On Board Upgrades

New prices have been released for upgrades on the aircraft...
Y-W 300, W-J 1000, Y-J 1300. One way just for the time on the a/c - and it dont include limos or lounges etc. Think they pretty reasonable also subject to food & ammenity availability on board.

[RichardMannion]

Reasonable? They are way overpriced. Especially when you consider there will be no lounge access.

Thanks,
Richard

[mcmbenjamin]

Plus the assumed headache of claiming the miles/TPs

[RichardMannion]

All I can think is that they have a work experience person in rev man that took the lowest N fare, then compared it to a full J. Then knocked a nominal amount off and thought customers would lap it up. Fools.

[preiffer]

Rubbish [n]

For those of you that think this is rubbish the fool in rev man has thought of an idea that has earned VS a lot of money and has also enables VS to provide another service to our customers before this we had to say no to a customer who wanted to upgrade onboard. We have had the tools onboard for the last 2-3 years to seel upgrades to people onboard who choose to do when the A/C door has closed or it is too late for ground staff to send you back to the ticket desk in the Airport.

You are right it does not include lounge access thats because we dont have a lounge in the air. It does not include Limo because its not been pre booked. If we have the food onboard then you will get it if not you get the food from the class you came from. We make customers fully aware of this and they are fine with it. Its happens a lot onboard.

Not such a bad idea.

Seems expensive to me, I wonder how often this does happen.

Is it possible to upgrade onboard with miles?

[preiffer]

VITB - do you get the mileage credit for an on-board upgrade?

ie: If you'd paid £1300 to go from an N fare (50% miles) to Upper Class, would you earn 200% mileage or is it treated as if it were an op-up?

I'm sure some people will lap it up, especially when they sit down in a Y seat and realise they'll be there for 14 hours or so.

Still W-J for £1000, I've paid less than that for a W to Z at check in before now and got the lounge. And a J on the day without a limo might aswell be a Z.

Still... interesting to know that VS operate this, it was something I was unaware of.

cheers!

Dean

I suppose it's useful for those of us who hold out in the hope of an OpUp until the last minute.

Or as I did last time, hold off upgrading to PE in the hope that Y is as empty as it appeared on ExpertFlyer, and then stretch out across 4 seats, which i reckon is much more comfortable the PE, and is actually longer than a UCS

So, if there was not enough food in J would they serve a Y meal in upper then????

Originally posted by virgin is the best
For those of you that think this is rubbish the fool in rev man has thought of an idea that has earned VS a lot of money and has also enables VS to provide another service to our customers before this we had to say no to a customer who wanted to upgrade onboard. We have had the tools onboard for the last 2-3 years to seel upgrades to people onboard who choose to do when the A/C door has closed or it is too late for ground staff to send you back to the ticket desk in the Airport.

You are right it does not include lounge access thats because we dont have a lounge in the air. It does not include Limo because its not been pre booked. If we have the food onboard then you will get it if not you get the food from the class you came from. We make customers fully aware of this and they are fine with it. Its happens a lot onboard.

Not such a bad idea.

Just because it's earned VAA a lot of money does not make it sensible, reasonable or well thought through[n] (quite the opposite; it's daft, unreasonable and is franky abusing the situation that so many of us have wrestled with when we ask at check-in if we can upgrade with miles etc - this is plain cynical.

The amount that's being charged is laughable, however if someone's willing to pay it then they're probably got a lot more money than sense. I'd be interested to see how often this actually really does happen on board.

[fozzyo]

They do seem expensive to me, I'm sure we went from Econ to Upper for £1000 each at checking at SFO the once. And this had the added advantage of CH and Revivals access. Since this is an on-board upgrade and you would still have a red boarding card if you went to Upper does that also mean no Revivals at LHR?

Mat

1300 quid from Y to J and you still might end up with a Y meal? Rip off! The fact that this is (allegedly) making big bucks for VS seems a pretty sad reflection on the common sense quota of certain pax, I would suggest...

[HighFlyer]

JoeyVS,

Thank-you for the heads up. I am afriad i have to agree with the majority, the theory of an onboard upgrades system is fantastic, and one that really should be in place already. THe gripe is with the prices. I have bought Z fares in Upper for LESS than the Y-J upgrade price! I have bought PE fares for LESS than the W-J price, it just doesnt represent value to me, and obviously, many fellow V-Flyers. If they brought the price down then it might be feasible, but i'd rather stick with my booked cabin and put that fee towards another flight.

Besides, surely most people try and upgrade at the airport?

Thanks,
Sarah

[mcmbenjamin]

So in some cases there is no additional cost to VS. The seat would have been empty. The client gets a larger seat and that is all they are buying. They still may get economy food. That is not fair for the additional fare.

Originally posted by mcmbenjamin
The client gets a larger seat and that is all they are buying.

..And an amenity kit - I think that makes all the difference actually.

Originally posted by mcmbenjamin
The client gets a larger seat and that is all they are buying. They still may get economy food. That is not fair for the additional fare.

I agree, and as the others have said those prices are steep.

Originally posted by sailor99

Originally posted by mcmbenjamin
The client gets a larger seat and that is all they are buying.

..And an amenity kit - I think that makes all the difference actually.

hadn't thought of that important detail, next time I'm flying I'll certainly be coughing the cash for the upgrade..... [:p]

I take it these new prices have been reduced?? The previous charges must have been really scary....[:0]

I'm sure my parents only paid £199 to move from Y to W with us last May. [:?]

[preiffer]

Originally posted by 2Tinks
I'm sure my parents only paid £199 to move from Y to W with us last May. [:?]

That will have been at check-in though - this is specifically around "on-board" upgrades.

If we serve W or Y food in J we do plate it all up.
If someone chooses to pay this amount of money for an onboard upgrade its their choice. Before any sale is made the customer is made fully aware of what they are and are not entitled to. Its their choice we don't force them to upgrade.

It may seem a little on the steep side but if people are happy to pay it which they are they why change the price. Like I said its another service we can offer our customers onbaord. If you perfer we could just say sorry no we can't upgrade. Would you turn away money if you were a business??? I don't think you would.

It certainly is not VS's fault if people want to pay that sort of a price for an U/G VITB, and I guess there is one born every minute. But that doesn't mean that it is good value for money for the punter, which is the point I think people were making. Also VS might make even more money out of on board u/g if it were more keenly priced though.

I agree its not good value for money. However look at most things in life esp travel you get the best deals if you book in advance. A lot of the time last min prices are expensive. If the onbaord prices were too low some people may stop booking seats in J and W in advance and just do it onboard because its cheaper. Its a business move thats all. I do approx 4-5 flights a month as crew and I would say it happens at least once a month for me.