uclacolumbiaunc

I am flying from Boston to LAX this summer. I have Elevate Silver status so I can purchase first class upgrade 12 hours prior to departure.

My question is, is the first class upgrade purchase availability based on inventory control? Or if there is an open empty first class at T-12, I can purchase the upgrade?

If the first class is full at T-12, but someone makes last-hour cancellation 1 hour prior to departure (thus open up a seat in first class), would that seat be available for upgrade purchase ?

Lastly, what is the cost of upgrade from Main Cabin Select to First Class from Boston to LAX?

ptownca

Firstly, the BOS <> LAX and BOS <> SFO routes are very popular and frequently sold out. I just want to level set expectations. I've talked with flight crews about this and they mention this on more than one occasion. I did this route twice since Christmas and every seat was full.

First Class upgrades are not on inventory control, but on real seat availability. You can actually buy the upgrade on board if there is a last minute no show.. The upgrade purchase can be made via the IFE. I've done it a few times. When checking in and at the gate, ask to be put on the upgrade list. It works TM.

I did get a very last minute upgrade on SFO > BOS and it was $399 and I happily paid for it.

Good luck and enjoy Boston, my home town.

uclacolumbiaunc

So if at T-12, all seats in first class are taken, and then at T-7, one seat opens up for whatever reason (perhaps due to some last-hour cancellation), I can pay for that open seat online after I check in at T-12... ?

bayhouse

Yes, you can still pay to upgrade (if there's space) after checking in, but you can't do it online. You have to call and ask to upgrade or ask an airport staff member to upgrade you.

MikeBOS

I fly BOS-SFO regularly; even with the 6 hour advantage of Elevate Silver, upgrades are only available around 10% of the time. The other 90% F is full. There are no capacity controls once you're in the 12 hour window; if there's a seat open you can upgrade into it, but that's mostly not the case.

edcho

If you do get lucky, the upgrade fees are listed here:

https://www.virginamerica.com/cms/vx-fees

Since you are going from MCS to F, it would range from $70 - $240 as per the website.

I frequently travel LGA-DAL so i've only seen the $70 offer. I'm assuming the fees are determined by route.

uclacolumbiaunc

... just purchased an upgrade for $240 from Bos to Lax. When I checked-in, there were still two first-class seats available for my flight. I got MCS for cheap, with $240 upgrade fee, the entire flight in first class only cost me less than $500... I'd say it's a good deal to fly from Bos to Lax for less than $500 in first class.

bayhouse

I agree, that's great

mek17

edcho - Just wondering if you still consistently see the $70 MCS to F upgrade on the DAL-LGA route. Also, have you ever seen the cost of a MC to F upgrade on that route? Thanks.

Zacnlinc

Mike, Silver gets you 12 advantage to upgrade to 1st.

shza

It only gets you a 6 hour "advantage" over people who are Elevate Red (i.e., anyone who checked a box), since those folks can upgrade 6 hours before departure.

dhuey

I also fly SFO-BOS regularly. I was delighted yesterday to get an F award on this route for 75,000 Virgin Atlantic points. If you can manufacture the spend, you might try going that route with either the VS-branded card, or transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to a VS mileage account.

You'd have enough points if you can spend $12,000 in first six months with VS Mastercard: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...000-bonus.html $90 annual fee.

mek17

FYI, just found out the MC to F upgrade for DAL-LGA routes is $149. The MC to MCS on that route is $79.

UA_Sycophant

Anyone know what the upgrade fee is from MC to F on SFO-DAL these days?

I'm flying that route on Virgin tomorrow. I imagine pretty soon it will fall under Alaska's upgrade policy ($100 for flights in the 1,251-2,500 mile range) but probably not tomorrow's flight.

shza

$399 is the price to upgrade from MC>F; MCS>F is $240.

I fly SFO>NY and SFO>DC fairly frequently and always buy MC, get auto-upgraded to MCS, pay to upgrade to F. I think availability on the DCA route is about the same as BOS, and I've never had trouble, but I always bite right at T-24.

If the OP (ucla) hasn't bought his/her ticket yet though, worth looking at JetBlue Mint fares, since they're on that route and if they've got $599 one-ways, that's probably not that much more than the cost of the VX ticket and upgrade fee.