<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mauld:
I too am a bit confused by this statement. On the CO OP site (as I read it), it states:
We've expanded our Elite upgrade policy.
(Posted August 1, 2002)
Now all OnePass Elite members may request an upgrade to First Class or Business Class at the time of ticketing when traveling on Continental and Copa* Airlines on a full Y fare in Economy class. In addition, we are extending this upgrade benefit to Northwest WorldPerks Elite members when flying on Continental. We're pleased to extend this benefit to all of our valued Elite members.
* Upgrades on Copa Airlines will not be effective until September 1.
To me (and I could very well be misunderstanding), this means if I buy any full Y coach fare, say to Europe or South America, as a Platinum (or any Elite status), if they are available, I can be upgraded to BF with no payment of miles at time of ticketing. Some comments on this board seem to say this is not the case.
Can anyone clarify???
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Read the quote from the CO website again carefully. It does not mention anything about upgrades to BusinessFirst. Business Class and BusinessFirst are two entirely different things. Business Class is the premium cabin on flights outside the U.S. (and maybe Canada, not sure) and is really just the same as domestic first class with 38" seat pitch. Fare code is "C". BusinessFirst is only offered on 767s, 777s and certain 757s, with 55" seat pitch, fare code is "J". BusinessFirst is generally offered on longer-haul flights, such as to Sao Paulo or Lima. Flights to, say, Venezuela, are only Business Class (I think).