Miles u/g at the airport

Hi,

Quick Q. I was at UVF yesterday and enquired about a miles upgrade to G class (having checked availability beforehand) and was told in no uncertain terms that it wasn't possible to do a miles upgrade at that airport. Is that true or was I just fobbed off?

Thanks in advance!

[Neil]

Not true. It is possible, if space available, to upgrade with miles at the airport, done it myself as have many V-Flyers. Unless UVF, for some reason, cannot do them but I find that very strange.

[HighFlyer]

Sounds like you got someone at check-in that doesnt know the ropes. I find it happens at out-stations more often. I have been told that i couldnt do a miles upgrade once at LAS and its frustrating when you know that isnt the case. I'm not sure on the 'right' approach but I asked them to call Flying Club (US or UK) to verify that i could upgrade and to take the miles from me over the phone.

Thanks,
Sarah

It's possible, but the issue I see is threefold:

1) Virgin's mileage upgrade process for outstations seems complex, involving phonecalls, keyboard tapping, and paperwork.

2) Newer staff may not know how to do it, due to the above.

3) Experienced staff can't be arsed to do it, due to the above.

I hold UA up as a beacon of excellence when it comes to the efficiency of processing airport upgrades. Paperless, phonecall-less, simple, and semi-automated.

Mike

Upgraded using miles at LAS two weeks ago or so. Was last minute, which I figured it would be since UC was booked. What I found a little disconcerting was that they tried to sell the upgrades first. I understand cash is king, but still- some loyalty for us frequent flyers, please. Even my (until recently) domestic airline, the amazingly cheap US, realized that empty seats should go to their frequent flyers before they tried to sell them. It just seems... well, decent, to give miles upgrade the chance before selling them.

- Greg

Ah Greg, perhaps you've hit on it. They were selling upgrades at the counter. Our load was 292+17 on a 744 so there was quite a bit of space.
Thanks all for your replies.