Do QF keep one seat (J or F) empty or do they upgrade everyone who asks for a seat - A380

[brett-au]

I don't know if anyone here has seen or can comment on the inner workings on QF upgrades. But I was thinking on the A380, the odds of one of the seats breaking or something going wrong is greater than zero.

Is QF 'smart' enough to process everyone wanting an upgrade but leave one or two seats just in case of last minute problems? I mean that will likely be filled with a staff traveler (who would almost certainly be asked to move to the back of the plane if there was a need - right?)

I'm just curious about situations where someone has paid 10k for a J or F seat, kicked up a fuss, then cabin crew 'demoting' someone who got an upgrade on points to accommodate them.

 

[Quickstatus]

I don't believe QF deliberately leaves a premium seat "spare" just in case.

If a paid premium passenger kicks up a fuss they can depart the aircraft. Reminds me of a couple of First class A380 passengers who were offloaded(or maybe they refused to fly) from a flight after first class pyjamas in their size were unavailable back in 2012.

 

[New to this]

Almost every F flight I have been on had at least 3-4 upgraded pax.
Since you usually find out late, last minute if you’ve been upgraded, I suspect there’s a natural buffer there, for these incidents.