Originally Posted by
SAAUSA
SAA does, from time to time, offer day-of-departure upgrades to passengers who have purchased tickets in certain fare groups.
Priority is, naturally, given to those who have paid higher fares which allow more flexibility, and deeply discounted tickets are normally not eligible.
I'm generally flying on seats or lower fare buckets. Plus more recently, I've been part of a larger group (4 pax). So I definitely don't fit the "mold" of someone who might get the offer. On the one occasion I was on a full fare coach ticket (out of 20-30 US-SA trips in 10 years), I asked and received a dumfounded look.
Originally Posted by
SAAUSA
It is important to note that this is not a set policy and that it's not available on all flights. Seat availability, load and yield are determining factors... On days when the service is available, SAA check-in staff will invite eligible passengers during the check-in process or thru gate announcements.
TIA. You never know until its over and even then you don't know what happened.
It's your airline, you decide how to run it. But, why would you gum up the boarding process by having staff taking payments from the last minute "offerees."
Originally Posted by
SAAUSA
[N]o such program is in place for flights originating in Johannesburg.
That doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
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As an aside, I'd like to applaud SAAUSA once again for paying attention to FT. I appreciate the need to cover so many social media outlets and the time it must take for (I presume) the staff in Florida. However, as your reply in this thread demonstrates, it is refreshing to have a candid, clear and factual, statement from the airline on a particular matter rather than a quote from the Terms & Conditions and let the debate rage on FT. As a loyal SAA flyer, it is appreciated.