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Original poster

Upgrading flight at airport?

10 replies

brentlondon · 20/02/2018 08:25

Hello all,

I will be flying on a 13 hour long haul flight in the summer in the Economy class with BA. How much does it usually cost to upgrade at the airport to Premium Economy or Business?

OP posts:
PestoSurfissimos · 20/02/2018 09:20

Depends how full the flight is, your fare bucket etc etc (your ticket might not be upgradeable & there may not be seats in the class you want

AttilaTheMeerkat · 20/02/2018 12:17

I would enquire with BA now about the cost to upgrade to World Traveller Plus (their version of PE).

Its unlikely to happen at the airport in any case because the flight is likely to be full and priority for such is also usually only given to their Gold or Silver Executive club members.

lemonsquisher · 20/02/2018 12:38

It’s not very likely there will be spare seats in WT+ as the cabin is tiny so I wouldn’t get your hopes up but there’s nothing to stop you asking. Get to the airport early and go to the sales desk to ask. They probably won’t let you jump 2 fare classes (so WT to CW) but again, can’t hurt to ask.

Just throwing in my personal experience in case it helps, I’ve bought an airport upgrade short haul, going from euro traveller to club Europe, cost 50 euros (instead of the usual 300+ euro extra) but it was on the condition that we didn’t get fed as they didn’t have enough CE meals on board. I’ve also been upgraded for free from CW to First long haul but that was when the flight was overbookef and they were offering free upgrades on the next flight as an incentive to switch.

BubblesBuddy · 20/02/2018 23:18

Why at the airport? Check prices on line and they sometimes give offers for upgrades. Longhaul , depending where you are going, can vary in price for the next cabin up and some flights have quite extensive Club and wT plus cabins. Depends on the flight popularity and the aircraft configuration.

Don’t rely on getting one for free!

BarbaraofSevillle · 21/02/2018 05:41

Someone I know got offered an upgrade from economy to business at the airport for £200 and she took it and said it was well worth it. Don't know the circumstances - which airline, or how full it was etc.

CuboidalSlipshoddy · 21/02/2018 07:59

The last couple of times I flew long-haul on BA World Traveller I was offered, both at the time of booking and by a couple of emails over the following weeks, an upgrade into World Traveller Plus for a couple of hundred quid each way. I doubt it's as easy at the airport, because that cabin fills up and you'll be behind a lot of other upgrade candidates, even if your ticket is upgradeable.

For the longest of the flights I took it (12 hours), for the shorter ones I didn't (7 hours). BA's business class offer isn't great, but WT+ is actually rather good and definitely worth a couple of hundred on a long flight.

I doubt any airline will sell you a two-class upgrade to business at the airport. And if they would, it would be at full J-class pricing (basically, "you can cancel your existing ticket and buy a new one if you want") even if they had availability, which they probably don't. If you want to fly business for leisure then you need to book way, way ahead. You can get "saver" business class for about three to four times the cost of a similarly advanced economy ticket.

Original poster
brentlondon · 24/02/2018 13:13

Decided to upgrade to Premium economy or world traveller plus.

We’ll just inquire about business at the airport:)

OP posts:
NewBallsPlease00 · 24/02/2018 20:05

Honestly, as a frequent flyer,BA business is one of the worst around, I would save my cash stick with premium and spend it when away. Virgin, Singapore, Emirates & Cathay all well worth it!
As an aside- check it's a BA plane and not code share- huge impact on standards (usually better...)

HundredMilesAnHour · 24/02/2018 21:35

Don't wait until the airport as your chances of getting a paid upgrade are extremely low. Call BA and ask for a quote. BA flights tend to be quite full these days so very few seats available (especially if you want more than 1). However, if you insist on leaving it until the airport, make sure you're there early (3 hours) as paid upgrades go quickly (when available).

To give you an indication of cost, I was booked in WT+ from New York to London this week and at the airport the cost to upgrade to Club was £800. I was actually given the upgrade for free as I was travelling with friends who were in First and VIPs with BA (plus I have BA Gold status which helps).

On a flight from Denver to London last month, I was booked in Club and offered a paid upgrade to First for $425 (great price!!!). The check-in person said I got lucky because I was checking in early so got the offer. (I was only early as there was no traffic getting from the airport to the office - must make sure I leave early on future trips just in case!)

MardAsSnails · 28/02/2018 19:05

Usually if you've upgraded once, you can't again. So for example you book economy and upgrade to business, you can't upgrade to 1st. And often you can only upgrade 1 category. So be careful if you do the upgrade to PE

(I say this as someone who books economy 100% of the time and flies economy 5% of the time - I always figure out my upgrades!)

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