Checking in very early, how does that help in free or heavily-discounted upgrades?

score:6

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I had checked out of my hotel that morning and imposed on a friend for that evening until around 22:00. So probably arrived at the check-in counter around 22:30. I had nowhere else to go and would have been very happy to while away a few hours in one of the Emirate's lounges (comfortable seating, free food and drink, newspapers, wi-fi etc). My flight was not due to depart until something like 03:30 the next day.

The check-in counter was not open for my flight. I was lucky to catch someone as they were just about to leave the counters unmanned, possibly for a couple of hours. What I suspect happened was that First was fully booked and some VIP decided they wanted a seat in First regardless. The airline is effectively wholly government owned and unlikely to say "no" to someone with enough clout, regardless of the impact on paying customers. So my theory is that a First passenger was going to be downgraded to Business.

However, still speculation, Business was also already fully booked. So Emirates needed to downgrade a Business passenger to make way for the downgraded First passenger. This would have been known as soon as the hypothetical VIP claimed a seat in First, hence by being ridiculously early I was given the chance. I suspect it was a VIP in part because I have some doubt that otherwise someone checking in an earlier flight would have known of the requirement to find a seat.

I did not set out to achieve the maximum 'compensation' but was reluctant to forego legroom (the other 'perks' were of little significance for me). The free ticket, 'duty free' voucher, retention of the expedited baggage, the limousine, use of the lounge were offered first. These are probably fairly standard 'offers' in such a situation. I hesitated but probably showed signs of being amenable since legroom was really all I cared about. Next I was offered a bulkhead seat. She was being persuasive but bulkhead seats often nowadays do not provide much extra legroom, since there is no room under the seat in front. I did not ask for three seats to myself but I think she knew how close I was to agreeing and gave one last push - not just an exit row seat but all three seats. Even at 20 feet tall I might not have been able, when seated, to touch the bulkhead in front of me.

I think the offer to refund the difference in fare might not have come until after I had agreed to downgrade - possibly I missed it and it was part of the initial offer. Anyway, I think I was given three boarding card sized documents - one for that, one for the 'duty free' and one for a free ticket. Originally I thought the latter was just one way (so not much use to me) but it turned out to be a return. This, with my contribution of Β£72, later got me half way round the world and back in Business.

However, I can't claim this as a "technique". I just consider myself to have been (somewhat uncharacteristically!) incredibly lucky. To work at all reliably you might have to know the VIP and persuade him to decide to choose the same flight as you, at the last minute!

I confess though, when someone tried to relocate themselves to one of my three seats I ran them off, because of their attitude.

I would have been more than happy with a Premium Economy seat, but that is not due for another 18 months.

I do not think this was routine over booking.

Upvote:3

As a general rule of thumb, checking in early does NOT make getting upgrade benefits any easier.

Last minute upgrades are awarded based on a complex array of rules, that take into consideration your elite status with the airline or its partners, the fare class that you bought your ticket in, the date you bought your ticket and finally the time you checked in. However the only time that an early check in would be useful in a standard upgrade scenario would if two of you have identical qualifications and only one seat was available, they would then use check in time as the tie breaker.

Early check in does have a benefit for voluntary offers ie: take a later flight because we are oversold and get upgraded or a voucher (or downgraded as in pnuts experience). Here it is usually first come first serve, so if they are asking for volunteers during check in, someone who checked in earlier is higher on the list.

If no one volunteers, then they follow another set of complex rules to decide who gets involuntarily bumped. Those rules basically run opposite the rules for upgrades.

Upvote:4

In the situation referred to, that would have been (e) but note that to be downgraded, the writer would have been travelling on a premium ticket of some form, and airlines are much more accommodating in terms of 'early' check-ins for premium travellers than for 'regular' ticket holders.

What's likely to have occurred is that the premium cabin was overbooked and the normal recourse of a further upgrade wouldn't have been available, so the check-in agent would then ask if anyone was willing to downgrade as they checked in - in this scenario, the early check-in gets asked first, although it's not guaranteed - often the airline may not realise there's a capacity issue until partway through check-in, so may not ask the initial set of passengers!

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