V-Flyer

I am flying back from Bgi to Lgw next month maybe month in PE, it’s on the 747 so I have managed to get a seat in the bubble, however I called virgin to see about upgrading and I was quoted £2,876, and advised to try the online bid.
I was wondering if anyone on here has any idea of where as successful bid would need to be, I understand it depends on fare codes etc I have checked and I am on fare code S
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

It is difficult to predict the winning price in an auction - which is what this is.

If you go to your booking on the VS website and elect to bid for upgrade, there is a sliding scale which starts at the minimum bid VS will accept for an upgrade. It is up to you how high you want to bid.

Whether you 'win' or not obviously depends on who else bids.

Personally I am not a not a fan, I rarely see starting bids on my flights that I would call a bargain, but I hope you have better luck.

As an aside - I recently flew on VA from Auckland to Rarotonga in the Cook islands - I used the VA bid for upgrade and got two real bargains, so it can be done.

Nick

Bidding is a weird middle ground between a full fare re-price (assuming you aren't part flown) and the cheapest upgrade which would be offered at the airport usually. The lowest price in the bid, is usually the fixed price they offer on the day at the airport (subject to availability).

If you're willing to part with the cash, the bid option will usually get you a seat ahead of those looking for a miles or cash upgrade on the day at the airport as the bids are taken into account as part of the "on the day" process.

Chances of winning are extremely opaque but based on my experience of airport upgrades, i'd say a bid above minimum amount would have an edge.

Good luck.

The minimum bid on the return leg was £520 and I have entered a bid of £590 so I will keep my fingers crossed, I should have just gone ahead and booked UC on the return to start with.
Thank you both for your help..

Circa £600 for a 747 night flight back to the UK is fairly reasonable value in my eyes.

Good luck, and hopefully enjoy!

I bid for an UC upgrade from EC in November from BGI to LGW and was successful. The sliding scale started at £500 and I bid £510. I was quite surprised to get it as when I dropped my friend at the airport a few days before the checkin guy had said that PE was overbooked so I didn't think they would upgrade me from EC. I was also on a reward EC ticket.

Anyway, we determined that you should keep an eye on your credit card a couple of days before the flight. If a pending transaction for the amount you bid appears then you have got it and receive an email the next day

Thanks LucyLu, wow that’s a good price from Economy to UC ! At the moment both journeys are on the 747 which only have 14 Upper seats, which slims the chances ! Will keep fingers crossed-

It was a great price. I had been moved from my allocated EC exit seat on a 747 to a middle seat on an A330 so I wasn't happy, but that made it bearable! Was very surprised to get the upgrade given that PE was overbooked.

I think it depends on the load on the day and availability in UC... so I am going to have to sit tight and keep my fingers crossed ! I am sitting at the front row on PE in the bubble both ways now so if the revenue management gods don’t accept my bid so it could be worse.