I today flew LHR-BOS, paid coach fare, upgrade to Business supported with electronic VIP upgrades thanks to EXP status.

In all my prior flights to and from LHR, VIP upgrades have not required that the GBP20 "premium cabin tax" be paid. AAdvantage upgrade awards incur this tax; VIPs do not based on some characteristic of the way the upgraded ticket is issued. I may not understand the reason for the result, but the result itself is sure easy. Great.

Not today. Today, the LHR agents insisted on charging GBP20, per passenger, and there were several of us traveling together. Having found that the available Business seats were not exactly the pick of the litter (our upgrades had just cleared the night before), we were actually seriously considering going back to coach when we learned we now owed AA (and, allegedly, in turn the UK) an extra GBP80 (US$150 give or take). Of course that wasn't a real option because our (great) coach seats had of course been cancelled when our upgrades cleared.

So -- What do folks here think? Other reports of the GBP20 fee being charged for e-VIP upgrades? The check-in agent was quite insistent of this "recent change," and the LHR Flagship Lounge staff agreed. But I couldn't readily find any discussion here on FT, and I didn't remember any discussion here on this subject. If the tax is in fact payable, and I just didn't know, then I have no cause to complain (though I do think the EXP desk should have told me when I requested the upgrade). If it was wrongly charged, I certainly want my GBP80 back, not to mention a stern word with the check-in agent.