Buying a domestic upgrade on Air China
Aug 31, 2014, 3:12 am
#1
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Buying a domestic upgrade on Air China
A word of warning to those who are tempted to buy an upgrade to (domestic) F on Air China, specifically on flights operated by 3-class aircraft.
I was scheduled to fly on a B777-300ER from Beijing to Shanghai. I was in Y, but it seemed like there were no aisle seats free (!) and decided to pay the difference to F. I went to check in and got seat 13A. I thought it was a bit strange, but once on board it was clear that I was in "business" class and not in row 1 or 2. There was someone (a European) sitting in row 1, so it was clear that these seats were being sold.
I decided to ask a flight attendant and was told that business class was considered domestic "F" and that rows 1 and 2 were for passengers who had bought first class tickets abroad. Given the duration of the flight (under 2 hours) I was not about to argue. The long-haul C seat was much more comfortable than any previous domestic F seat I had experienced on CA.
I did find it much stranger though when a German-speaking gentlemen in the row in front of me also confronted the flight attendant. He already had a C class ticket and bought an upgrade to F and landed up in exactly the same seat!!! Now that is almost worthy of being called a "scam"!
I was scheduled to fly on a B777-300ER from Beijing to Shanghai. I was in Y, but it seemed like there were no aisle seats free (!) and decided to pay the difference to F. I went to check in and got seat 13A. I thought it was a bit strange, but once on board it was clear that I was in "business" class and not in row 1 or 2. There was someone (a European) sitting in row 1, so it was clear that these seats were being sold.
I decided to ask a flight attendant and was told that business class was considered domestic "F" and that rows 1 and 2 were for passengers who had bought first class tickets abroad. Given the duration of the flight (under 2 hours) I was not about to argue. The long-haul C seat was much more comfortable than any previous domestic F seat I had experienced on CA.
I did find it much stranger though when a German-speaking gentlemen in the row in front of me also confronted the flight attendant. He already had a C class ticket and bought an upgrade to F and landed up in exactly the same seat!!! Now that is almost worthy of being called a "scam"!
Last edited by Snoopy; Aug 31, 2014 at 4:53 am
