Free Upgrade?

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to this forum and this is my first post so please be gentle and forgive me if this has been answered elsewhere.

Anyway, last September I flew UC to LAX. I travelled with to work collegues who had only been issued PE tickets. However, as we got to the desk and handed our boarding cards in one of my friends was taken to one side and upgraded to UC. Once onboard the other friend got a free upgrade too.

So what I'd like to know is -

1. does this happen often?
2. what is the criteria for possibly getting bumped up?

Thanks for your time...

Clarkysun

[Pete]

There's no simple answer to either those questions, but you'll find some clues here.

Operational upgrades happen whenever any airline has more people to put into economy than they have physical seats; and as overselling is commonplace (because of no-shows), having more people than seats happens a lot.

Being the guy singled out for an upgrade has changeable goalposts, and each airline will approach the situation differently. For Virgin, the biggest boost to your chances comes in the form of a shiny Flying Club Gold card.

Pete

[Nottingham Nick]

Welcome to V-Flyer.

I would echo what pixuk has said above, you might also like to have a look at this recent thread, which gives a good insight into the mysterious world of op-ups.

Nick

[RichardMannion]

But Pete, my Flying Club Gold card isn't shiny anymore....

Other thing to factor in is if your company has a commercial agreement with the airline. Were your colleagues mroe senior than you, exec level or directors per chance?

Thanks,
Richard

Now you come to mention it - the guy upgraded at the gate is a director and the other chap found someone already in his seat.

Clarkysun

[Darren Wheeler]

I've only ever had one upgrade and that was because Virgin Holidays had messed up my booking ( back when I went package).

Basically I'd booked a H code to LAX, but for some reason they changed the booking to V without telling me and adjusted the price accordingly. So when I arrived there was no PE seat. Luckily, I printed all my booking emails and produced the relevant on. Despite it not being VA's fault, they put me in PE, and this was the days when PE could use the lounge.

Never been lucky since though.