Flying to Darwin to meet QM2 received offer to 'upgrade' flight

[gaechann]

Hi all

 

I guess others know more about this than I do but I received an offer of an 'upgrade' on our Brisbane to Darwin flight next week. When I checked the website to make an offer, the minimum I could offer was $300 EACH!

 

Guess it's not unlike an upgrade on a cruiseship! You pay, you get the upgrade!:eek:

 

Gae

[johndon]

Gae

 

Never heard of this before. Is it a sort of auction to go up to business class?

What airline is it?

What will they come up with next? Seems like the complimentary upgrade that was handed out very occasionally has now been replaced by an "auction" to make up more revenue from spare business class or premium economy seats

 

John

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes, it's an auction. When they know how many business class seats they have left they try to flog them off.

 

I first head of it in 2013 when we flew to the UK with Etihad, then Virgin Australia started doing it. I think Qantas has got onto the bandwagon now. In all cases that I've seen the minimum price has been ridiculously high.

 

Free airline seat upgrades have become a distant dream, very distant.

[aussie cruzer]

Air NZ does the same thing.....I bid $200 p/p for upgrade to business class Brisbane to Auckland for three people.

 

Won the bid.....half of the business class was empty.

[gaechann]

This is with Virgin. I have up to 2 days before the flight to offer a price so will see if the minimum price is reduced by then.

Might even give them a call to talk to a real person later in the week.

[Wyuna1]

Paid $200 for upgrade to business on Emirates to Christchurch. It certainly was worthwhile not only for the in flight benefit but the use of the Emirates lounge at Sydney was a bonus as the flight was delayed for 3 hours. The offer came by email.

[The_Big_M]

Cruise lines do the same now as well. Call passengers offering to upgrade them for a cost.

[Pushka]

Virgin have had this offer in place a while now and Qantas introduced it in the last couple of weeks. Points upgrades are completed first then the offer is open for auction.

 

We've had a lot of luck getting free upgrades on Emirates as my husband is a high level flyer - he's away a lot. Last month a free upgrade to First on a Bangkok to Sydney flight. Now that is the way to fly and it's spoilt me forever.

 

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Edited February 22, 2015 by Pushka

[OzKiwiJJ]

This is with Virgin. I have up to 2 days before the flight to offer a price so will see if the minimum price is reduced by then.

Might even give them a call to talk to a real person later in the week.

 

I tracked the offer for our UK trip in 2013 but the minimum price never got reduced. If my memory is correct they sent me several offers for this, almost right up until we boarded the plane.

[OzKiwiJJ]

 

We've had a lot of luck getting free upgrades on Emirates as my husband is a high level flyer - he's away a lot. Last month a free upgrade to First on a Bangkok to Sydney flight. Now that is the way to fly and it's spoilt me forever.

 

My husband used to be a high level flyer, mostly with Qantas, but free upgrades with them stopped happening many, many years ago. Twenty years ago he would almost always get upgraded, even on domestic flights. But in the last ten years upgrades were few and far between, even when the business or first class cabins were almost empty.

[Pushka]

My husband used to be a high level flyer, mostly with Qantas, but free upgrades with them stopped happening many, many years ago. Twenty years ago he would almost always get upgraded, even on domestic flights. But in the last ten years upgrades were few and far between, even when the business or first class cabins were almost empty.

 

 

Yes our experience with Qantas is exactly the same. The only reason they upgrade for free is if they have overbooked economy. And it won't get any better with this new auction policy. We now look for Emirates flights on the Qantas booking site which is where his status is. Almost lifetime Gold which is rather nice.

 

 

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[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes our experience with Qantas is exactly the same. The only reason they upgrade for free is if they have overbooked economy. And it won't get any better with this new auction policy. We now look for Emirates flights on the Qantas booking site which is where his status is. Almost lifetime Gold which is rather nice.

 

Yes, lifetime Gold is very useful. DH earned it some years ago. However we tend to fly Virgin Australia now for short domestic flights, where we don't really need to use the lounge, as their planes are more comfortable. The newer Qantas planes are getting too squeezy, between rows as well as seat width, and now they are getting rid of the 767s which were slightly more spacious. But with the lifetime Gold Qantas is still an option for international flights.