P1 upgrade query

[danielt25]

Hi, thinking of booking a return "sale" fare to HKG mid may ...

The T&C state this is not upgradeable by points.

Has anyone been on these no frills sales tickets and still managed a complimentary P1 upgrade?

 

[UP4014]

You won't get an upgrade, as everyone who hasn't bought a sale fare ticket is in line ahead of you.

 

[boomy]

I’ve been on these HKG sale fares few times and each time there was empty spot in J I got P1 upgrade. More often than not crew will apologise saying J is full but will treat with special amenities to make the journey less painful.
My advice is book emergency exit in Y (you’ll get it for free as P1) then hope for the best but prepare for the worst

 

[mviy]

When I flew to HKG return as a WP I failed to get a points upgrade for the flight home (my only failed upgrade request). So getting a complimentary upgrade as a P1 is definitely difficult to predict.

As a P1 your chances of a points upgrade from an upgradable fare would be pretty good, of course.

Depending on whether you're flying from MEL, SYD or BNE and seasonal demand QF's been known to fly the 747, A380 or the A330. All of these have different capacities and different size J cabins etc.

There is a thread for requesting the flight loads however that'll only start to be a good guide as to chances of a complimentary upgrade less than a week before the flight:
Flight Availability/Loadings & Upgrade Probability Help Desk

You'll be wanting to see pretty light loads for the Business fare buckets.

 

[RichardMEL]

I would never assume that one may be given out though. Yes, it has happened, as the P1 team I do not think worries too much about fare type, but given the busy route and a lot of paid travel, it's certainly not something I'd rely on if hoping to sit in a higher class.

just my 2 cents.

 

[UP4014]

P1 will get you an upgrade, if seat available, every 10th flight as an automatic thanks.

 

[juddles]

I’ve been on these HKG sale fares few times and each time there was empty spot in J I got P1 upgrade. .....

boomy, do you mean a points upgrade?

Hi, thinking of booking a return "sale" fare to HKG mid may ...

The T&C state this is not upgradeable by points.

Has anyone been on these no frills sales tickets and still managed a complimentary P1 upgrade?

Danielt, just to clarify, I get that the fare booked is technically non-upgradeable. Is what you are asking is a "free" or "op-up" or "at the door" sort of thing? IE not using points?

 

[danielt25]

Yes is an elcheapo "sale" fare ex BNE for $318 QF97 9/5/18

I could just pay the saver fare price of $470 and put a points upgrade in which would vastly improve my upgrade chances.

While P1 said it doesn't preclude a complimentary upgrade I'm wondering what chance i have to actually score a P1 complimentary upgrade for this flight given it's the bottom of the bottom fare bucket.

 

[mviy]

Well the loads at the moment could be vastly different to how they look about a week or less out from the flight.

So you could ask at Flight Availability/Loadings & Upgrade Probability Help Desk, but I don't think it'd clarify your chances at all yet.

 

[RichardMEL]

Yes is an elcheapo "sale" fare ex BNE for $318 QF97 9/5/18

I could just pay the saver fare price of $470 and put a points upgrade in which would vastly improve my upgrade chances.

While P1 said it doesn't preclude a complimentary upgrade I'm wondering what chance i have to actually score a P1 complimentary upgrade for this flight given it's the bottom of the bottom fare bucket.

As above my commennt is this: If you really want it to happen then it's less likely to come through, If you can live just fine in Y and ae not worried either way then hey knock yourself out. If you want a pretty good shot at it, then go for the saver and points upgrade path IMHO.

My policy is to go he route of either buying the CoS I want or putting in for points upgrades(still a lottery, but as we know P1 priority is usually good for a seat up the front)


I would think though that if flying solo ones chance of a complementary upgrade would be OK assuming a) there are seats and b) P1 wishes to bestow one. Remember it's not automatic for every flight that has seats.. which is why I would not rely on it as a means to sit in J on a long haul flight.

but that's just me.

 

[boomy]

boomy, do you mean a points upgrade?

Can’t request points upgrade on sale fare but P1 gets highest priority for operational upgrades (together with CL), regardless of the fare booked.
I’d say, based on personal experience, the chance for P1 to score free upgrade on international routes is very high IF there is still an empty J seat by boarding time. Unlike domestic routes, QF don’t usually leave empty seats in J.

 

[RichardMEL]

It's rare for QF to leave empty seats in J on domestic... usually taken by staff and the like. It's a rare day one gets a free seat - specially on trunk routes.

Remember there's a difference betwen complementary P1 upgrades and op ups.

Of course in the situation of this thread the difference is not really an issue as long as one gets an upgrade, but they ARE different things. Certainly in terms of op ups I agree CL and P1 will trump the lower rungs for scarce space.

Having said that you need a case of oversold in Y/PE and seats free in J that have not already been filled with upgrades. A P1 comp upgrade can occur when Y/PE is not oversold (and is usually done before the flight is taken over by airport control who deal with stuff like op ups)

 

[boomy]

It's rare for QF to leave empty seats in J on domestic...

Not rare at all, especially outside peak times but it depends on the route. More chance to see an empty seat on MEL-BNE rather than on MEL-SYD.

 

[Matt_01]

Yes is an elcheapo "sale" fare ex BNE for $318 QF97 9/5/18

I could just pay the saver fare price of $470 and put a points upgrade in which would vastly improve my upgrade chances.

I would just be inclined to pay the $150 more and put in for a points upgrade. At least you will jump towards the front of the upgrade list.

 

[UP4014]

J international will normally have one seat left at full fare for walk ups, between check in opening and boarding it will be decided on someone getting an upgrade.

 

[RichardMEL]

Not rare at all, especially outside peak times but it depends on the route. More chance to see an empty seat on MEL-BNE rather than on MEL-SYD.

OT to this thread but guess our experiences vary I've done both peak and non peak on all kinds of routes MEL-ADL/BNE/SYD/OOL, BNE-CNS v.v. OOL-SYD/MEL etc and I've found OOL to have "more" chance of an empty seat. BNE maybe the early weekend flights, but other times full. Or at least by departure full,.

Still, everyone's mileage will vary but I have definitely observed mixes of last minute upgrades and staff standby travel tend to full up J on domestic runs.

Maybe travel to HBA in winter may see less