Question regarding cost of upgrades

I apologise if this is a really basic question, but I am new to all of this.

When I run a search for the cheapest fare on the VA website, and then I select that fare, there is a section to upgrade to PE or UC for an additional charge per person. So 2 questions:

1. Is that option always there?
2. Is the price always the same-ish?

Thanks!

Firstly welcome,

Is it always there...No, will depend on Loads (how full the cabin is). As such the price to UG will alter based on this factor, also if it does alter the chances of it coming down are slim in the extreme. They won't offer this if the cabin is fairly full, so the offer could and does dissappear.

Best is to look at what your particular flight would show booking direct in higher cabins (just do a dummy booking) and compare that against you original cost + the UG offer. Remember there is additional "taxes & surcharges" for flying in PE/UC...but these should be wrapped up in the costs offered.

NH

NH~ Many thanks! That was an extremely helpful answer!

Sorry to complicate things but, if I've understood your question, what has been said isn't entirely correct. I may be wrong, but here's my answer.

StillOptimistic, you are talking about the offered 'upgrade' price when you do a dummy booking but don't actually buy?

This is usually (always?) just the difference between the fare you have selected and the cheapest available fare in the higher cabins on your chosen flights. If you price up the higher cabins on your flight separately, you will find that the total amount is the same.

It is not an upgrade at all, really -- it is just trying to entice you to purchase a fare in a more expensive cabin to start with!

Is the price always the same? No. It varies according to what is available on the particular flights that you have done the dummy booking for. So if you do a dummy booking for economy and it just so happens that the upgrade price to UC is, say, £2000, you may find that other flights on the same day have cheaper 'upgrades' because cheaper seats are still available in UC on them. This is one of the pitfalls of using these 'upgrade' fares -- you only see the price differentials for the flight you have selected, and that may not be the cheapest higher-class flight on your chosen date. That can make a colossal difference with an UC fare!

Is the option always there? No -- it varies and I assume (like northernhenry) that loads are the principal determinant.

I disagree that the chances that the price will come down are slim in the extreme, though -- it just depends on the straight fare differential. Sales can and do affect this. I have been watching the differential between economy and UC on a particular flight in May for several months now. Each time the VS UC sales have ended, it has rocketed. Each time another sale has been announced, it has gone down to around £1,000. When the economy sale ended, it narrowed again. And so on. BA offer a similar facility and at one point the differential between economy and premium economy suddenly dropped to £14 for a particular flight!

So my advice would be to search for the cabin you want on the day you want. If an upgrade pops up that looks very good value, great, but be aware that you are probably paying the same as you would pay if you had searched for the higher cabin to start with.

I hope this makes some kind of sense.

Once you have booked the upgrade option is sometimes there. I have just managed an upgrade from premium to upper to sfo for £270 per person.
Previously this was offered at between £1000 and £1300.
Best advice is log in regularly to keep an eye out for upgrades. €