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.

 

[elanshin]

QF upgrades everyone/goes to staff on standby if noone else is there to upgrade. I've sat in broken J seats before. Not too many routes / times that QFi plane takes off and J isn't full.

 

[Warragul]

QF upgrades everyone/goes to staff on standby if noone else is there to upgrade. I've sat in broken J seats before. Not too many routes / times that QFi plane takes off and J isn't full.

Over the last few years on long haul flights in Business Class about a quarter of them had at an empty seat or two ( excluding ones where the seat had a do not use sign).

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Over the last few years on long haul flights in Business Class about a quarter of them had at an empty seat or two ( excluding ones where the seat had a do not use sign).

I am certain this is not deliberate.
For many years I had access to their staff travel system so I had detailed knowledge of flight loads, commercial upgrade requests and staff travel bookings.
Then when I actually flew (whether as staff or as a revenue PAX) I had the opportunity to see the actual cabin status and make comparisons.
I am absolutely certain they never deliberately leave spare seats in premium cabins as contingencies for malfunctions.