Still happens that way around the world for various reasons. You are more likely to have your flight delayed or even cancelled by a LCC but always exceptions
From my experiences, I call them Brutish Airways.
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I absolutely despise queuing, and am almost always near last to board because ill wait for everyone else while I sit. A few times iāve been upgraded to business class because of over booking. Iāve wondered if this is just coincidence and I would of been upgraded regardless if boarding first, or if boarding later on an overbooked flight is more likely to result in being bumped up a class? Is it predetermined.
Travelling solo, in my experience a better chance of being upgraded.
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Itās predetermined 99% of the time
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Definitely helps.
It also helps to have status and have paid for a more expensive fare but flying solo is far more likely to result in a op up
I have never ever been upgraded. Disgraceful.
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I sometimes got upgrades to First on one leg, then back with the hoi polloi on the next leg.
Itās a real let down, but I would never turn it down.
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Unfortunately those days are long gone. Airlines are reluctant to give 1 class op ups to first anymore and almost zero chance of a two class op up.
With so few airlines having first anymore most of the ones that do want to give the best experience and will leave first vacant. Most of our recent flights in first the cabin has been almost empty despite the air being full
Iāve flown with BA twiceā¦First time was Reykjavik to London where I got a surprise upgrade to Business Class courtesy of my travel agent.
This was where I learnt that Terrorists donāt fly Business Classā¦how is that you askā¦well, the food service came with proper cutlery, china plates and proper wine glassesā¦(which arenāt allowed in Economy because they could be used as weapons).
Then, a few days later, flew London to Moscow in Premium Economyā¦no real cutlery, china or glassware on that flight.
But both were on time and my luggage arrived safely 
That is an absolute myth but airlines still have you believe it to be the case.
Economy simply donāt get proper cutlery or crockery due to weight limits and for ease of cleaning up. They can scoop up the rubbish and bag it whereas for dirty dishes and cutlery they simply donāt have the space for the dirty stuff.
Iām pretty sure that everyone knows thatā¦just another example of the average people being lied to by the corporates.
All airlines i have been looking at recently hold auctions for upgrades.
So i reckon they fill better classes regardless.
I might try an auction, never know might snag a great seat for not a lot of extra dough/points
What airlines?
Most are being very sparse giving upgrades to first and our last two flights in first the cabin was almost empty.
Business class loadings are very full on most flights currently so there isnāt a lot of wiggle room for upgrades
Bid now was available on both LATAM and QANTAS when i last checked. You can offer any amount of cash or points and as far as i can tell it a seats available and your the highest bidder you will get it.
Pretty sure with qantas though they preference people using fixed amounts of points first.
https://www.latamairlines.com/us/en/experience/prepare-your-trip/cabin-upgrade
On my latam itinerary I can bid to upgrade on any latam operated flights
(This is because I have their top eco fare though. Which was negligble compared to their saver product)
Yes you can bid on them but I havenāt read terms of LATAMās lately but they did at one time only let you know if you are successful about 24hrs out. I honestly donāt know what their setup is like now.
I know the Qantas system very well and in depth and their pecking order is by status so without any high status you are only about a 1% chance of upgrade no matter how much you bid. Vietnam Airlines at one stage weāre taking bids and highest offer 7 days out got the upgrade 
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@Gwilty @PlayDraperAlreadyFFS @redbull @Peter_BerbA_kov_s_An @CalDon @handypoint and any others who have been ā¦
Just bought flights to / from Santiago in late Nov - late Dec. Would have gone to Peru / Bolivia, but itās the rainy season in Central Andes, so thinking of doing a loop like this: Santiago-Iguassu-BA-Patagonia-Santiago. Early days though, and happy to change things up - any other ideas?
Things Iām weighing up:
- How many days in BA? (thinking 5 nights, 4 days)
- Should I make sure to stay across a full weekend in BA given Sunday markets, weekend buskers etc.? (there are direct flight between Santiago-Iguassu on Thu / Sun only, so this is tricky)
- Is there any mid-range accom in Torres del Paine, or is it all high-end all-inclusives or campgrounds / refugios?
- Is it really worth hiking from both El Chalten and Torres del Paine, or just pick one and spend time elsewhere?
All advice welcome ā¦
Latam seems to favour cash.
Instant upgrades at a cash price arent probably going to be much cheaper(if at all) than booking the better class in the first place. But its good you can.
But the bids seem promising.
Personally i probably wont bother as its the codeshare Qantas flight that would be the only one really worth it given its length.(and codeshares dont really get upgraded)
Iāve been upgraded onceā¦ a 45-minute flight from Prague to Ljubljana. The upgraded seats were at the back of the plane. A bit more leg-room and we got a small piece of chocolate cakeā¦ that was about it. It was nice of them I guess, but barely worth the effort.
Why couldnāt it have been on a 14-hour flight?
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A long long time ago, pre 9/11, a Qantas pilot friend arranged for me to sit in the flight cabin with the flying crew for a while from Singapore.
They got a bit tense over the Bay of Bengal, no talkies. The boss pilot said it was one of the densest in the world for air traffic.