WSJ: A Flier's Guide To Snagging An Upgrade Now...
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 1, 2009
You want a first-class upgrade on your next trip—who doesn't? But airlines have made it more expensive—and more confusing—to snare one.
In recent months, many big carriers have changed their upgrade rules, adding more restrictions and upping fees. More changes have already been announced for next year. So now is a great time to take a close look and compare airlines' programs.
Continental Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. fliers should pay particular attention because Continental is leaving its SkyTeam partnership with Delta this month and joining the Star Alliance with UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. That means customers of Delta and Northwest will lose some opportunities to earn miles and will see their reward trip options shrink. United and US Airways partisans, however, stand to gain. New York will be a prime battleground since Continental and Delta customers will likely want to choose one or the other, but the changes may lead to frequent-flier program jockeying across the country.
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Wow...the first of these articles I have seen in a long time that actually uses facts and data rather than suggesting that one dress well and beg the GA with a story of heading home from one's honeymoon to attend a funeral and traveling with a broken leg.
Still not perfect - DL pax never got upgrades on CO, for example - but better than most the others.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sbm12
Wow...the first of these articles I have seen in a long time that actually uses facts and data rather than suggesting that one dress well and beg the GA with a story of heading home from one's honeymoon to attend a funeral and traveling with a broken leg.
Still not perfect - DL pax never got upgrades on CO, for example - but better than most the others.
Agree-
That was a decent article, with useful data and no fluff associated.
And I know they are a regional airline, but AS should be in there
What the article does not say is that, except for domestic flights, upgrade is mostly a question of occupancy rates.
The higher the occupancy rate, the better chance to be upgraded (if travelling alone and being Elite plus member).
Upgrades are no gifts: they are just the opportunity for airlines to prevent any additional costs of overbooking.
You are confusing "upgrades" with "operational upgrades." The two bear little relationship. Op-Ups are, as you suggest, driven by overbooking among several other factors and are done for the convenience of the airline. Normal, non-operational upgrades are driven by the customer - either supporting the upgrade with some sort of instrument or qualifying for a "complimentary" upgrade. Those are more likely to occur when the flight is UNDER-booked rather than overbooked.
You are confusing "upgrades" with "operational upgrades." The two bear little relationship. Op-Ups are, as you suggest, driven by overbooking among several other factors and are done for the convenience of the airline. Normal, non-operational upgrades are driven by the customer - either supporting the upgrade with some sort of instrument or qualifying for a "complimentary" upgrade. Those are more likely to occur when the flight is UNDER-booked rather than overbooked.
Furthermore, since upgrades to operational upgrades is probably a 200:1 ratio, mentioning the chance of operational is hardly worth the ink! On carriers with upgrade programs, operational upgrades are likely precluded by all of the normal upgraders who get stuck in back on those fully booked flights.
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Pretty good article - the info about AA, at least, looks correct, although it's all published on AA.com. What they didn't mention (and isn't published) is that purchased upgrades (LFBU - load factor-based upgrades) are also sometimes available at the airport for International flights.
