Upgrades with e check-in

[pulse1]

I used to have a pretty good track record for being upgraded from economy to whatever the next one up is called these days.

Later this month I am travelling with my wife to the USA and wondered whether checking in over the internet made it more or less likely that you would be up graded.

Anyone have any information on this?

[HandyAndy]

Pulse 1

According to Cathay Pacific’s blurb in the past when online check-in was first introduced, it does not affect one’s “chances” of an operational upgrade however I have not read this recently as I don’t need to.

I would respectively suggest if you wish to be sure, you book passage in business or first class.

You may well have been successful in the past, but times have changed. I must admit that personally if I want that bit extra, I pay for it. I have occasionally received an operational upgrade from CX from business to fist but that is because they need to do it for their own reasons, not because I fancy it. They choose me because I travel 100 sectors / 200,000 miles a year with them and have high status in the frequent flier program.

[striparella]

With my airline it doesn't make a bit of difference to your 'chances'

[SXB]

As Handy Andy says upgrades are now only, usually, done when you're in a fare sector which is overbooked and they just look down the list for frequent flyers or someone booked on the "blue chip" company account.

I'm a 'frequent traveller' with star alliance and I get upgraded about once per year out of about 30 trips a year (150-180 sectors) My organisation, stingy gits they are, will only allow me to travel business class if it's more than 5 hours flying time. Unfortunately it looks like they will alter the rules so that it becomes 'in excess of 5 hours for each sector flown' This is a shame as I normally use my miles once or twice a year to upgrade economy tickets to business and take myself and my wife on a romantic trip somewhere east (sans enfants) Upgrading from Y to C on long haul takes an awful lot of miles and will take even longer if I have to fly just economy....