Upgrading Airmiles Flights Question

phatbear

First off im not after a freebie I dont expect to fly 1st class when I havent even paid for the flight but im after some advice.

I've managed to accumulate enough airmiles for 2 tickets to beijing with Mrs Phatbear thanks to Tescos, when I go through the boking process it allows me to upgrade to premium economy for £1000 for the both of us for both legs, which I think is a tad steep?

So my question is, does anyone know if and roughly how much an upgrade would be at the airport, assuming its available, oooh and if I ask really nicely will it be free (just joking)

dmg24

Where are you going, and which airline?

(Oh pants, I didn't see Beijing!)

richardw

The upgrade may be sold out and unavailable at the airport. Look at the extra cost per hour of flight time and consider if the extra is worth it.

phatbear

The upgrade isnt a deal clincher but just trying to get a feel on roughly how much an upgrade on that kinda flight, with BA, may be

Voyager2002

Try the flyertalk forum and see if someone there knows.

I must say, the upgrade cost is around the total cost of your flights on a perfectly respectable airline like KLM, and I understand that there is very little difference between Economy and Premium Economy on BA.

Truepat

phatbear wrote: »

it allows me to upgrade to premium economy for £1000 for the both of us for both legs

Can you get an upgrade for both arms as well?

richardw

Voyager2002 wrote: »

I understand that there is very little difference between Economy and Premium Economy on BA.

It's a better seat and more elbow and legroom, can be worth it on long sectors where the extra cost per flight hour isn't that much.

littlereddevil

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Try the flyertalk forum and see if someone there knows.

I must say, the upgrade cost is around the total cost of your flights on a perfectly respectable airline like KLM, and I understand that there is very little difference between Economy and Premium Economy on BA.

There is actually quite a lot of difference!

richardw

London to Beijing is about 10 hours each way, so that's £25 per flight hour per person, which is expensive.
Don't forget that if your flight is with BA and you do an economy booking, you might be able to pay extra to get those 2 seats together at the back of a B747, subject to availability or BA might offer a cheaper upgrade between now and when you fly.

malkie76

Do you have Airmiles or BA Miles ? Can you confirm if you are being offered a paid upgrade to a miles booking, or a miles upgrade to a paid booking (the latter is possible, while the former is not).

You mention 'Premium Economy' which is a Virgin product (but BA have World Traveller Plus, which is their eqivalent). Which is it?

How many miles do you have? Have you considered paying for a economy plus product then upgrading to business class?

£500 per person return upgrade to an economy plus product over such a long distance is pretty much a bargin, and the cheapest it will get. Typically that's what you'd pay for a return upgrade to the US on a much shorter flight.

Airport paid upgrades vary depending on availability, and remember that the economy plus cabins are small meaning far fewer seats and less paid upgrade availability. The danger of waiting to pay to upgrade at the airport is that there won't be any availability, or only two seats left at the most expensive fare bucket.

Depending on your size the difference in economy and economy plus isn't that great. It's the same food and service, but you do get additional legroom, seat width and recline - it could make all the difference on a long haul if you are particularly tall.

phatbear

malkie76 wrote: »

Do you have Airmiles or BA Miles ? Can you confirm if you are being offered a paid upgrade to a miles booking, or a miles upgrade to a paid booking (the latter is possible, while the former is not).

You mention 'Premium Economy' which is a Virgin product (but BA have World Traveller Plus, which is their eqivalent). Which is it?

I've got an airmiles account with just over 13000 miles in it, which is enough for economy for the pair of us to beijing, the premium economy i mentioned is taken straight off of the airmiles website.

I may just wing it, pardon the pun, and see what the cost is at the airport on the day, and if its not available just go with the flow