Operational Upgrade/ online check in?

Does anyone know if checking in online reduces your chance of an operational upgrade? I frequently travel PE as Gold Card member and I know they are first in line for an operational UG if PE is oversold.

Richard (Admanflyer)

[preiffer]

Hi admanflyer, and welcome [y]

OLCI offers operational upgrades if you've been pre-selected already - it will pop up on the screen. This is the same pre-selection that applies if you go to the counter, so it should make no difference. In terms of "at the gate", it makes no odds whether you've checked in online or at the desk

It has made no difference to me, I've only been op-upped twice in over 100 flights. Once after using Online Checkin when Economy was oversold and I was moved to PE on a trip to South Africa, and secondly when I arrived 2 hours before my flight to Boston and had not used Online Check in and all the good PE seats had been allocated.

Personally I think a lot has to do with how late you get to the airport, as I like to get there early, relax and grab a good seat I think my chances are lower.

Having said that, I don't worry about it any more. If it happens it happens. I don't go looking or expecting, it's just a nice surprise when it happens.

I have used On Line checkin to find I have been moved up from Economy to Premium (Twice) , but this was as a result of a Virgin apology for a very poor experience at SFO.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has any factual evidence.

[Nottingham Nick]

I never bother with OLCI when I am am not flying in Y.

I was op-upped the day before yesterday travelling in PE from BOS to LHR. I could see that my name was on a list of three PE-UC op-ups, I am pretty sure that it said gold next to the names.

Nick

It's an interesting question - yes op upgrades may be notified if you have been preselected, but that could mean the day before. What if on the day upgrades need to be made due to overbooking, or hours before but not yet after everyone had checked in, would VS wait for late comers before deciding who to upgrade while putting everyone they could into the cabin, knowing that some are more likely to be there than others because they had checked in? If this sort of makes sense, I wonder if any VS staff have an answer?

[Nottingham Nick]

I still think that in the case you are describing slinky, that golds who have already checked in will get priority for the op-ups.

They will either be paged in the CH or they will get that lovely bleep as their boarding cards are fed into the machine at the gate. [8D]:D

Nick

I agree, my first op-up with VS was at the gate. I would also be surprised if there were a 'method' to increase your chances of op-up that hadn't been leaked onto the net already

BTW, ADMANFLYER, you need to update your profile as you are showing as a silver flyer.

Paul

Me and MrsPVG were both Op'upped at the gate on a recent HKG-LHR flight.
I'm Gold, she's Red (becuase I haven;t get around to sorting her Silver account linked to mine [:I]). We moved from Econ to PE.

We did OLCI, I was on a cheapest of the cheap Econ return tickets, and she was on a single ticket (linked to my booking when i booked it with FC).

I casually enquired about mileage upgrades at the bag drop, but was told my ticket was the wrong class, and the flight was full anyway.

We got to the gate after spending a couple of hours in the Club House, and found both our names on the notice board.

Go figure! Was it a last minute upgrade, or did they know about it when i checked in or bag dropped... ExpertFlyer had been showing no Y but plenty of PE and Upper for a couple of weeks prior to the flight.

I too have given up trying to find a formula for Op-Ups. When they've happened to me I'm just be grateful.

I think a certain amount of pre selection is involved, so it can happen at OLCI. Never tried it myself, doesn't seem worth it unless in Y.

Has anyone ever pretended to be a Z list celebrity to see if this works? [}:)]

[fozzyo]

From my limited experiences of Op-Up's and observations is that a lot of the non preselected, because we are over booked can often happen in the Clubhouse for Gold cards.

So has anyone been in the clubhouse and called up to the concierge desk to receive an Op-Up out of the blue then ?

[preiffer]

I've heard people being called up on many occasions for exactly that, yup.

I've heard people being called up, but you never know if it's just a seat change at their request, or a mileage upgrade.

What I was interested to hear is if any Y or PE traveller in the Lounge got a Clubhouse surprise call, or whether it is more likely that it would happen at the gate.

I always get a little disapointed when I get my boarding stub manually torn off and not put through a machine

Mark

[preiffer]

Ah, no - I meant I've been there to see/hear their reaction on a few occasions - definitely "unexpected"

[mitchja]

Originally posted by ukcobra


I always get a little disapointed when I get my boarding stub manually torn off and not put through a machine

Mark

You still have a chance, even after that point, as I've had 2 op-ups in the past on board due to the system allocating the same seat to more than 1 pax. Happened at LHR and IAD.

Regards

Presumably not checking online definitely does increase your chances of an operational downgrade/bump on an oversold flight!

[:0]

No, I think your status has an effect there. So if you are No status or Red and not checked in online, I think you'll get bumped or downgraded before a Silver and before Gold.

Originally posted by ukcobra
...

I always get a little disapointed when I get my boarding stub manually torn off and not put through a machine

Mark

Hats off to the stub tear-a-offer in PVG yesterday. I was wait listed for a miles upgrade from Y to whatever was available, and out of 300 odd boarding cards NOT being put through the reader, he spotted my name and picked out his list then wrote my new seat number on the stubb.

Result, my stub was manually torn off at Gate 35 at LHR this morning.
Mind you they were selling Premium Economy upgrades for £169 to SFO today, as there were 10 seats available. Looks like quite a few took them up on the offer.