Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Upgrade travel class in the aiport (from econ. to business class)

Hi,

I have a return ticket from Syd to HK, just wondering for my return trip (HK back to Syd), if I want to upgrade my ticket from economy to business, just wondering would that be cheaper if I do it at the airport during the check-in time??

Thank you very much!

Angus

Hi,

I have a return ticket from Syd to HK, just wondering for my return trip (HK back to Syd), if I want to upgrade my ticket from economy to business, just wondering would that be cheaper if I do it at the airport during the check-in time??

Thank you very much!

Angus

It would depend on the fare basis and fare paid. No you won't be paying just the difference between a full Y and J. The airline will still need to recalculate yoru entire ticket to see if it is eligible for upgrade to Business Class.

If your booking class isn't Y (or fare basis is Y) on CX, then you're looking a discounted economy class ticket which in effect does not allow you to just pay the difference to upgrade to Business.

I don't want to give angushui false hope, but once when I flew SQ from SYD to HKG, I asked about upgrades, and they said I could upgrade for AUD 800. This was cheaper than paying for a J class ticket.

I have no idea if this is something SQ always does or still does, and I don't know if CX lets you do it either.

Thanks for the replies! :) I will try to ask at the airport... :)

I do it regularly.
If the cabin at the back is fairly empty and an op-up is unlikely, I'll pay at the desk.
GB, not sure it has to be Y fare (but I could be wrong!). I travel regularly on the HKG-BKK run on varying fare bases and the BKK-HKG upgrade has always been THB 5,000 (approx HKD 1,000). Not sure about the outward leg. Done HKG-PVG on KA as well...was HKD 550 on the way out and CNY 600 back.

Do your ticket and points also become J when you buy from Y -> J?

for most airline

if at the airport or gate, it is like merkat said, usually a fixed amount, roughly = full J - full Y, regardless of your coach sub-class

if u do it well in advance, it is the difference between actual fare, like GB said.

for your case, i think it is going to be roughly J-Y, probably the same at the check-in counter or the gate, but not sure. at the gate it should be more likely to be the cheaper rate, but the gate agents are usually busy. (when they are busy, they tend to lie to you refuse do what they could do. in Syd when the agent is not CX's own they may not be able to do it. so i suggest you do it at the gate and pick a time and make sure you ask the CX uniform agent)

in either case, if J is full then you are in WL and have to wait till 40 min before take off

p.s. yes, you will get full J mileage/etc. keep your BP and your cash/credit receipt.

Do your ticket and points also become J when you buy from Y -> J?

Yes, you get full recognition of the new class.

Pegasus, I think your idea about price difference according to timing sounds right. I suppose I'm taking pot-luck at the last minute, and CX is getting a last minute bit of extra cash for a premium seat which would otherwise probably not be sold.

I am a Newbie.

Meerkat: Are you suggesting only upgrade to J on that trip which you are flying out? Then, if necessary, upgrade the unused trip upon your return?

angushui: I want to know your experience because I am in MEL.

:)

I am a Newbie.

Meerkat: Are you suggesting only upgrade to J on that trip which you are flying out? Then, if necessary, upgrade the unused trip upon your return?

angushui: I want to know your experience because I am in MEL.

:)

Net Flyer,

I will be back to Sydney next Wed (12 Jan) night, I will post again on Thur., let you guys know my experience on this :)

Angus
P.S. Thanks for everyone reply :)

Net Flyer,

I will be back to Sydney next Wed (12 Jan) night, I will post again on Thur., let you guys know my experience on this :)

Angus
P.S. Thanks for everyone reply :)

Trying to upgrade to J ex-HKG on CX? I'd really like to see what happens too....

Me thinks that they will send your ticket 'to the back' to see if your ticket:
1) Can be upgraded..
2) What the difference will be
3) How you will be paying for the difference if possible
or
4) Sorry your ticket cannot be upgraded, Sir...

OR in what might a rare circumstance...

"Sorry Sir, your ticket cannot be upgraded... but as you are our Marco Polo member and our flight is quite full today, we will be happy to upgrade you this one time to Business Class with our compliments so that you may experience our wonderful service."

full J - full Y is complete nonsense, sorry. have you checked the price of full Y lately? if that were true the whole world would buy cheap eco tickets and pay the very small difference between full J and full Y. here is an example:

V class TPE-HKG-LHR rtn.: USD 800
full fare Y: USD 3660
full fare J: USD 4460
your price for travelling J: USD 1600. I think not.

fare adjustment is a lot more sophisticated than that, methinks.

full J - full Y is complete nonsense, sorry. have you checked the price of full Y lately? if that were true the whole world would buy cheap eco tickets and pay the very small difference between full J and full Y. here is an example:

V class TPE-HKG-LHR rtn.: USD 800
full fare Y: USD 3660
full fare J: USD 4460
your price for travelling J: USD 1600. I think not.

fare adjustment is a lot more sophisticated than that, methinks.

Fares ex-Asia are exempt from nonsense.

Many people in North America buy full fare tickets! Really! When travel is last minute and involves many airlines and they're flying all over the place, but their company does not allow J class travel, they buy Y.

Fares ex-Asia are exempt from nonsense.

Many people in North America buy full fare tickets! Really! When travel is last minute and involves many airlines and they're flying all over the place, but their company does not allow J class travel, they buy Y.

GB, actually, me and my mother who travel on non-CX within China (no choice apart from Beijing). We endup paying for B or K one way fare everywhere or ticket purchased at airport on full Y.
When you need to run around China with plans that can be change so quickly. Wishful thinking for us to buy cheap return tickets.
We looked at tour group price, airfares plus hotel cost less then a K class fare. :mad: and they had seats in the front of the plane. :mad: :mad:
So far we can do nothing. :(. Just wish CX can have more China routes soon.

GB I think you misunderstood my comment. I know people buy full fare Y, even I do that. I am commenting on the assertion that the price of a J upgrade at the airport is always calculated as full J minus full Y. that's bollocks.

GB I think you misunderstood my comment. I know people buy full fare Y, even I do that. I am commenting on the assertion that the price of a J upgrade at the airport is always calculated as full J minus full Y. that's bollocks.

Hey they can always dream can't they?

not always bullock. have you actually tried?

i commented that it roughly equal, not exactly that way, because i knew one real case.
though that is for BA ex-hkg, maybe CX is very strict, it might well be.

the case:
deep discounted ticket, i think they asked for 8000 hkd one-way to J.
not that far from yout USD800 benchmark. the route was HKG-LHR, worth 42000HKD RT at the time. full Y around 16000HKD? so (full J- full Y )/2 = 13000 !
-- so that is defnitely not full J- full Y, as it won't be such a round number, but it 'roughly' corresponds to (in fact less than) that number.
(i cant say for sure as i forgot the exact J/Y fare around 1999)

by upgrading at gate you are taking the risk of a full J cabin, so a lower price.
also the agents have the discretion of making simpler rules there, and she is not supposed to know the travel agent fare in asia (unlike in US, published fare <> paid fare), the only real data you can look at the called "published fare". ----- of course now things all changed and rules may change correspondingly. in any case, the gate agent can only look at the fare value on the ticket, which is not always your paid fare.

paying less for enduring uncertainty -- i think that is the essence airline fare rules