Bucking conventional wisdom, sometimes you CAN get a free upgrade to business class just for asking. At least that’s what happened to me on Emirates. The meal served onboard will be the subject of this week’s Meal of the Week.
It was March 2009 and I was traveling from Melbourne to Auckland with my uncle and brother. At the time, Emirates had a robust trans-Tasman network (Qantas has now taken over all routes except Sydney to Christchurch). These flights were very reasonably priced and seemed to sell well in the back, but not so well in business or first class.
Check-in was a zoo at Melbourne, with what seemed like a group of 150 Chinese tourists checking in for the flight. Once we reached the check-in desk, I asked the agent if it was possible to “purchase” an upgrade to business class.
She got up from her chair, consulted with her supervisor at a nearby desk, then returned moments later…with three business class boarding passes. No charge.
I’m not sure if we would have received them anyway, but I highly doubt it. See, it still pays to ask even if your chances for success are very slim. Operational upgrades are often needed on oversold flights.
Our aircraft was an A340, which has now been retired from the Emirates fleet. The business class seats were not lie-flat. This flight was before I started to blog, but I did take pictures of the meal.
After boarding, we were offered fresh-squeezed orange juice or water as well as mixed nuts.
Menus were distributed and the breakfast choices included waffles or an omelet. The first course included ripe fruit and a croissant. The dessert (chocolate cake) was also placed on the tray.
The main course included coffee and a scone, along with a cheese omelet, green beans, cooked tomato, hash browns, and mushrooms. I also enjoyed a strawberry banana smoothie.
During breakfast, I enjoyed the ICE IFE system.
CONCLUSION
Even today I still chuckle about the upgrade. I don’t ask for upgrades very often, but I have not been able to reproduce my good fortune very often (only twice in a decade, to be exact).
Great breakfast on Emirates, though.
> Read More: Want a Free Upgrade? Dressing Nice Won’t Cut It…
This week’s “meal of the week” is over 9 years old. Throw it out, it’s spoiled.
As you know, the nature of the “Meal of the Week” feature is historic meals. Sometimes weeks old, sometimes decades old.
About 15 years ago, I asked the United check in agent if there was anyway for us to use miles to upgrade our flight from Chicago to Paris. The agent told us that we didn’t purchase an upgradable fare, then proceeded to upgrade us for free.
Never had this happen on a flight, but I did experience something similar on a recent hotel stay. I e-mailed the concierge at the Waldorf in New Orleans asking if they could put a refrigerator in the room so we could store baby stuff. She upgraded us to a suite instead. I’m sure it was an operational upgrade due to an oversold situation with standard rooms, but sometimes, speaking nicely to the staff is the “excuse” they need to make it happen…
Was the business class on that A340 the same angle-flat seats they have on some of their 777s? I have seen photos of first class on their A340-500s and besides the colors, it looks almost identical to the first class they have today.
Yes, same angle-lie flat seat.
Picture here:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Emirates/Airbus-A340-541/466900/L?qsp=eJwtjUEOwjAMBL%2BC9twDUhCH3AoPgAMfsBKrjWhx5FiCqurfSQq32VnLuyLIy/hjjyUzPAqThhEdMinNBX7Fk5e3aKwMnpOScTn07nRsR6OYXKsZRBd416GI2qUiYrV9CJyNI37%2BppG1VVzCvjC0RdeQ9f5P5xpjKnmi/QsbpQnb9gXN0Td4
(wish I had taken one)
It’s good to note that you didn’t just ask for an upgrade; rather, you offered to buy up to business. That’s a good point to highlight so folks don’t think that this just happens to thc casual schmuck that saunters up to the check-in desk and asks for a sear up front. I mean, I guess that could work, but usually doesn’t.
I’m a casual schmuck who saunters up and asks… it paid off one time…
A rude frequent flyer with a special diamond or platinum status was yelling at the gate agent about an upgrade.. he left and I was next. I told the gate agent she matained her professionalism because I would called the airport police and had him evaluated. I jokingly asked if an upgrade was available. We laughed and she took my ticket and reprinted another one and gave it to me. We laughed and I didn’t even pay attention. As I boarded. I looked and I was in seat 4 !!! Couldn’t believe it! I wanted to thank the ignorant customer in front of me for making it possible!
I had a similar experience once on CX. The plane was packed with tourists from the Mainland. My wife and I were in economy class. While waiting for our flight to board they called our names and when we came up at the gate they gave us new boarding passes (without asking) to Business Class. Sweet!
Did you really call it a “zoo” because of 150 chinese traveller ?????????
Not because of the Chinese, but because of the 150 people at three check-in desks.
be more outraged hajar… make more of an issue out of nothing… please
I took up and paid for an upgrade offer to business class from Dubai to Vienna which was only available by internet. Sadly I was not permitted to use the Emirates business class lounge in Dubai on my 3-hour stop-over!!?? Was not impressed … This did not happen when I flew the same route with Qatar.
I was also denied lounge entry into the Emirates Lounge in Melbourne.
I’ve had more than a few unexpected and unpaid upgrades over the years. Of course, there was a three-year stretch where I was flying AA LGB-DFW almost weekly and I’d started to do wacky stuff like bringing the ground staff homemade muffins. Since the route was an underperformer, the flight was nearly always about half full or less. Once I started buttering up the agents, I was almost never anywhere but F on the outbound legs. Given how short the flight was, I never bothered using certs on the return, but I’d occasionally score a seat in F just by being polite.
My best two op-ups were even less expected. One time I was flying UA SFO-JFK on their then new PS product. I’d already paid up to Economy Plus (I didn’t have UA status at the time), but when I checked in, my boarding pass was for business. The other time was when I was queued in the bag line for Qantas AKL-LAX, a woman approached me and asked if I was traveling alone. When I replied that I was, she asked me to step out of line and follow her. She guided me to the premium check-in counter, apologized that the flight was full and I was being moved to business class.