Result - Successful upgrade from K to S class , then G :)))

Hi all

Just wanted to feedback on my quest to get an upgrade to UC for our flights in August/September.
We were booked on a MPM ticket (K class) in PE both ways LHR-LAX and SFO-LHR.

I rang the FC this morning and enquired as to whether I could upgrade from K to S class and then upgrade to Upper outgoing, as there were Gs available one day before our outgoing flight.
I checked this morning and there were 3 Gs available What are the chances ???

I spoke to a very helpful young man and he said that I could upgrade all 3 tickets to S class for £1600 in total plus the additional miles to upgrade, and then change the outgoing flight to one day earlier, and then upgrade to Upper.....obviously I bit his hand off and went for it.

He has taken payment, and I should get the eticket in the next 24 hours or so. Fingers crossed it will all go through.
There are no Gs on the return flight but I will keep looking,as we now have the right class ticket to upgrade.

Hope this helps anyone else that is considering doing the same.
Am sooo looking forward to the clubhouse and turning left etc, and our flight is a little later at 3.45pm so loads of time in the clubhouse... wooo hooo. Plus an extra day in LA. Just need to clear the extra day off with the boss ):

Can you tell, I am excited

L2H

Thats totally awesome L2H.
Looking forward to the TR and how you get on in the CH.

Next step is seating advice, it is an A340 so do we choose seats alongside each other on the K side, or 3 next to each other on the A side or a mixture of A and D. We are 2 adults and a 5 year old.
Quite open at the moment.
Thanks !

hang on it's a A340-600, looks like the D turns into a G and faces the other way after row 8 ?
Now I am confused ii)

Any advise gratefully received !

Next step is seating advice, it is an A340 so do we choose seats alongside each other on the K side, or 3 next to each other on the A side or a mixture of A and D. We are 2 adults and a 5 year old.
Quite open at the moment.
Thanks !

Good news on the getting the G's!

I think the accepted wisdom for a traveling party like yours is to have two of you sat in say A and one in D (or vice versa) so that the little one can see at least one of the parental units which if you are sat all in a line you obviously can't due to the height of the suite wall.

Yes the wall changes 1/2 way down D/G so just be careful when you do choose your seats to take that into account.

as Tontybear says the wall changes halfway so perhaps rows 2-6 in A to D as Tonty said.

Thanks Tontybear
Our son is a seasoned traveller and very well behaved so will be fine in his own seat, but yes would be wise to keep an eye on him and which movies he is selecting
That's once he has worked out all the other gadgets in his seat.
He will no dount need a sleep so the flat bed is good news too. His dad can keep half an eye on him while I am at the bar .. hic !

Well done on getting those G's and scoring and extra day in California too y)

Looks like you get into the CH after all.

Good plan being at the bar ):

Enjoy your trip.
Dominic.

That's a great result on the G's L2H y) y)

Thanks Dominic
Will miss you by a day, would have been good to meet up but maybe next time.
Maybe booking flights based on other peoples UC itineraries is the way forward for CH access , lol

Thanks Dominic
Will miss you by a day, would have been good to meet up but maybe next time.
Maybe booking flights based on other peoples UC itineraries is the way forward for CH access , lol

Yeah it would have been good to meet a fellow V-Flyer.

I think you could be onto a winner looking at the Itinerary Calendar before booking

Have you decided where to spend the extra day? Mrs H and I were in Santa Monica in March and it was great fun 8D

Well done, LTH for snagging the Gs - have a great trip.

Forgive my ignorance, but could one of the gurus out there advise, other than ringing FC every day, what is the best (and most accurate) way of determining if any of these elusive seats are available?

I check online everyday through book flights, spend miles or use rewardseats.com.
So far I have managed to grab a couple of G's that way.

Best of luck

Dominic

Yep, just make a dummy booking, I tried for 1, then 2 , then 3. Even if there is only 1 seat and you need more I would ring FC and grab it. I was lucky to get 3 all in one go also helps to be flexible .

Dominic - we are going to Disney for now 3 nights then have 2 nights is Santa Monica. Lots of people recommended the place.
And I have 1 less day to wait than you now

Forgive my ignorance, but could one of the gurus out there advise, other than ringing FC every day, what is the best (and most accurate) way of determining if any of these elusive seats are available?

As the others have said, and there are also other options, though you do need to pay!
KVS (need most expensive subscription for award availability I think) can be helpful for making lots of different searches regularly, you can save searches, so instead of inputting all the info repeatedly, you can do it once, save it then just click it every time you want to check (or get something else to click it for you )

Well done LTH ,sat with my two girls in may on an a 346 and we had 4-6 k out and 12,14 and 15a back ,admittedly they are a bit older but personally I would rather face the wall than a stranger ,I really like the UC cabin in a 346 and I'm sure you will be fine whatever seats you have

Maybe I've missed something, but I thought you couldn't upgrade a MPM booking?!?

That's what I had seen on this forum but I thought it was worth a go. The guy I spoke to mentioned that we were Mpm and the only provision was that we had to upgrade both legs to an S class ticket, then could upgrade outgoing with miles.
I guess I was extremely lucky to find 3 Gs ?
I can see the booking and have chosen seats, but no eticket yet. Hope that isn't a bad sigh !!

I can see the booking and have chosen seats, but no eticket yet. Hope that isn't a bad sigh !!

When I changed our flights back before Easter the new schedule appeared in MMB but it took a day or two to get the eticket. Isn't there an option to request a resend of the eticket somewhere on MMB, or is that just my fevered imagination at play?

Good result on the upgrade.

Maybe I've missed something, but I thought you couldn't upgrade a MPM booking?!?

Technically true, although from what followed it sounds like a straight forward re-fare using the MPM cash and miles already used to put into an S and then upgrade to a G..

Top result L2H, hope you guys have an awesome time y) y)

Isn't there an option to request a resend of the eticket somewhere on MMB, or is that just my fevered imagination at play?

Ha ha ha, not an imagination land episode Paul (we won't be calling the men in white coats just yet ) and there is an option to resend the e-ticket to the original email address provided at booking. If you need it to go to another email then you will have to give them a call unfortunately - I would imagine this is due to some data protection or security reason.

Hi L2h

I have recently changed my outbound flight to SYD from H to S fare then Upgraded one section to a G, after 48 hours no e tickets had arrived, after several phone calls and a week of trying it turned out that the exact amount for the upgrade was about £3 different (cheaper) from the amount quoted so the payment was never processed (no attempt from VS to call me).
Once this was sorted the e tickets arrived within about an hour.

Dominic

Just rang upper class reservation ( they answer so much quicker !), they confirmed all is ok, and I should get email confirmation soon !
Will ring again tmrw if nothing comes through.....

Well no eticket arrived so rang again on Monday, again told all was OK and that eticket would be with me soon and there was no issue.
By Tuesday still nothing so I rang again, really wanted confirmation before I book an additional nights hotel.

This time I was told that there was an issue with the fare I had been quoted and I was asked 'were you told about the childs fare ?'
What ??? He then said that the fare would not be what I was quoted..... uh oh !!! I was put on hold, a nervous couple of minutes. All sorts going on in my head, I knew it was too good to be true etc..

Anyway he comes back on the line and tells me that the fare difference is actually LESS than I was quoted by over £300 !!

The eticket finally came through this morning confirming this.
Very happy

Wow! Even better news! Good for you and I truly hope you have a great trip!

Thanks Waatp, 31 days and counting. This good weather has really put me in the mood for a great holiday