V-Flyer

Hi all

We've got economy seats booked on VS15 (Q ticket class) in November for our Honeymoon, booked through Thomas Cook signature. We went into Thomas Cook to see how much it would be to upgrade on the outward journey only and were quoted the best part of 400 each one way.

Does this seem reasonable, or will I get a better upgrade price if I phone Virgin direct (and will this potentially mess up my thomas cook booking)? Finally, I can't see my booking through the 'manage my booking' on the VA website, although I have reserved seats they say that that they need the final confirmation from Thomas Cook before I can view it - will this affect the ability to upgrade directly with Virgin?

Sorry for the long post!
Cheers,Paul

Welcome to V-Flyer [y]

I assume you want to upgrade to Premium Economy? Its hard to comment on the upgrade figure without knowing what you paid for the Q fare and whether that price is Virgin's or Thomas Cooks. That figure could be about right as a Q fare is one of the lower fare brackets for Economy, though it would be wise to see if VS quote anything different.

You can usually only see flights booked directly with VS in the 'manage my booking' section of the website. Do you have your locator number (6 figure booking reference) for the flight? Or will Thomas Cook give it to you? If you call VS directly they should be able to look at your booking from that number, allocate seats for you and advise on upgrade options. I cant see that this would affect your booking with Thomas Cook as you are still on the same flight.

I dont really have any direct experience of booking with a tour operator other than Virgin Holidays so hopefully other members can assist there, although I know it can make things a little complicated as both parties are reliant on information from each other.

I hope you have a fantastic trip for your honeymoon!

Thanks,
Sarah

If I was you I'd phone Virgin to enquire about the upgrade price and just happen to mention its your honeymoon.



Dom

On Virgin's website, after checking for the cheapest fare, they charge £201 per person to upgrade a one way trip to Premium Economy... that's assuming I found the cheapest fare and that Thomas Cook have a contracted rate which is potentially even lower.

I might be wrong, but I would have thought upgrading the journey home would be better. A little bit extra on the overnight flight home....

**UPDATE - I've just check another flight where the fare was over £1000, and the upgrade cost was £747 return. So it seems there's not necessarily an easy way to find out if you've been overcharged.**

Past experience shows that there are far too many variables to accurately predict the cost of future upgrades.

It will depend on loads, class of ticket purchased, who purchased from, the economic climate of the day and the current mood of VS Rev Management, as to whether they are keen to sell upgrades or not.

Past prices of upgrades are no more than a guide to what future ones may cost, and often not an accurate one at that.

There have been examples in the past where people have picked up bargains by upgrading prior to travel and on the day, but there have been many, many examples where the cheapest way to do it would have been to have bought the higher class in the first place.

The basic rules are - shop around, and if you are offered a price that you are happy with - take it. If you are not, then ask again and again, up to the day of travel, and hope for the best.

However, if you do buy an upgrade, the golden rule then is stop checking the price. That can only lead to frustration if you find it cheaper later. [;)][:D]


Nick

Would it be possible for the OP to book an upgrade direct with VS? I imagine it is a package they have booked and I always thought that you had to do any changes etc through the booking agent, be it Thomas Cook, Virgin Holidays or whoever?

Welcome to V-Flyer [:)]

If you want to pay for the upgrade before you get to the airport, then the only way to upgrade is via Thomas Cook.

It's worth remembering though, that even if there is availability in PE (in K class), Thomas Cook will only have a small allocation of PE seats available to them, so they might not have any left.

The other option is to pay for the upgrade on the day of travel at the airport directly with VS.

Which will be cheaper? Anyones guess really.

Regards

You would probably only be able to do the upgrade through TCS as they are the 'agent' - however that might be different if you were upgrading with miles or something but then you can't do that on a Q ticket anyway.

I would say from my experience that you may be better loosing your deposit with TC and rebooking through an agent with VH who may price match/do a deal so that you get your lost deposit back in the form of an extra discount and get you a cheaper upgrade.

There is usually a sheet at the airport on the day for upgrade costs - there are typically two bands depending on which fare class in Econonomy you have booked. I can't remember the exact split, but I seem to remember that it was Y,B,L and then everything else. In the past (years ago) the going rate for that route was ~£199 each way.

Thanks for all the comments.

Unfortunately the other half has said that I have to wait until I finish my accountancy exams in a couple of weeks time before I'm allowed to look into upgrading! Oh well

I had a quick look on the VS site and the difference between a Q ticket and the cheapest PE seat is £159 - it's a bit late to cancel and rebook though as we've just paid it all off.

Again, thanks for the comments,
Paul

Originally posted by possumpants
Thanks for all the comments.

Unfortunately the other half has said that I have to wait until I finish my accountancy exams in a couple of weeks time before I'm allowed to look into upgrading! Oh well

Paul

They sound very sensible!

Originally posted by possumpants
Finally, I can't see my booking through the 'manage my booking' on the VA website, although I have reserved seats they say that that they need the final confirmation from Thomas Cook before I can view it - will this affect the ability to upgrade directly with Virgin?

Sorry for the long post!
Cheers,
Paul

Ah, that old chestnut! I have had an identical problem recently. I made my booking with VH via co-op travel. When I tried to view my booking on the VS website it said the same. After talking to VS, VH and the travel agent (who initiallly all blamed each other!)It transpired that VS would not allow access to the booking until Co-op travel actually issued the tickets, which was likely to be no earlier than two weeks prior to departure[:0]
Anyway to cut a very long story short, I eventually managed to obtain a valid loacator number from VS after spending lots of dosh on their premium rate phone number[V]
Moral of this story ? Make a pest of yourself[:D]

With my exams over I decided to give Virgin a call. The very helpful guy that I spoke to said that I would have to speak to TC and then upgrade to either a Y, B or L class ticket before I could then upgrade to PE. Looks like I'll just have to hope I can do it on the day.

Cheers,
Paul

Stick to reminding everyone about the Honeymoon, see if TC can put it on your booking notes, which may filter down. If not the flight might help at the hotel end..
Worked with us many years back ending up with a gate referral to UC -well worth it on our Cape Town route- mind you the VA purse strings are tighter now..