Points upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy A380......worth it ???

[Kazda]

Hi

Travelling on A380 Syd - Singapore 17/9/10 then Singapore - Melb 25/9/10

I have put in a points upgrade request to Business for the Syd - singapore leg this week (with fallback to Premium Econ), however for the Sing - Melb leg home Expert flyer only shows 3 Prem Econ seats avail at the moment and the seats avail are in Row 39.

Row 39 on the A380 is sandwiched between the Toilets, Gallery and the self service bar. As it is a night flight is this row best avoided ???. I know I can't choose the seat/row location in an points upgrade situation so if we don't get a J class upgrade, should I request a prem econ as second preference or not as we could up being allocated row 39 and be disturbed all night with the galley nearby and toilet traffic and would hate to waste points on that.

Any info on what row 39 Prem econ is like would be really appreciated. Currently I have only requested upgrade to Business, so wondering what I should do.

I'm gold SC.

thanks

 

[Mal]

I think it's still worthwhile. I've sat in 38D, and still felt it was a good seat.

Also keep in mind that people cancel tickets, move flights, get upgrades etc so if you get an upgrade to PE, you aren't guaranteed to end up in row 39...

 

[Kazda]

I think it's still worthwhile. I've sat in 38D, and still felt it was a good seat.

Also keep in mind that people cancel tickets, move flights, get upgrades etc so if you get an upgrade to PE, you aren't guaranteed to end up in row 39...

thanks for your reply. Did you fly at night or during day. ?
Flying and night and trying to get to sleep could be a problem being disturbed by galley and toilets.

 

[Mal]

thanks for your reply. Did you fly at night or during day. ?
Flying and night and trying to get to sleep could be a problem being disturbed by galley and toilets.

Night time. LAX-MEL, so a decent flight. Don't recall being disturbed by galley or toilets. The curtain is normally in use, reducing noise etc. And keep in mind that you are in a PE only area, so you won't be disturbed by econ etc like you would be on a 747. J pax would tend to walk forward to use their toilets.

Anyways, I'm sure others have sat in those seats and will also contribute. Either way, I'd rather be in PE than Y on the A380 most of the time.

 

[TonyHancock]

Qantas Premium Economy is pretty good, and the 380 PE is a decent step up from economy.

The exit row seats 38J and 38K aren't released until almost last minute and they are excellent. I notice they are showing as blocked at the moment.

 

[Kazda]

Qantas Premium Economy is pretty good, and the 380 PE is a decent step up from economy.

The exit row seats 38J and 38K aren't released until almost last minute and they are excellent. I notice they are showing as blocked at the moment.

On expertflyer it shows for me as seats 38 J & K as occupied with 38 DEF blocked.

 

[TonyHancock]

On expertflyer it shows for me as seats 38 J & K as occupied with 38 DEF blocked.

38 DEFJK all showing as blocked when i just logged on to expertflyer.

I was allocated 38J on check in when I was stuffed about on my normal 34B seat selection. I assumed that because it was emergency exit was not available for allocation until the last minute. I could be wrong of course.

 

[Kazda]

38 DEFJK all showing as blocked when i just logged on to expertflyer.

I was allocated 38J on check in when I was stuffed about on my normal 34B seat selection. I assumed that because it was emergency exit was not available for allocation until the last minute. I could be wrong of course.

Hmmm, are we talking about the same flight & day QF10 Sin - Melb as my login just now shows different.

 

[Ewing]

The exit row seats 38J and 38K aren't released until almost last minute and they are excellent.

My last two bookings on the A380 I've been pre-allocated 38K at booking without needing to do anything.

It's a fantastic seat.

As for PE being worth it - definitely. Sure it's not as comfortable as J (but in this case, J was $20k vs PE at $4.5k and I wasn't about to pay $20k for a Skybed ), but much more comfortable than Y.

I did:
- LAX-SYD (QF12)
- Shower in J lounge in SYD
- QF787 to CBR arriving 9am
- and then a full day in the office.

Good luck doing that in Y

To me being functional on arrival is very important. It's difficult for me to get time off for personal trips, so I need to make every day count and can't really waste a day recovering

 

[TonyHancock]

Hmmm, are we talking about the same flight & day QF10 Sin - Melb as my login just now shows different.

No you are quite right!! i was looking at the SYD-SIN Flight, not the SIN-MEL flight. I get the same as you!

 

[Kazda]

Thanks for all the input.
I've just requested upgrade to PE as a fall-back option to J.

One more thing, is an upgrade dependant on the time of upgrade request being made. EG: Does a request 1 month before the flight get preference over a request 1 week before the flight ?

The reason being, I had a J and PE 'fallback' request in about 1 month ago for Singapore-Melb but cancelled the PE request (leaving only J), so hoping that early upgrade requests don't get 1st preference any make any difference to the outcome.

 

[tuapekastar]

One more thing, is an upgrade dependant on the time of upgrade request being made. EG: Does a request 1 month before the flight get preference over a request 1 week before the flight ?

My understanding is yes, this is one of the influencing factors on an upgrade's success.

 

[JetLagged]

My understanding is yes, this is one of the influencing factors on an upgrade's success.

Other facts inlude:

1. the status of the person making the request/flying - other matters aside, CL and WP passengers get priority
2. the fare bucket and class of the original ticket

All adds the unknown into the great Upgrade Lottery - mind you, have been quite successful with points upgrades - even ones made only a month out from the flight. But again, being WP helps, I am assured.