The ultimate thread on buy-ups at OLCI
Jun 20, 2017, 3:55 am
#1771
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA | CLT, formerly LHR & AMS (with just a bit of PSP)
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Diamond, BonVoy Titanium, (soon former) Caesars7*, (former) Wynn Black, HR "Icon"
Posts: 8,172
It seems like (to me) that when the cabin is empty (no chance of OpUp) they don't want a bit of revenue (like €79); but if the flight is overbooked, they will accept €79, even though refusing the offer still opens up the chance of an OpUp and €0 extra revenue.
Jun 20, 2017, 6:35 am
#1772
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: UK/FR
Programs: FlyingBlue Platinum, Hertz PC
Posts: 886
I always find in curious that on (almost) overbooked flights, they tend to heavily discount the upgrade; yet these are the best opportunities for the OpUp.
It seems like (to me) that when the cabin is empty (no chance of OpUp) they don't want a bit of revenue (like €79); but if the flight is overbooked, they will accept €79, even though refusing the offer still opens up the chance of an OpUp and €0 extra revenue.
It seems like (to me) that when the cabin is empty (no chance of OpUp) they don't want a bit of revenue (like €79); but if the flight is overbooked, they will accept €79, even though refusing the offer still opens up the chance of an OpUp and €0 extra revenue.
(I don't think the meal cost + potential lounge access cost this much but that's the only explanation I can come up with
)
Jun 21, 2017, 1:33 am
#1773
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: AMS / ATH
Programs: AFKL Plat, A3 Gold
Posts: 7,339
Flew ATH-AMS recently. Normally the upgrade is 199 euro, this time 99. Clear indication that the flight was overbooked.
However..during the flight the purser came by for a chat and mentioned that it was a full flight, I said that I expected quite a few OpUps, he checked the ipad and said that there were none. So apparently people do actually purchase these discounted upgrades, and it does bring extra revenue to KLM as they don't have to give it away for free through OpUps.
Of course, 99 euro for the 3.5 hour flight holds a lot more value than 129 euro for AMS-NEU or something similar. But still I am surprised by how many people go for it, as they often don't even manage to fill up two rows of Economy Comfort.
However..during the flight the purser came by for a chat and mentioned that it was a full flight, I said that I expected quite a few OpUps, he checked the ipad and said that there were none. So apparently people do actually purchase these discounted upgrades, and it does bring extra revenue to KLM as they don't have to give it away for free through OpUps.
Of course, 99 euro for the 3.5 hour flight holds a lot more value than 129 euro for AMS-NEU or something similar. But still I am surprised by how many people go for it, as they often don't even manage to fill up two rows of Economy Comfort.
Jun 21, 2017, 10:13 am
#1774
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska MVP Gold.
Posts: 1,962
Remember that while overbooked, a flight can go out full without OpUps. People do just not show up, miss connections, etc. -- basically, why the airline overbooks.
Jun 21, 2017, 2:29 pm
#1775
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: AMS
Programs: FB plat for life
Posts: 316
my experience is that if you buy an upgrade, it typically ends up such a load that I would probably have had an OpUp anyway, whereas if you don't - they do not either - they just find some last lonely loose pax to offer the upgrade. Murphy is involved in KL's yield management me thinks
Jun 21, 2017, 2:52 pm
#1776
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
Priority boarding was properly enforced, but they managed to mess things up when somebody decided interrupt procedings to board prince Henrik (the husband of the queen of Denmark). This was followed by the usual carry-on chaos, and then a wait while the hold luggage of a missing pax was located and offloaded (or not).
Johan
Jun 29, 2017, 4:47 pm
#1779
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 511
Sorry, try this link...
https://www.klm.com/bfu/ub/login
https://www.klm.com/bfu/ub/login
for info, the link worked for my outbound flight (ams-cur), but it's not working for the inbound flight (cur-ams)
Jul 3, 2017, 5:10 am
#1784
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: CPT,AMS
Posts: 4,412
AMS-ARN 99€ 3/8 open (J0 Y0, but EC was lightly loaded)
ARN-AMS 99€ 6/8 open at T-24, and offer was removed at some point (J0 Y0, there were 2 available J seats and Y was full indeed, including the occasional travellers who were late to check-in and were therefore seated for free in EC...)
ARN-AMS 99€ 6/8 open at T-24, and offer was removed at some point (J0 Y0, there were 2 available J seats and Y was full indeed, including the occasional travellers who were late to check-in and were therefore seated for free in EC...)
Jul 3, 2017, 1:51 pm
#1785
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: amsterdam/nl
Programs: FB PLATINUM IHG ACCOR
Posts: 328
Maybe someone decided that at 129€ they were making money and at 79€ they aren't? Which means when it's overbooked they still try to get money out of it instead of giving it away for free but see no point selling at this price otherwise?
(I don't think the meal cost + potential lounge access cost this much but that's the only explanation I can come up with )
(I don't think the meal cost + potential lounge access cost this much but that's the only explanation I can come up with
)other while seats would be empty or given out to low yield non revenue/staff pax. additionally passengers seem to be more likely to chose this airline afterwards