Upgrading Flight Seats at the Airport

srisport

blindman wrote: »

To avoid one way hire car drop off fees you could look at Driveaway

However this IMHO is difficult to fit into a 3 week trip unless you are really lucky.

Flights
TBHO as you have no FF miles I would be looking at EX EU (AMS\DUB) for a decent business class fare.
Saving the avios even with CC churn will take a while and then you're not guaranteed seats when you want them + there's the extra Fees to pay.

Ok so after everyones advise, we have come up with a new Itinerary plan, so far we have:

UK/DUB - San Fransisco (by plane - estimate 18hours with 1 stop)

San Fransisco - Los Angeles (by car - 5hours)

Los Angeles - Las Vegas (by car - 3hours)

Las Vegas - New York (by plane - esitmate 5hours)

New York - UK/DUB (by plane - estimate 8hours)

of course this could be done in reverse if prices differ, this is just another option and of course advise and suggestions are very welcome.

That driveway sounds good, i will have to look into that more i think.

Caz3121 wrote: »

it will depend on the airline but I expect most would happily let you upgrade your ticket for the applicable change fee and fare difference (probably making it more expensive than if you bought business in the first instance)
Some airlines will offer promotional upgrades at the airport. These are never guaranteed and for BA London-West Coast USA I have seen reports of £800-£1,000 for one way economy to business upgrade (per person)
I would definitely look for the Premium Fare deals and also consider ex-EU (I have done LAX from Dublin in business cheaper than doing the exact same flights on the same date from London in economy )

Wow if i can get a deal like that then i would be really impressed! Just out of interest what month did you fly when you got this deal? Our plans are currently March/April 2018
Working for a shipping company as well should get me across to Dublin cheap.


One last thing to ask is how long should i be looking to plan a trip like this? I know i have 1 year for my current plans but if we wanted to go sooner then should it be doable in a month or 2? Or are we best using the year to plan/research and ofcourse book?

Yet again more fantastic advise and suggestions received, thank you so much to all those who have contributed to this thread. Much appreciated.

Regards.

Caz3121

srisport wrote: »

O
Wow if i can get a deal like that then i would be really impressed! Just out of interest what month did you fly when you got this deal?

We booked in a sale last January and flew in August.
BA wanted £1,200 for LAX in economy (peak dates)
paid £1,100 for business

PeacefulWaters

Use google maps for estimates of journey times. LA to Vegas is four hours plus however long it takes you to get out of the crud hole that is LA.

If you're going to do San Francisco to LA it's probably nearer six hours plus whatever SF traffic does to you.

But it's not a race. Head to Monterrey, enjoy Seventeen Mile Drive and Carmel. Then saunter on down the coast road (Highway 1) taking in Big Sur, the Bixby Bridge, Pfeifer Beach, play spot the whale. Work out why Elephant Rock is so called before you've driven past it. Enjoy the seal sanctuary. Perhaps stay in a motel in Morro Bay. Then you've got miles of Malibu Beach to drive next to.

Vegas is well placed to explore Death Valley.

blindman

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

My next plan is a three week drive from Denver to Las Vegas. I strongly suggest limiting A to B drive to 3-4 hours a day. I also strongly recommend the occasional 2-3 night stop in the same place to explore from a central base. There's a joy to leaving your luggage in a room all day.

Denver
Thermopolis
Red Lodge
Yellowstone
Grand Teton
Salt Lake City
Moab for Canyonlands and Arches national parks
Mesa Verde
Four Corners
Monument Valley
Grand Canyon (north rim)
Zion NP
Las Vegas
Death Valley

Some would say that's pushing it for three weeks. I'd love to add Sedona and Yosemite, but that would be pushing it.

No way would I do the whole damn country in three weeks.

Quick Q's

What is the OW drop off fee for the car?
Moab- Are you going to try for the Wave?
MV-Where are you staying?

When are you going?
I have an unsigned America the Beautiful Pass that expires in August 2017 which I may not use :cool:

srisport

Another quick question?

Where would i go at the airport to find out the cost of upgrading my seats?

Would i do it before checkin at the airlines customer services?

OR

Would i do it at checkin?

OR

Would i checkin then go to the customer services to ask?

Regards.

Caz3121

It will depend on the airline...some may offer special rates on upgrade at the checkin. If these are not available/offered, it will likely be the full fare difference which would be sorted by the ticket desk
As mentioned it is likely that a one way special upgrade from economy to business could be £1000 per person so would suggest looking for airline business class sales/offers when you are ready to book your tickets as buying economy and upgrading the legs could end up costing you more than buying a business class sale ticket from the start

Doshwaster

srisport wrote: »

Another quick question?

Where would i go at the airport to find out the cost of upgrading my seats?

Would i do it before checkin at the airlines customer services?

Again it depends on the airport and the airline. At Heathrow T5 British Airways have a dedicated desk for pre-flight upgrades.

There's a useful thread here on Flyertalk about Airport Upgrades on BA: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1568695-airport-upgrade-aup-cost-tracking-thread.html

Wherever possible I would try to ask at the customer service desk (if there is one). Asking at check-in could lead to delays and not make you popular with the people waiting behind you.

srisport

Doshwaster wrote: »

Again it depends on the airport and the airline. At Heathrow T5 British Airways have a dedicated desk for pre-flight upgrades.

There's a useful thread here on Flyertalk about Airport Upgrades on BA: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1568695-airport-upgrade-aup-cost-tracking-thread.html

Wherever possible I would try to ask at the customer service desk (if there is one). Asking at check-in could lead to delays and not make you popular with the people waiting behind you.

Thank you for your reply, i understand asking at check in could delay other passengers checkin in so would prefer not to ask there if possible