airline upgrade at the counter

[CarLuver]

Going to Asia in a few days . Flying sardine/Economy class. would love to fly tuna class/premium economy , but when we were purchasing it was almost 2 1/2 times the price .

some people have told me that one can get a better deal at the counter day flight . So have you had luck getting a cheaper price for an upgrade day of? any tips to upgrade for less?

 

[CKN]

Going to Asia in a few days . Flying sardine/Economy class. would love to fly tuna class/premium economy , but when we were purchasing it was almost 2 1/2 times the price .

some people have told me that one can get a better deal at the counter day flight . So have you had luck getting a cheaper price for an upgrade day of? any tips to upgrade for less?

Good luck. Those seats for that flight will be taken. My wife finally figured out we are not running out of money any time soon-starting booking first class. It is expensive.

 

[cptbarkey]

My last SEA flight was with EVA Air. They have a lottery/bid system for upgrades as the flight date approaches. I went ahead and bid since it was a rather long flight, but still lost. It turned out sardine class was still rather comfortable so no big loss.

 

[TMoto]

They have a lottery/bid system for upgrades as the flight date approaches. I went ahead and bid since it was a rather long flight, but still lost. It turned out sardine class was still rather comfortable so no big loss.

Is that also based on status with that particular airline?

I flew to Europe last year and had an entire middle row of three seats to myself vs an upgrade. Other than lay-flat seats which none were available anyway, I feel I made the right choice. Sometimes sardine class works out

 

[opus1]

You can ask, but it probably won't happen.

I was upgraded once, and I think that was due to the airline making an error and cancelling my initial ticket. They got me to my destination within an hour of when I was originally supposed to land, but flying back home I was upgraded and got to sit upstairs on a 747.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

My favorite upgrade story was at the Honolulu IAP a while back. I was behind some drug dealing appearanced individual who was trying to get an upgrade to first class. He was working it every which way, even pulled out a roll of bills that would choke a horse. After hemming and hawing for 10 minutes, when the gate agent would not give in to giving him a complementary upgrade (after telling him how many of those bills it would take), he tucked them back into his pocket and accepted the seat back in steerage. I stepped up to the counter and the nice lady asked me if I would like a complementary upgrade to first class. Loud enough for him to hear, of course.

 

[I<3oil]

The one time I tried it, they wanted me to pay the difference from the Biz seat compared to what I paid for economy. It would have resulted in the same price in the end so no thanks.

 

[Leo99]

I ask very nicely. I mean sugar sweet diabetes inducing sweet. Then when they say "no", stay sweet and thank them for looking. Flying can be unpleasant and passengers are often unpleasant. All my airline status is expired as I don't fly that much any longer.

My first flight to China was in an old 747 in economy with the big movie screen on bulkhead. It was a long flight.

 

[fdcg27]

Very possible that you can ask at the gate and be offered a decent price on an upgrade to biz.
We got such a deal on a Lufthansa flight back from Europe over the summer in which we were able to upgrade to biz from cattle class for far less than the marginal cost to have booked PE originally.
The airline may also email you upgrade offers that are very attractive. We were offered an upgrade from cattle class to biz on a thirteen hour Qatar flight for only around $500.00 USD each.
Check the airline's website as your date of travel approaches as well.
Very possible that you can score a nice upgrade, but don't worry if you don't.
You don't say who you're flying with or exactly where, but most of the Asian carriers are pretty decent in economy for space and cabin service, to the extent that the travel agent we use has said that on either JAL or ANA there is no need to pay for anything more than an economy ticket.

 

[dishdude]

If you're flying on one of the US carriers on their planes, you can download their app and if an upgrade is available, it will offer it in app. If you're on a codeshare, for example you booked AA but are actually flying JAL, upgrades won't be an option at all.

Upgrading at the check in counter won't happen.

 

[Dave Hess]

My last SEA flight was with EVA Air. They have a lottery/bid system for upgrades as the flight date approaches. I went ahead and bid since it was a rather long flight, but still lost. It turned out sardine class was still rather comfortable so no big loss.

Which aircraft to SEA ?

 

[fdcg27]

If you're flying on one of the US carriers on their planes, you can download their app and if an upgrade is available, it will offer it in app. If you're on a codeshare, for example you booked AA but are actually flying JAL, upgrades won't be an option at all.

Upgrading at the check in counter won't happen.

Not necessarily.
We got upgraded at the gate on Lufthansa while we were ticketed on United.
The Lufthansa app did offer upgrades, but only for those ticketed on Lufthansa.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Airline dependent but when you check in online if there still available they usually offer it at a reduced fare at that time. Haven’t been offered it in a while. With 3 big airlines taking over the system most flights these days are full.