Is La Premiere becoming less exclusive?

Old Oct 8, 2017, 8:25 am
  #1  
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Is La Premiere becoming less exclusive?

So here's a question: how easy is it to upgrade to La Premiere (cash or miles)?
The reason I am asking is that I have been flying that cabin quite regularly since mid-last year, and it feels like it has become less and less exclusive.
Case in point: my last flight CDG-SFO last week. Was only pax in cabin up until 3 hours before the flight. Then 2 more seats got blocked and occupied. And then when I was settling down on the plane, one of the crew pulled someone from the back to sit her in the last open seat. Same thing when flying the A380, it seems the cabin is full more often that not.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the experience no matter what, but I'm just wondering whether I'm stupid buying F fares, when others seem to be able to get the same experience at a much lower cost.
Thoughts?
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Old Oct 8, 2017, 8:40 am
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What does "less exclusive" mean here? I am not sure what you mean from the context. People who tend to travel in F tend to book last minute rather than having things locked in a T-11months, like the careful mileage planner would have to do, so it seems unlikely that you meant that the cabin is "less empty".

Why do you think the later bookers are getting it for a "much lower cost"?

As you seem to be rather new to AF, you may not be aware of the bugbear that was the friends and family travelling for free in La Premiere for a long time, most of which seems to have now come to an end.
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Old Oct 8, 2017, 12:15 pm
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Nothing is exclusive in the least. Anybody who can afford a ticket may fly F. That's pretty much true for most carriers. You don't have to prove your royal lineage.

As to who books when, you should know that many F pax are people who may book while enroute to the airport for a flight. Something comes up, they grab their "go" suitcase, car picks them up and enroute someone books them.

It is the other ranks in the back who tend to book months out.
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Old Oct 8, 2017, 12:19 pm
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Surely shrinking the cabin to just 4 seats makes it more exclusive, to the extant that something literally anyone is permitted to buy is "exclusive"
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Old Oct 9, 2017, 6:14 am
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Originally Posted by Often1
Nothing is exclusive in the least. Anybody who can afford a ticket may fly F. That's pretty much true for most carriers. You don't have to prove your royal lineage.
I guess it's arguable in some sense of the word, that it makes it less exclusive if even people who can not afford a ticket fly F?

And that's the question OP proposes to my understanding - would it be cheaper to ticket into business and count on upgrades?
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Old Oct 9, 2017, 6:31 am
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Originally Posted by Fabo.sk
And that's the question OP proposes to my understanding - would it be cheaper to ticket into business and count on upgrades?
If you need to be on a specific flight/fly to a specific destination, maybe, otherwise there are La Premiere sales every now and then which will most likely end up being cheaper, OLCI upgrades were reported for around 2000 from J to F, and that was before the new system came into place which seems to have made upgrades even more expensive...
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Old Oct 9, 2017, 7:25 am
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Originally Posted by Gwilly
So here's a question: how easy is it to upgrade to La Premiere (cash or miles)?
I was able to upgrade CDG to JFK for 1500 euros a couple of times. I apologize if a peasant like me has been ruining the exclusivity of La Premire .
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Old Oct 9, 2017, 8:07 am
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Peasants are OK. It's blue collar workers who are disturbing.

As a side note, having one pax scheduled out of four P77W seats means that they do not schedule much variety on the menu. If 4 pax are regularly scheduled, that migt be better for variety of choices.
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Old Oct 9, 2017, 8:21 am
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Originally Posted by brunos
Peasants are OK. It's blue collar workers who are disturbing.
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Old Oct 9, 2017, 8:30 am
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Originally Posted by brunos
Peasants are OK. It's blue collar workers who are disturbing.

As a side note, having one pax scheduled out of four P77W seats means that they do not schedule much variety on the menu. If 4 pax are regularly scheduled, that migt be better for variety of choices.
Are you saying that someone buying an AF FC fare can eat their fellow passengers for dinner? That would make an OPUP or last minute purchased upgrade less appealing. Some forms of variety are not good.
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Old Oct 9, 2017, 10:49 am
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I have flown F to CDG to JNB a few times over the last few months (admittedly with some notice) and the price variance between Business and First has been minimal, in the region of 2-300 and actually below some Business fares on the same day with different flight combinations. This may serve to reduce the "exclusivity".
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