Ugrades at check-in, not a bargain basement

Just been thinking aloud after my much heralded first (and probably last) adventure "turning left - LHR-SFO, returning LAX_LHR. Think I just want someone to assure me what a corker of a deal I got.
I booked a MPM fare for £1450, as I was going to go PE but the UC MPM fare was only £250 more so a no-brainer.
At check-in at LAX to come home, there was a note on the desk with upgrade prices which were as follows:
PE-UC one-way =£1199 (and guessing these peeps have already paid about that already for the PE return)
PE-UC return = $1599 (see we do get ripped off compared to our cousins over the pond).
And to cap it all, I got FC miles and TP added even though I know I shouldn't really as it was MPM- HURRAH!!!
I assumed though that if the plane was empty enough to advertise upgrade availability, there would be bargains to be had - apparently not?

I "think" if there were cheap upgrade prices available at check-in and people knew about them, many would probably only book lower cabin fares "expecting" to get a cheap upgrade at check-in.

VS would lose thousands per flight.

David

I hope you enjoyed your trip and got out of it what you wanted. I remember you being worried about it.

I assumed though that if the plane was empty enough to advertise upgrade availability, there would be bargains to be had - apparently not?

Yes it looks like you got a good M+M deal !

But just because there is space available does not mean that upgrades will be offered and if they are that they will be bargain basement prices. That's not to say that doesn't happen though - or that sale prices or good M+M offers are not available either.

I dont think many airlines will offer bargain prices at the airport unless they have to e.g. if VS had oversold Y/PE they might offer a cheap upgrade first rather than a free op-up.

Airlines need to maintain the exclusivity of their Business/First cabins so price accordingly.

That said if I had paid top whack for C and then saw a cheap upgrade at the airport I would be pretty hacked off.

Hi Georgina

Welcome back

Those upgrade deals are a permanent fixture at LAX. I have seen them several times in little perspex stands, hence I don't think the deals are that special. I presume they struggle to fill both aircraft every day, so they get what extra they can from airport upgrades.

Cheers

Martin

As David and Tonty have said, VS don't necessarily choose to see empty seats in UC as a reason for offering bargain upgrades. A few years ago we were flying to ORD in PE and decided to see if we could get an upgrade using miles. When I approached the desk I could see the manifest for our flight which had only 6 seats taken in UC. Here we go, I thought...to be told it would be £1500 each plus miles.

Paul

$1200 PE-UC one way = about GBP700. Not such a bargain really. My guess is that if upgrade 'deals' were offeerd then miles upgrades would also be available meaning 20 miles from PE-UC.
That makes - loosely - 20k miles = GBP700. As 20k costs you about GBP300 then that seems the best deal.

$1200 PE-UC one way = about GBP700. Not such a bargain really. My guess is that if upgrade 'deals' were offeerd then miles upgrades would also be available meaning 20 miles from PE-UC.
That makes - loosely - 20k miles = GBP700. As 20k costs you about GBP300 then that seems the best deal.

Actually for LAX $1200 is a pretty reasonable price (I've seen them quoting much more on my last two trips).
Yes, generally miles upgrades are offered at LAX if they are offering cash upgrades, but if a PE pax is not booked is a W/S class they will usually be required to upgrade their K class ticket to a W/S before spending 20,000 miles.
$1200 from a K to an UC seat is pretty reasonable IMHO.
DL

Slowdown gang, the 1200 as stated isinglass pounds sterling o/w

Slowdown gang, the 1200 as stated isinglass pounds sterling o/w

That's been the standard upgrade of late which is why I thought £700 was pretty reasonable .
DL

In one way a £1,200 one way upgrade is a good deal, say if you'd purchased a K in PE with plenty of notice to fly on Wednesday this week, let's say that'd be £896 (which it is for March 2012), versus purchasing a UC flight today for Wednesday this week, which will be £8,763 - you can do the math, at the airport upgrades remove all advance purchasing requirements and reduce the difference from say £2,000 per one way difference on a J fare to £1,200 or even £700.

No, compared to a sale in UC that's still poor value, but better still than some other options.

One thought from me, if you buy on the day upgrades, what fare class in UC are you booked into?

Why would it matter what fare class on the day you get, you all sit in the same UC cabin? Not being flippant, just wondered what difference it would make, still learning about all these classes and fares etc.

Why would it matter what fare class on the day you get, you all sit in the same UC cabin? Not being flippant, just wondered what diff it would make, still learning about all these classes and fares etc.

Different fare class = different tier points awarded

David

[Darren Wheeler]

Also miles earned is determined by fare class.

Different fare class = different tier points awarded
David

...and different number of miles awarded.

One thought from me, if you buy on the day upgrades, what fare class in UC are you booked into?

Usually if you have a mixed fare code on a booking the most restricitve fare rules applies. So if I buy a W one way and an K back the W terms are governed by the K sector.

What happens if you have an S roundtrip but are made an online upgrade offer before the flight to a Z for one way. Do you lose the flex of the S for both sectors ?

Different fare class = different tier points awarded

David

Yes of course I know all of that. BUT, if you had a K and upgrade on the day to UC do you get booked into J, D, I, or Z - that decision will of course give you either 6 or 5 TPs and different miles ... I suspect Z ?| .

[Neil]

I suspect Z ?| .

Some friends did an on the day upgrade in August when flying to MIA and they were awarded TP/Miles for a Z fare.

Why would it matter what fare class on the day you get, you all sit in the same UC cabin? Not being flippant, just wondered what difference it would make, still learning about all these classes and fares etc.

Within each of the three cabins - Econ / PE / UC there are a number of different fare classes - more commonly referred to as 'buckets'.

These are for tickets with different restrictions in terms of the ability (or not) to make e.g. date changes, miles awarded and Tier Points for FC and if you get a 'free' CDC to/from the airports. Y anf PE Tickets also list if they can be upgraded or not and the upgrade requirements.

There is a list of the different fare buckets and their corresponding tickets in the toolbox.

You can be sat in UC with a 'cheap' Z or the most expensive 'J' ticket and you still get the same seat, food and drink, access to the CH etc.

Just checked in at LAX this evening and these were the upgrade prices on offer. A whopping £1,436 (US$2,260) for a PE to UC one way upgrade. I think these are all one way, some priced in GBP and some in USD. They refer to the extra legroom seats as "Extra knee room" and mysteriously coded "Y34"

LAX-LHR upgrade prices 13th Oct 2011

Just checked in at LAX this evening and these were the upgrade prices on offer. A whopping £1,436 (US$2,260) for a PE to UC one way upgrade. I think these are all one way, some priced in GBP and some in USD. They refer to the extra legroom seats as "Extra knee room" and mysteriously coded "Y34"

IMG-20111013-00605.jpg

Thanks for showing updated prices martin- interesting to see it's only 200GBP less to upgrade from PE to UC, than Y to UC. I've always seen PE as being more than 200GBP more expensive than Y, meaning it's cheaper to get to UC from a Y seat than a PE.

Either way, at those prices it shows it's not always "at the airport" deals which offer the best value!

That's not great pricing to entice bums on seats in UC is it ...

Also, was that a 747 operating LAX-LHR last night?

Y34 would be due to the 34inch pitch in the extra legroom Y seats.

That's not great pricing to entice bums on seats in UC is it ...

Also, was that a 747 operating LAX-LHR last night?

No it was a 346, Madame Butterfly, completely full in PE and Upper (including Lemmy from Motorhead) but with some spare seats in Economy.

The high prices reflected the scarce availability of the premium classes. I'm not sure if the earlier VS 08 had many spaces, but I guess those prices are for both flights.

No it was a 346, Madame Butterfly, completely full in PE and Upper (including Lemmy from Motorhead)

It's official. He's not dead .

No it was a 346, Madame Butterfly, completely full in PE and Upper (including Lemmy from Motorhead)

It's official. He's not dead .

Aren't you packing? Well, I'll be lining up the champagne mojitos tomorrow morning from 10 am, one per foot of the long bar ... see how far we get along it!