Reward upgrade from PE to UC to Vegas - Myth or reality?

Hi everyone.

Very new to this forum (Joined today), but really after some expert advice so I know I have come to the right place.

My girlfriend and I are off to Vegas for the 3rd time in 4 years, and 3rd time with Virgin. We are on flight 43 on 25th September, and have enough air miles each to upgrade to UC. We are continually doing all the correct searches to see if reward seats are available, but are we wasting our time? I have seen reports that the LGW - LAS flights are among the biggest earners for Virgin, so is it in their interest to release reward seats at all for this flight? There are still seats available in UC, I have checked.

Does anyone at all, have any experience of getting the reward upgrade on this flight from PE to UC? Is it a myth for this flight? Is there anything I can do to better my chances?

All help with this topic is most greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ian.

Hi Ian,

I had some luck upgrading from economy to upper on the vs43 for 6th september a couple of weeks ago. Having looked at the current load there is still some availability, but with only 14 seats ever available on this route, reward seats will always be few and far between.

I would keep trying....one day they might appear!

Good Luck & Enjoy Vegas

[Nottingham Nick]

Welcome to V-Flyer.

Reward seats have always been very rare in the premium cabins on the Vegas flight, but some success has been reported.

Perceived wisdom is that, if you have miles to spend getting there in UC/PE, you are often better off going via LAX or SFO, then getting a VX hop to sin city.

Not ideal, as it isn't a direct flight, but has the advantages of greater availability, the LHR CH and Revivals.

Nick

Welcome to v- flyer .
What booking class are your current PE tickets? Don't forget that even if Gs open up your PE booking class needs to be upgradeable.

DL

The problem is that the LGW 747s only have 14 seats in UC and VS appear to have no problem selling then for hard cash hence the lack of rewards.

That said it is always worth keeping checking and then calling as soon as you do see availability should any arise.

Also no harm in asking at the airports

I echo what Nick has said -- have a look at connecting through LAX or SFO. It will increase your chances, particularly on the outbound, although getting a G on a return leg will probably be extremely difficult regardless.

We managed to bag 2 upper upgrades on the 11th Sept to Las but had to wait for them to appear rather than booking a fight then hoping that reward flights would be made available.

I'm hoping that the service is similar to the current discussion elsewhere in this site rather than my last upper to Las experience which wasn't the best.. Can't wait though..

Hi DragonLady et all.

Yes, when we booked the tickets, I made very sure that our class in PE (S) was upgradeable.
Thanks for all the responses guys. You are all saying pretty much the same things that I am hearing and reading elsewhere. I think if I do get a G class eat in UC, it will be as likely as me winning a jackpot in Vegas when we get there!!

Our PE seats on the past flights have always been exceptional seats anyway, one of the flights we managed to sit on the upper deck which was just so nice and quiet.
I guess we always have the option of asking at the airport as well.

Has anyone had experience of getting an upgrade at the terminal? LGW better/easier than LHR?

Hello . With 10 days to go . We upgraded 2 seats to UC. & PE return . Keep checking . Great fun !!

Guys.

After months of trying..........we have finally managed to upgrade two seats to UC on VS43!

We were trying everyday online and through the contact centre and kept being told the same thing......we see the same availability as everyone else.
Well, yesterday we rung the call centre and they said that there were two seats in upper available but only one in G class to upgrade with air miles. They told us to try check in desk this morning to see if the Z class seat would be freed up.

Check in desk were so helpful, and a long serving member of staff (First time on the service desk today, D) was so helpful and upgraded both our PE seats to FC! Result!!

Guys and gals, a huge thank you to you all for the first rate advice. It really does pay to persevere and now we will be seated in 12A and 12K to Vegas.

Great news WaltzingPablo - hope you enjoy the LGW CH, the UC flight and more importantly Vegas y)

Just a quick question - did you ask the staff member at the front desk if you could use her name in a post online? Forum etiquette is to seek permission to name from the staffer in question as they might not want their name published. If not, not a problem.. just replace the name with a randomly assigned letter (D perhaps )

Safe travels 8D

Excellent news ^)

Enjoy

I did notice that G's appear much closer to the flight, but those who pay over the odds for a S fare want the certainty of upgrading before buying...

But often there are no more cheap upgradable fares available when the G's appear close to the date (either gone, or got a pre booking date condition on the fare, I think).