Originally Posted by
sbm12
Yeah, we all figured this one out, and I think that this is the one that most people are seeing and are upset about.
I believe that the non-Elite buy-up isn't really displacing all that many people.
But anecdotal evidence here suggests that the fare-difference to F approach actually is, or at least is visible much more than makes the elites (self included) comfortable. Y'all clearly need the money but it sucks for the platinum to know that a silver with $100 can beat them out for an upgrade. Of course, it is good news for the silver so ther must be some balance struck, but perception is a big part of reality here. The fact that it appears that you are selling upgrades out from under your top elites, combined with the fact that you sortof are, albeit at the price of the fare difference without a change fee, doesn't really look so good.
Fair enough,
sbm12, but we've always said that our first priority is to actually fill the First Class cabin with customers paying First Class fares. Our buy-up option is simply a matter of more proactively merchandising these fares (as opposed to keeping them hidden behind a veil of secrecy).
Originally Posted by
sbm12
But, as long as you're doing it and owning up to it, a couple questions about the process:
Will it always be available for everyone, or only sometimes? If the latter, how do you decide?
The buy-up option is offered when the difference in fare falls within a reasonable range. For example, it's unlikely you'll ever see a check-in offer that says "Buy up to a First Class fare for just $3,800."
Originally Posted by
sbm12
Does the buy-up actually change the booking class for purposes of mileage accrual and IRROPs handling (and anything else that might affect)?
Absolutely. When you buy-up to a First Class fare, you're effectively buying the published fare and getting booked in the corresponding fare class.
Originally Posted by sbm12
Is it always a buy up to an F fare or does it take into account elite status, AN/B/M inventory, etc.?
Yes, by lowest available front cabin fare, we also mean instant upgrade fares, when applicable. In full disclosure, however, we do have a known issue where we're not offering the instant upgrade fares correctly between Los Angeles (LAX) and Honolulu (HNL), and in some of our International Business Class markets in Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada and the Pacific. This will be corrected later this month.
Originally Posted by sbm12
Has there been a wholesale change in policy to permit buying up to a higher fare class on the same itinerary with no change fee?
Yes, but other than check-in, we're pretty low-profile about it. You can also accomplish this by calling us directly, and plans for adding to continental.com are in the works. When buying up in advance (outside of check-in), we will allow you to buy up to a front cabin fare on the exact same itinerary without having to pay any applicable change fees. In these cases, we'll simply charge you the difference between the fare you paid and the premium cabin fare. The applicable change fee will be waived, but the most restrictive fare rules between your original fare and the new fare will apply to the new ticket. If we're ever confused about this over the phone, politely refer us to GG BUYUP.
If you'd rather not keep the rules of your original ticket, you'll still have the option to pay the change fee and enjoy the rules of the new ticket (however, in these cases, if the new fare is refundable, only the difference in fare is considered refundable).
Originally Posted by Flyer737
Scott, Thanks for the reply on what happened! Could you please clarify one point? If there happens to be a Platinum in a 2 party reservation and a Gold in a 2 party reservation, will Continental "protect" 4 seats from the non-elite day of departure upgrade offers? If you only protect 2 (for the Plat and Gold Elites), the plat companion will beat out the Gold Elite like in my case. You would have to protect a minimum of 3 to cover the Gold Elite (and leave the Gold companion unprotected). If there are Silver Elites not yet upgraded, it seems you would also have to protect the Gold companions along with the Silver. Do I have this correct?
For now,
Flyer737, the quick and easy fix is to at least account for the Elite members that are in multi-party reservations. To also make assumptions about the companion is a little more complicated, but something we'll absolutely factor in as we plan changes to our companion upgrade program.