Paying to upgrade on the day

Just come back from a very nice hols in Florida. I had booked Economy out, and PE back, but decided at the airport to upgrade outbound to PE. Just a question, is it usually cheaper to upgrade at the time of ticket purchase, or is it the same price to upgrade regardless of when it is upgraded?[?]

I upgraded my son to PE recently, first at Heathrow going out to Sydney and again at Sydney on the return. The ticket out was 100% more than the return.
This was the charge to upgrade the ticket to a flexible one so I could then throw airmiles at it, but the significant difference surprised me at the time.

Originally posted by HOGE
Just come back from a very nice hols in Florida. I had booked Economy out, and PE back, but decided at the airport to upgrade outbound to PE. Just a question, is it usually cheaper to upgrade at the time of ticket purchase, or is it the same price to upgrade regardless of when it is upgraded?[?]

Hi and welcome

I don't think there's any hard and fast rule and would depend on the actual load on the day...

Planning to post a Trip Report by any chance ? Go on, you know you want to...

Paul

[HighFlyer]

Welcome to V-Flyer [:)]

As pjh says, there isnt a rule as such, though the cost to upgrade will not be a constant as it will depend what fare basis your ticket is and the availibility of seats on the flight you are on. Sometimes it is a lot cheaper to upgrade when you book (and at least you know you have that upgrade at that price) but there are times you can grab a great deal at the airport. Its like gambling i guess, do you want to pay up now or take a chance on getting a result later? Sometimes the house wins and VS will be charging extortionate fares to shift up a class.

Thanks,
Sarah