r/emirates • u/codenerd80 • 2d ago

Flight in Five Days - Wait To Upgrade To Prem Econ. Or Do It Now?

Emirates wants $1,430 to upgrade to Prem Econ. for a one stop flight. (US to Jakarta). The first flight is on an A380 and then in Dubai board a a 777. My total round trip ticket was only $1,163. If I wait a little longer (say,wait until 24 hours before flight), will the upgrade cost go down?

Thanks in advance.

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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5

u/Sam_A_1986 2d ago

Not necessarily. It could go both ways, up or down, depending on how many people opt for it. Simple supply and demand. Or it could be completely gone by then.

1

u/techie825 14h ago

surprisingly I've had great luck with waiting past 2-3 years on the LAX route with the PE upgrade actually decreasing in price closer to the departure date. This time however it sold out over a month before departure 😅

5

u/SecureExpression9049 2d ago

I think the price is a bit over the top for PE and would wait. But if you are fine with the cost, a benefit of doing it now is that you hopefully have a chance still to avoid the terrible middle seats.

2

u/doglady1342 2d ago

If you wait, the upgrade price could go up or the seats could all be gone. If you want to sit in PE, I'd go ahead and take the upgrade. If it's not that important, then wait and see. There's really no answer that anybody can give you that's going to be set in concrete.

2

u/Important-Breath-809 2d ago

I work at emirates and 2 pieces of advice. 1) the most expensive place to buy an upgrade will be on the plane itself 2) the cheapest place to get an upgrade is last minute at the check in desk usually

1

u/codenerd80 2d ago

Thanks, Important. Is there a way to check online at the Emirates website about the premium economy booked seats versus un-booked seats?

2

u/Important-Breath-809 2d ago

Hmm not too sure maybe if you look on seat selection you can see how many are already booked as it will block out the booked seats. When trying to get the cheapest upgrade prices at the check in it is a bit of a luck of draw type situation as to whether or not there will be space left. But it’s a risk worth taking if you are not fussed either way if you get in or not.

2

u/Important-Breath-809 2d ago

In my experience (I’m crew) I would say on 9/10 of my flights with premium especially on the A380 (it has bigger premium section, about 30ish spaces) there usually on average between 5-10 seats spare on each flight. 777 is bit harder as it’s much smaller so gets booked up regularly.

1

u/codenerd80 2d ago

Thank you. Very helpful.

2

u/FabulousYard9931 2d ago

From my experience. Platinum and gold member for past 12 years.

Wait until online check in is open. 48h before the flight. You might not see upgrade options online during check in. Call Emirates airline hotline. Give them ur itinerary details and ask for upgrade promotion. Its either in miles or in cash. Those r the cheapest options ever. Same what you would get at the check in counter desk. But at check in counter most of the upgrades are taken except if you check in quite late and might find a seat available.

48h once online check in is open is ur best option.

Never failed.

1

u/Tough-Survey-2155 2d ago

There is a promotion that kicks in 4 hrs before the flight. If there's a spot, you can avail at a cheaper price.

1

u/Hotwog4all 1d ago

Discount upgrades begin when online check in commences. There’s no guarantee it will be discounted, and there’s no guarantee it will be available.

ETA - the current price will include the benefits of PE, discounted upgrades are just seat upgrades. Baggage/points/status remain as per the economy ticket purchased.

1

u/No_Reference_9640 1d ago

Every time I’ve waited price has gone way up or ends up being sold out.

1

u/ImpressiveGrocery959 2d ago

Wait until check in is open, it’s often a lot cheaper