising for the airline". I'm so glad I never believed that too much as I'm sure it would have resulted in me looking like a muppet at check in.

We flew MAN MCO a couple of years ago with friends who were not Flying Club members and we all had seats booked down the back end of the economy cabin.

Just before boarding our friends were called to the desk and upgraded to PE. This was their very first flight with VS.

When we boarded and went down the back end to our economy seats the flight attendant from PE came down to us and asked if our 11 year old daughter would like to go and sit up front with her friend as there was still one empty seat and her friend looked a bit sad [:(]

That we considered was very thoughtful and we let her go:)

So I reckon it just goes to show that it doesn't matter whether you are Gold Silver Red or nothing at all. It's just luck on the day whether you get an OP-UP or not;)

thelaceys

[Nottingham Nick]

This is an interesting thread, I am with Dean and previous posters - I have given up trying to work it out. Lipstick's post makes perfect sense.

I have been lucky enough to be op-upped several times when I haven't expected it, and on a couple of occasions where I have been on a flight where I thought I may be able to engineer a bump, I haven't managed it.

It boils down to what Richard has said - if you are particularly keen to fly in a particular class, then buy a ticket for than class.

Op-ups have always got to be looked upon as unexpected bonuses, no matter what colour card you have in your wallet.


Nick

Just noticed this Virgin Media guide to scoring an upgrade. I wonder what tales will appear in the message board - anyone care to open a book on how quickly the 20-quid-with-the-ticket trick is mentioned...[:?]

Paul

If someone gave me £20 with the ticket i'd think it was for their excess baggage.

[HighFlyer]

Originally posted by pjh
I wonder what tales will appear in the message board - anyone care to open a book on how quickly the 20-quid-with-the-ticket trick is mentioned...[:?]

Already happened ...

The responses from most of us were pretty jovial though, personally i cant believe the lengths some people will go to. If you want to upgrade, do it with miles or cash!

Thanks,
Sarah

[Neil]

Seems even so called "Celebs" can't get Op Ups - Full story here. Nice to see once again they call UC as First Class[ii]

Neil

[honey lamb]

It never ceases to amaze me when they say "Do you know who I am?" and I just love it when the answer is "No"

Adam Ant once came down the sairs into a full Yang Sing in Manchester and "demanded" a table - the head waiter said they were full.

Mr Ant then said "Do you know who I am"

To which the waiter replied,

"No, but I know who you used to be"[oo][oo][oo]

Classic!!

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by Lipstick

And of course booking on a fullish flight to get op-upped could also result in downgrading.....

Yes you can also be down graded, this of course as the law states requires any Eu airline including VS to hand you over a nice check, as is the case here, well ok so it's only the law.

Well it's sunday, a bit quiet here on the boards, so i figure what the heck, let's throw some petrol on the fire. Now where he heck did the devil smiley go to [?]

Originally posted by honey lamb
It never ceases to amaze me when they say "Do you know who I am?" and I just love it when the answer is "No"

I love it when a guest pulls that line on me, my responce is always the same.

"Sir/Madame, it does no matter who you are in Las Vegas, no matter if your a Hollywood super star or a guy who works at the local 7-11, everyone gets treated the same, depending on how much they play"

It normally takes them a while to figure out what I have said, the response is goes along the lines of "So I guess I am not getting that comp for 10 people to the restaurant huh"

As others have said, if you want a certain class of travel pay for it.

I've had an op-up confirmed during OLCI once, being upgraded from an overbooked W cabin to a fairly open J cabin. This was from a K ticket.

The OLCI process completed, the seat number had changed to one in the pointy bit, and there was a "You have been upgraded to Upper Class" message.

I guess, if they are pretty certain they are looking at overbooking on a flight, VS will go through about 24 hours before departure (manually or automatically, I wonder?) and "sweep" appropriate higher status memebrs forward.

Mike

I had that once when Virgin agreed to an OpUp as an apology for some very poor service at SFO. It was shown during OCLI. Never seen it since, and I've flown a lot of full PE recently.