Sample Upgrade Prices...

guys,
Im just curious. Many of you have done the JFK-LHR route. While checking in, if an upgrade was available, what have been the prices for upgrade to E+ from E??? Just one-way from JFK-LHR...

Also, what has been the price on the way back, from LHR-JFK. Just curious. I might save some up to enjoy E+ on one of my segments so I can experience a differenct class of service...

Thanking You

In my experience, best to go the the ticket counter (near check in) and ask if they're doing any (paid for)upgrades. Technically speaking, you're meant to pay the fare difference together with any change fee. That being said, if it's a light flight, they sometimes do deal, such as upgrade for $150-200 one way; that's the kind of range I've seen/experienced. JFK-LHR though is a very popular route, so probably not. Worth asking at the ticket counter though.

[RichardMannion]

For East Coast and Caribbean, it tended to be around £199 one way for a Economy to PE upgrade. Same on return too, though they would use the prevailing ROE to work out the local billing amount.

well,
is it better to call and inquire about upgrades? or ask at the check-in counter?

IMHO, I would ask at check-in. You could check the estimated load the day before and see if Y is full; if it is, they'll be wanting someone to ask to PAY to upgrade, or the fun begins.

Make sure you state you would like to know the FEE to upgrade, because there are always hangers-on who want to get op-upped for free, and that's a fast turn-off to most working the counters these days!

However, that's only my humble opine. If you would like to call, it's your choice, but depending on how far away the flight is, it might be a waste of time and your money. FWIW, at other airlines, it always costs more to call ahead that to do it on flight day. Northwest and American are famous for that - I learned quickly to cross my fingers and go to the airport with CC in hand.

(Low load=higher upgrade fee, high load=oh, PLEASE pay us to reseat you!!! Here's a cheap way to get our behinds out of a sling, please do it!!)

To give you an example: Northwest SEA to NRT via HNL, upgrade by phone: $900. EACH LEG in and out of HNL. Upgrade day of flight at ticket counter, which was a holiday and with a full load: $100. for both legs. This was a jump from coach to first, not business. Of course I said yes![8D]

How do I check the estimated load the day before???

[HighFlyer]

Originally posted by buck3y3nut
How do I check the estimated load the day before???

You can use a service like ExpertFlyer.com (members of this forum can get a number of free queries, details in the Clubhouse Forum) or you can call Virgin a day before your flight and they can tell you how busy your flight is looking. You can also ask at check-in.

Thanks,
Sarah

Very interesting, glad I read it and will most certainly be giving it a try! I'm leaving at 8pm on a Wed. night which is what I did last time and the flight was no where near full load.

You can give it a go, but you won't have much chance unless the flight is full in Y.

See, once Cargo (uh, coach) is full, the airline has to choose one of three things: make room in Y for the pax who can't get on by moving some of them forward, or bump them for cheap, or at the worst-case-scenario, have a bump war.

Bump wars can get expen$ive. Many flyers book full flights for just that reason, on the last flight of the day to their destination, so they can offer to get bumped - for suitable compensation. Bumps can get really good on certain flights (free upgrade on your next, confirmed-seat flight, a hotel room until that flight leaves, food/drink vouchers, etc.).

What the airline wants is a cheap bump-the person who jumps up at the first call and takes the pittance offered. If they only need 2 people to bump, the price for the bump won't go up much, if at all.

The cheap upgrades happen at this time if PE and J aren't full. They have to move butts into forward seats to get everyone on, or start paying their own money out. So, if they can get takers for those upgraded seats for any amount of money, they'll take it.

Upgrades can be had if PE and J aren't full, but they'll only be a really good deal if the back of the bus is full. Otherwise, it will be a bit off the full fare, but not as much as you'd probably like.

If your flight is midweek, you probably won't get as great a deal as if it was on a Friday or a Sunday. But give it a go anyway. All they can do is say No.