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Looking to pay for upgrade KLM/AF - told cant??

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Old Nov 10, 2015, 12:51 am
  #1  
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Looking to pay for upgrade KLM/AF - told cant??

Am flying a long flight from KUL to LIM via Paris. Booked economy and called AF call centre to pay for upgrade...informed not possible. A little strange...which airline doesnt want more to earn more? KLM website seems better but upgrades only for KLM flights, not the legs I want.

Anyone ever tried to pay for upgrade during transit at CDG? Thanks.
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Old Nov 10, 2015, 3:09 am
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Originally Posted by L Lam
Am flying a long flight from KUL to LIM via Paris. Booked economy and called AF call centre to pay for upgrade...informed not possible. A little strange...which airline doesnt want more to earn more? KLM website seems better but upgrades only for KLM flights, not the legs I want.

Anyone ever tried to pay for upgrade during transit at CDG? Thanks.
If you bought a low economy fare ticket (for instance, all promo economy tickets are just that), it might be that you are not allowed to upgrade with miles or cash. Your ticket is then non changeable/cancellable and (yes maybe it sounds weird) you also cannot upgrade to a business fare bucket. That would mean that you could 'change' your ticket, which you are not allowed.

On the day of departure you can check at the check-in desk though. Depending on your fare bucket you can pay cash and miles or cash only to upgrade if there are still seats available. This even counts for the low economy fare, but you will pay more for the upgrade.
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Old Nov 10, 2015, 5:23 am
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Originally Posted by L Lam
A little strange...which airline doesnt want more to earn more?
Almost all European airlines (and many beyond) when it comes to deeply discounted fares. KL has similar restrictions.
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Old Nov 10, 2015, 5:30 am
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Originally Posted by orbitmic
Almost all European airlines (and many beyond) when it comes to deeply discounted fares. KL has similar restrictions.
I agree with you, also restrictions are more and more clearly stated. But I do have to say that I don't understand why you can't upgrade with cash only to C. It would only mean more revenue.
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Old Nov 10, 2015, 5:32 am
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You can - it just means buying a new ticket. And they may or may not take the price of the ticket you already hold into account.
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Old Nov 10, 2015, 10:19 am
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Originally Posted by kevinflyaway
I agree with you, also restrictions are more and more clearly stated. But I do have to say that I don't understand why you can't upgrade with cash only to C. It would only mean more revenue.
Two main reasons:

1) encourage people who might consider paying for an upgrade to book into higher classes in the first place

2) avoid people using the cash upgrade to go around ticket restrictions which is probably the main point. On this forum as in real life, many people who can't meet their ticket's original restrictions (e.g. non changeable) ask about paying for an upgrade to then gain flexibility. I think that airlines want to avoid that.
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Old Nov 11, 2015, 8:24 am
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Ah that's because AF doesn't fly between KUL-CDG on its own metal - it's a codeshare with MH.
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Old Nov 11, 2015, 8:29 am
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Originally Posted by currentjer
Ah that's because AF doesn't fly between KUL-CDG on its own metal - it's a codeshare with MH.
This sounds right.....I was about to say that on some carriers, you cannot use instruments to upgrade a ticket that was purchased as a codeshare. Even an AF operated flight sold with a KLM flight number could have this issue.

If MH operates the flight, the OP could try calling MH or asking at KUL on the day of departure, and then again at CDG for the next segment. In this case, I would expect that upgrades on each segment would follow different rules and require separate payments if upgrades are allowed.

Airlines have their own rules and revenue management algorithms. Cheap paid upgrades are a privilege granted in some circumstances, not a right.
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Old Nov 11, 2015, 1:06 pm
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You might however be able to grab the MH PNR, and try to bid for an upgrade on the KUL-CDG segment on the MH website. This could be an economical option.
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Old Nov 11, 2015, 1:58 pm
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AF does not code-share with MH on KUL-CDG.
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Old Nov 13, 2015, 9:13 am
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AF doesnt codeshare with MH, it's partner in crime is KL.

Let's see if I can pay cash during check in.

It is all very confusing. AF website doesnt allow change to premium economy (for all legs and some are on KLM) but KLM website allows so on its own flights. *throwing my hands up in despair!*
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Old Nov 13, 2015, 10:10 am
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Originally Posted by L Lam
It is all very confusing. AF website doesnt allow change to premium economy (for all legs and some are on KLM) but KLM website allows so on its own flights. *throwing my hands up in despair!*
That is because Premium Economy at AF is a different class with its own cabin, different seats etc. (so something in between Y and C) while at KLM, it is economy comfort, which is same class and seats as in Y, only with a bit more space and recline.
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Old Nov 13, 2015, 8:21 pm
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haha...yes. Let me get my PhD in airline booking to change tickets/classes LOL.
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Old Nov 14, 2015, 8:22 am
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Originally Posted by L Lam
haha...yes. Let me get my PhD in airline booking to change tickets/classes LOL.
You only need your PhD in airline booking if you want to critically decide whether you believe that the airline's response is right or wrong. The easier alternative is that you can try changing any ticket/class and the airline will tell you whether you can or can't. That requires no qualification.
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Old Nov 14, 2015, 11:18 am
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As far as AF is concerned I think it also depends on how empty Premium Economy or business are.

More than once, when flying economy (not on a highly discounted fare), when I went to check in with the AF app on my smartphone, I've had windows pop up offering upgrades (for cash) to both PE or business, both at a substantial discount from the fares available at the time I purchased these tickets.
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