Originally Posted by
ralfp
Some airlines offer Y-up fares (typical for domestic USA) for elites. Buy a full-fare coach ticket, get an immediate confirmed upgrade to first if a first class seat is available at the time of purchase. These fares still show up as a "coach class" purchase.
This is great for people who are not allowed to buy first class tickets (company policy), yet it still allows the airline to sell a high price ticket. For example, on CO, many Y class coach tickets are only $50 less (one way) than full fare A class first tickets.
It's also an incentive for elites. Again, with CO, on some routes their Y fare is the same as WN's (Southwest) refundable ticket price. An elite on CO would have a very strong incentive to buy a CO ticket and get first class, instead of coach on WN.
This is a little different from international business class upgrades, which are never free (that I know of). Internationally the best "free" (no extra miles, certificates, or money) "upgrade" that one can get is premium economy (VS, NZ, BR, UA sort of, etc.)
Ah... so, a trickery on the part of the airline to cheat company policies and essentially, sell a discounted first class ticket but call it a full fare economy?
In line with the trickeries like upgrading business class to flat seats and other things better than what first class used to be (whether or not first class is dropped) but still calling it business class, not first class, or inventing a premium economy class which is nearly as good as business class used to be, but still calling it economy, not business?