First class upgrade on QF1

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Welshie

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Feb 19, 2018
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In a frenzy of status chasing fever I booked a return business flight to the UK.

Never bought anything other than economy in my life and have had only one bizzo experience earlier in the year.

Then I see QF dangle this upgrade button in front of me for 75k points and I start to think upgrading isn't just a good idea but some kind of imperative...

Questions I had to the more experienced flyers are:

1. Part of me thinks I'm being ridiculous - should just enjoy the bizzo experience and build up to the first class thing some other time?
2. A lot of reviews suggest the QF A380 bizzo cabin is pretty tired and not all that great- is this just a case of nitpicking/first world problems?
3. Is first class worth the 75k points?
4. What are my actual chances of a sucessful upgrade on this route (departing 13 Dec)?
 
If the upgrade comes through you get to enjoy the F lounge. If you've got the points do it.
 
You may never get another chance. Give it a crack.

I presume 75k is the cost one way? If so, on the way out of Australia will give you F lounge access in Sydney or Melbourne. No difference in lounge in Singapore or London.

Qantas business on the A380 is comfortable but not private and not that special. F is much better seat and more private, but be aware food and drinks are almost identical to business.

Chance of n upgrade depends on your status. If you are prepared to give us that and your exact flights we can take a look at current flight loads and give you some information (although it's still a bit too early to be definitive).
 
If you are used to economy, then J I think would be a wonderful experience and 75 K points to go up to F is too much!

J cabins can be a bit tired, but quite OK.
 
You may never get another chance. Give it a crack.

I presume 75k is the cost one way? If so, on the way out of Australia will give you F lounge access in Sydney or Melbourne. No difference in lounge in Singapore or London.

Qantas business on the A380 is comfortable but not private and not that special. F is much better seat and more private, but be aware food and drinks are almost identical to business.

Chance of n upgrade depends on your status. If you are prepared to give us that and your exact flights we can take a look at current flight loads and give you some information (although it's still a bit too early to be definitive).

Yes 75k is for one way (on the way back I have A380 - SIN then the A330 for SIN - BNE which looks great).

Flight out of SYD is at 1700 on 13 Dec (QF1) and I'm a NB.
 
Yes 75k is for one way (on the way back I have A380 - SIN then the A330 for SIN - BNE which looks great).

Flight out of SYD is at 1700 on 13 Dec (QF1) and I'm a NB.
Expertflyer is showing only 5 first class seats still available. 7 of 14 seats have actually been selected by passengers. Given there is still a month to go, it's not really easy to tell. But that looks quite full and I would imagine there'll be many people ahead of you in the upgrade queue.

I'd still give it a go. But expect it won't happen.
 
Expertflyer is showing only 5 first class seats still available. 7 of 14 seats have actually been selected by passengers. Given there is still a month to go, it's not really easy to tell. But that looks quite full and I would imagine there'll be many people ahead of you in the upgrade queue.

I'd still give it a go. But expect it won't happen.

Thanks for the info - pleased in a way as now I'm definitely not expecting it so would just be a cool thing to happen if it does.

Cheers!
 
It's rubbish. Don't bother.

Juuust kidding :p.

But.... will you ever cope with going back....?;):eek::oops:

Kidding aside, give it a crack but don't be too hopeful is my view. An upgrade to F without status is unlikely, so just give it a shot and if it happens, you can say 'been there, done that, ho-hum' ;). Don't die wondering is my motto...:D
 
As someone that use to walk through the J cabin thinking, 'One day I hope experience that' and now we do, I would totally bid if I had the points to spare because J is getting crowded.

You can always earn more points, take the opportunity to upgrade when you can.
 
2. A lot of reviews suggest the QF A380 bizzo cabin is pretty tired and not all that great- is this just a case of nitpicking/first world problems?
3. Is first class worth the 75k points?
4. What are my actual chances of a sucessful upgrade on this route (departing 13 Dec)?

People paying good money - such as yourself - are not nitpicking when they say the cabin is tired. The A380 seats can droop (or arc now) and it can be little better than an angled lie-flat seat. It's not what you'd expect from that sort of money when other carriers are offering top of the line seating - and service - that doesn't come with any 'buts' or 'ifs'.

First class is not worth the 75K upgrade when you can get virtually the same - or better - product on another airline's business class. And it's not worth the risk that you might get a crew having an off day.

Unless you have P1 or platinum status you should probably expect to fly in the cabin you have booked. And hope for a seat/bed that doen't droop :(
 
1. Part of me thinks I'm being ridiculous - should just enjoy the bizzo experience and build up to the first class thing some other time?
2. A lot of reviews suggest the QF A380 bizzo cabin is pretty tired and not all that great- is this just a case of nitpicking/first world problems?
3. Is first class worth the 75k points?
4. What are my actual chances of a sucessful upgrade on this route (departing 13 Dec)?

My answers:

1) Yes you can enjoy J but *definitely* register for the upgrade
2) The cabin is tired mainly because there are better J products out there. But if you ignore the potentially droopy seat QF J is a perfectly good way to get to LHR. The seat pitch is very good and the rows are staggered so you see fewer people in your line of sight.
3) Yes and yes.
4) I'd say less than 50% looking at the loading. There may be cancellations but on that departure date many people will be going to the UK for the Xmas period to see friends/family and are less inclined to move their itineraries.
 
I presume 75k is the cost one way? If so, on the way out of Australia will give you F lounge access in Sydney or Melbourne. No difference in lounge in Singapore or London.
If you didn’t get the upgrade on the way over and decided it was worth it to try again for the way back and got it then you could go to the excellent Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge in LHR T3 rather than the QF lounge or even go to both if you prefer. QF doesn’t have a lounge dedicated to First Class and Status Elites so many prefer the CX FLounge. Going Business you could still choose to try other OneWorld Business Lounges (e.g. CX, BA)
 
Go for it.

While the chances are pretty slim if you don't have status, as a generally Y flyer, you may not get another chance. And on the 380, there is a fair difference between J and F. If it was one of the new J seats (787), I may be a bit more reticent, but not with Skybed MkII.
 
Have a go :)
First is fun ...the lounge...the spa...it is a great experience
You can then write it off as done

Come on how great to start a trip in first
 
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Speaking personally, and one that wont be popular on AFF

I was a bit underwhelmed in F on a similar long QF flight, QF8 returning from DFW. I didn't see it as much of a marginal increase in comfort etc, compared to going from Y to J. I would never pay for F and even a points redemption would have to be on the basis that I had absolutely no other use for those points.
 
Speaking personally, and one that wont be popular on AFF

I was a bit underwhelmed in F on a similar long QF flight, QF8 returning from DFW. I didn't see it as much of a marginal increase in comfort etc, compared to going from Y to J. I would never pay for F and even a points redemption would have to be on the basis that I had absolutely no other use for those points.
Not an unpopular view on AFF at all. Quite the opposite. But it is better than J (in my opinion) and if you have the points to spare (or can earn them easily eg via credit card sign-up) why not.
 
If you didn’t get the upgrade on the way over and decided it was worth it to try again for the way back and got it then you could go to the excellent Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge in LHR T3 rather than the QF lounge or even go to both if you prefer. QF doesn’t have a lounge dedicated to First Class and Status Elites so many prefer the CX FLounge. Going Business you could still choose to try other OneWorld Business Lounges (e.g. CX, BA)
Good points - apologies for not thinking of other OW lounges. I'd still put the SYD F lounge ahead of these though.
Presumably the points cost would be less as it could only be the LHR-SIN leg.
 
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