Instant Upgrades

Upgrading to First or Business Class is now even easier, with Skywards new Instant Upgrade service.

• As a Skywards Gold and Silver member you have the added flexibility of using your Miles to instantly upgrade to the next cabin at the airport or on board an Emirates flight, when a seat is available. All you have to do is present your membership card and enquire with our check-in staff or with our flight crew once you are on board. If you have enough Miles in your account our staff will be happy to process your request.
• Instant Upgrades are subject to seat and catering availability and our staff will inform you of your options at the time of your request. We therefore recommend that you pre-book your upgrade by booking in advance through our service centres, especially since our minimum time is now reduced to just 6 hours before flight departure.
• Instant Upgrades at the airport and on board are available for yourself or a family member traveling with you on the same flight. Please visit the Mileage Calculator on this site to check how many Miles are required for an upgrade.
• Please note that Instant Upgrades are only available for the immediate journey you are undertaking. If your travel involves transiting through a destination, you will be required to request upgrades at the start of each journey. However, booking your upgrade in advance through our service centres will ensure an upgrade for the entire routing.

Please note that Instant Upgrades are only available for the immediate journey you are undertaking. If your travel involves transiting through a destination, you will be required to request upgrades at the start of each journey. However, booking your upgrade in advance through our service centres will ensure an upgrade for the entire routing.

The chart below illustrates the total Miles you will need to redeem for an upgrade if you are travelling from London to Singapore via Dubai...

Terms and Conditions

1. Facility offered from most Emirates destinations, except from Bahrain, Bangalore, Casablanca, Cochin, Damascus, Dar es Salaam, Doha, Hyderabad, Khartoum, Malta, Muscat, Seychelles, Tehran, Tripoli and Trivandrum.
2. Valid on Emirates operated flights only.
3. Only Skywards Gold and Silver members can avail this facility.
4. Skysurfers are not allowed to redeem Miles for upgrades.
5. Members can request Instant Upgrade Rewards for themselves or any other passenger. The member requesting the upgrade has to be one of the passengers on the flight and must present the required verification documents listed above. Members must present type of ticket purchased so that Miles are redeemed accordingly for an instant upgrade to be processed.
6. Miles can be redeemed only on revenue tickets and not for reward and industry discounted tickets.
7. Members must present a valid Skywards card and passport to avail this facility.
8. Members or their nominees can only be upgraded to next higher class i.e. Economy to Business or Business to First.
9. Members may redeem Miles (for self and/or nominee) to avail an upgrade directly.
10. Upgrades at the airport will be processed for sectors as ticketed. If members and/or their nominees are accepted in the desired class at the check-in counter, lounge access and baggage allowances will be appropriate to the accepted (upgraded) class. However, if the upgrade occurs at the boarding gate, the baggage allowances and lounge access must be appropriate to the ticketed class and Skywards tier status.
11. When traveling on multiple flights, e.g. Singapore-Dubai-Bombay any upgrade redeemed for the origin flight (Singapore-Dubai) will entitle the passenger to a higher baggage allowance for that flight only. However, the higher baggage allowance will not be applicable for the onward flight (Dubai-Bombay). Any difference in the allowance must be charged (although the passenger may intend to upgrade himself on the onward flight, at DXB.)
12. Infants (of members or nominees) will be charged 10% of the normal Miles applicable to the accompanying adult.
13. Meals will be served as per the upgraded class if the instant upgrade has been confirmed and meals are available. Alternately the customer will be informed that the meal from the lower class will be plated and served in the higher cabin.
14. Passengers redeeming their Miles for Instant Upgrade rewards are not entitled to Chauffeur Drive Service.
15. Additional Taxes for routes where an additional tax is required, the existing process applied for revenue upgrades will be followed and members will be advised to pay the tax difference at the ticket desk at the airport.Stations where additional tax will apply are Lebanon, Pakistan and UK.
16. Where details are not defined above, standard Skywards Reward Rules apply.