Ever book a multi-segment Business Class award and one of the segments has you stuck in Economy? Not to worry as not all hope is lost.

I recently booked a Business Class itinerary via Aeroplan on a combination of Star Alliance carriers. While I booked a Business Class itinerary from Marseille to Chicago, my first segment, from Marseille to Brussels on Brussels Airlines, was not available in Business Class at time of booking. Only Economy Class award seats were available. This was about 2 weeks out from departure.

I kept an eye on the award seat inventory over the next 2 weeks. Then the day before departure, Expert Flyer showed 4 seats in the “I” inventory bucket which is for Business Class awards for Brussels Airlines.  Bingo! I called up to Aeroplan customer service and explained the situation to the customer service representative. She saw the inventory and had she had the upgrade processed within 3 minutes. I was issued an updated itinerary, reflecting my Business Class seat on my Marseille to Brussels segment nearly right away. All for no additional fee since I already redeemed my itinerary as a Business Class reward.

Like many other award programs, Aeroplan opens up last minute award seats during low demand. There’s certainly no guarantee that a last minute sawed seat in a premium cabin will open up. But it’s worth checking Expert Flyer or checking with customer service leading up to your departure date. If you’re upgrading and changing an Aeorplan reward from Economy to Business or First class, be sure to check the award change fees.