percysmith

CX still seems gun shy --> Enhance 2.0, same fate?

littlevoices

I'm not sure on what Enhance 2.0 is, haven't been in HKG, but it does seem likely a fairly poor implementation. On the way back I got an Op-Up(after declining a 2000HKD each way offer to BKK), which means Cathay left around 1000HKD on the table (about what I'd of probably paid). Hopefully they are running some testing to work out the right structure and wise up. In my case my employer forces me into economy on shorter flights, but on occasion I'd be willing to spend my own cash for a better journey.

Hopefully the upgrade bid moves more towards BA's paid upgrades, i.e. more of a token amount rather than the cost of upgrading your ticket, and also giving you the tier point credit of business class, rather than the underlying fare.

Ausriver

Op-up means the flight was full in Y. however $2000 per leg still seems way too expansive.

Cathay Dragon 666

If Cathay is worried about late cheap upgrade is going to discouraged premium flyers, or make premium-flyers buy cheaper Econ tickets and waiting to upgrade on the spot, then they are as wrong as thinking the new MPO 2.0 will bring back high revenue premium flyers that will more than compensate for losing mid-level Economy flyers.

The fact of the matter is most premium flying customers are paid by their company. These guys will be just as cheap as your Q-fare flyers when they are traveling on their own dime. Offering low-bid last minute upgrades on your empty premium seats will not offend these premium-paying flyers away (ignore all the threats on the forums such as this one), and will not discourage out-of-pocket paying C-class flyers (such as myself) from buying cheap Econ fare and wait till last minute upgrade. Why not? Because I don't want the risk of the flight being full and not being able to get a C-seat. If I have to have a C seat, I pay for it (reasonable D, I fare).

I have talked to management of MU and 3U that do offer last minute cheap upgrades to their C class, and they say they never had a problem selling C class seats straight-up, and it's actually becoming rarer for seats to be available for last minute upgrade.

Cathay is losing people in C class on other reasons. Enhance 2.0 isn't one of them.

ctb213ctb213

Received the upgrade bid email one week before the departure from Bangkok to Hong Kong, the minimum bid price is HKD 2,000 from Y to Regional J (772), and it was quoted as "poor" chance of successfully got the seat. After seeing this, I am quite confident that the Op-Ups will continue, as I don't think anyone will pay so much for a regional J.

QRC3288

HA! That's just hilarious.

What does an extra seat in Y class cost? Probably cheaper than $2k one way, especially if you're paying for round-trip ($4k). I'd prefer economy class with a guaranteed 2 seats instead of CX's regional J. And you have a "low chance". That's just amazing.

Securing one of the 2 seat pairs on the A330 is great. Tons of storage space, don't need to put any work / computers / books in the overhead bin. Regional J has bizarre under-seat storage, and extremely limited at-seat storage.

jckl

Hahahahahaha just got an invite for a morning A320 KHH flight. Seems minimum is HKD2000 for all routes with HKD70 tax adjustment ex-HKG, think they are taking the p*ss with Enhance 2.0. Their recommended bid is HKD5600, with that money I can fly QR to UK..... (recently bought BHX-HKG return for GBP350)

Not giving up front row A320 for regional JCL let alone just a short hop (1hr05mins flying time). QRPC Gold (OW Saph) has all the JCL perks bar the seat lol.

Management has officially lost the plot.

sxc

Quite incredible pricing considering a full fare J ticket is just under $9000.

ctb213ctb213

We should be happy with their aggressive pricing, so that this won't affect the Ops-up chance. Also, charging it too cheap will affect those who pay the regular price for J.

In short, stupid pricing, but happy to see the fail of the upgrade bid "again".

Ausriver

I would normally think charging half of the price difference between I and paid price would make sense. Since the bidding system doesn't earn pax I status and miles and it is also design for someone who obviously couldn't afford I fare.

Asking for $2000 for one hour in the air regional J seat + snake.... Whoever designed the calculation must be out of their mind.

Cathay Dragon 666

MU and HX charges $600 HKD on their regional routes for last-minute upgrade. Like I said, MU and HX are selling their C-class seats straight-up just fine.

The theory that cheap upgrade fares will discourage C-paying pax is as delusional as the revamped MPO will attract more premium passengers.

Again, most C-class pax are paid by company, and they are not going to get upset and fly another airline just because they realized more and more people are grabbing the last seat at minimum charge.

Or the idea that people will buy Y and wait to cheap upgrade into C. Again, if being paid by the company, they are not going to buy Y, they are buying C.

Will there be people that are paying out of pocket in C that gets upset and flies another airline instead? Sure. But they are far and few in between and the revenue made on cheap upgrades more than compensate for their losses.

fairhsa

At the start of this thread I considered ticketing my BKK flight early so that I could give this a go. With the info provided, no chance I would pay an extra 2k per leg, so I will sit on my ticket until the last minute as normal! Thanks for the info. I too was very concerned this would affect my (frequent) op-ups. Not at these prices.

sxc

I received an upgrade bid offer via manage my booking (ie I didn't receive an email). What is interesting is it's for a route that is not listed, and for a flight that is zero'd out in J.

FWIW, it's SYD, and the bid range is $5,000 - 11,000 for W to J. The starting bid is almost three times what QF asks as a starting bid.

G-CIVC

Not sure what commands upgrade bid eligibility, at least for ORD route - two family members, one booked Q+Q and one V+V roundtrip - both 'not eligible' after entering PNR.

In the end, both canceled and grASbbed J award seats for just short of $16k HKD - if the bid prices are like SYD as what sxc posted then certainly this upgrade bid thing is a joke.

Ausriver

Did you book into W fare class?