Some airlines are aggressive at hawking upgrades, others do so in a more subtle way.
I flew British Airways in economy class from Los Angeles to London last week. Just for kicks, I asked a gate agent if any upgrades were available for purchase. She responded in the affirmative.
From economy class, an upgrade to both World Traveler Plus (premium economy) and Club World (business class) were available.
- World Traveler Plus – $295
- Club World – $1395
Flying in premium economy or regular economy makes no difference for me in terms of being able to sleep. But even if it did, flying in economy class was my punishment for leaving my passport at home. There was no way I was going to treat myself to an upgrade on this particular flight.
The $1395 for business is rather steep, but not horrible if you scored a very cheap economy class ticket.
I do not fly British Airways on a regular basis, so I do not know whether this pricing is standard or variable based upon flight date and loads.
In any case, a woman standing nearby overheard me, came up to the desk, and immediacy upgraded to premium economy. It seems BA should do a better job of broadcasting the availability of upgrades for purchase…
CONCLUSION
The point of this past was just to provide a data point for those who might be wondering if you can upgrade on BA. It always pays to ask at the check-in counter and again at the gate.
Considering the miles and fuel surcharge required to redeem miles on British Airways, $1395 for business class it not too terrible.
This seems to be not uncommon just not widely publicized. In 2015 I was in Y on a gov’t fare SFO-LHR. I don’t remember the fare code but presume it was full-fare, because USF. Inquired at check-in about space-available upgrades to J. Check-in agent confirmed there was an option to jump to Y for $998 or something just shy of $1,000. Booked it on the spot. So this seems to be a practice that’s available just not advertised. Plus, never hurts to ask; the worst they can say is “no”.
because USG*
My experience of BA is them asking for silly prices. But when the I class BA fare for a round trip on that flight is 5 grand, 1395 to upgrade, and on the overnight leg, is actually a sensible offer, perhaps even a good deal.
$295 for PE is a steal. Given your situation I also would have been hesitant to pay any extra after the fact
Personally I would have paid the $295 for WT+ in a heartbeat, but I get that PE doesn’t add value for you.
AF does something similar, though they typically call you about a week before departure to hawk upgrades. I want to say Y to J is usually around $1,000. A couple of years ago, AA offered to sell me a Y to J upgrade from NRT to DFW at the check-in kiosk for about $800 (I really should have jumped on that, and still kick myself for not doing so). So if BA wanted $1,395, that’s a little on the high side, but not outrageously so. I agree, though, they really should be more aggressive about offering purchased upgrades, at the gate and/or check-in.
I believe the pricing is variable based on load factors, and dates, as you mention. You can also do this online, but it seems to be cheaper at the airport. On a recent LHR-GRU flight I was offered the chance at check-in to upgrade from WT+ to J for 700GBP which I thought was pretty good value for a 12-hr overnight flight, they definitely should let people know more widely this option exists.
I did $899 at the airport for Ord to munich on Lufthansa. My economy return fare was $450 direct so all in pretty good. I had to ask.
Just got my upgrade bid accepted for etihad $1350 from Ord to auh tonight. Long flight but poor business class in my opinion (777).
Good way for airlines not to undercut business travelers but still fill the premium cabins (Ie no employed business traveler will take the risk so company has to pay the $5-7k)
Flying from IAD to LHR on 8/31 I upgraded to Premium Economy for $225 as all the aisle seats in economy had been taken. I was able to get an aisle seat in Premium Economy.
Unfortunately on my return flight three weeks later no upgrades or even aisle seats were available.
Last year when I flew Austrian from IAD to VIE I upgraded to Premium Economy for $129 (holiday special) however it wasn’t the full Premium Economy experience and I complained after the trip and was given a €50 voucher for any future flight.
When flying business to London from Miami, the agent offered a first upgrade unprompted. It was for 800 euros. Not worth it for me tho.
There’s a whole Flyertalk thread about BA Airport Upgrades: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1887495-airport-upgrades-aup-promotion-2018-thread.html
A couple of years ago I scored a pretty amazing deal — 209 GBP to upgrade a (cheap) premium economy ticket LHR-BKK. That’s about $250 for upgrading an 11 hr flight to Club World!
From ORD-LHR it was $268 to WT+ and I believe just under $1000 to Club World, that was just over a month ago. Club World on that flight was probably 1/4 full.
I bought a lie flat seat for 100 Euro at check-in on a $169 Primera Air flight from Paris to Newark. The flight was a few hours late and no food or amenities, but the benefit of that night’s proper sleep were felt for the rest of the week. I’m a strictly budget leisure traveler so that was likely my once in a lifetime chance to sleep flat and not across three seats.
500 GBP to upgrade from Club World to First from LHR-IAD a few years back. Did it as a splurge.
I was offered economy to club world for less than $800 at Dulles, last year. Not a bad deal considering it was a mileage award ticket.
At check in British Airways offered me an upgrade from Business to First for $230 on PHX-LHR in March 2019. I did not have to ask
That’s an incredible deal. Were you on a full-fare business class ticket?
Great thread, was looking for this answer. I fly Lax-LHR in three weeks and the LHR-DFW. I’m in economy and will do just about anything to get into business. Company pays for economy, my own ticket would be the upgrade which is worth it so I can sleep for big meeting. Wish you could do it at gate for round trip. Wonder if economy to first is even a doable sell for them while at gate.
I was flying on an American codeshare from ORD to LHR the other day. Had a Premium Economy ticket (class W) and was offered an upgrade to business (Club World) for $581. I took it. Didn’t sleep enough but that wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own – and the lay flat bed on the upper deck of the 747 was quite comfortable.
Not bad.
Last year flew J on Avios SFO-LHR. At the lounge, they were offering upgrades to First Class for $500 each. I didn’t take it because based on my previous experience flying BA First I did not think it was worth it. As much as I dislike BA Business Class, it was good enough for me.