Thai-Kiwi

sbiddle

OneUp is really just like gambling.. You're bidding what you're willing to pay for a seat but there is absolutely zero guarantee the OneUp/Plusgrade system will accept an offer, even if you bid an amount that may have cleared for somebody else. There are a myriad of reasons why seats remained empty, and the fact they were willing to sell a PE seat at the gate doesn't mean a lot in the context of things.

If this had been a RU (or even an Elite APD upgrade) that wasn't cleared while seats were empty I would be complaining if I was in the same position as the OP, but in the case of a OneUp it just means you lost the lottery that day.

With the number of Elite's out there these days I'm surprised that anybody who's a frequent flyer doesn't know one, and doesn't just get them to lodge an APD upgrade. They're a no brainer compared to a OneUp.

jawnbc

Folks who are either NZ-born or have lived here a looooong time are apologists for Air NZ yet again. It seems that whomever would have had to reissue the ticket to process the upgrade couldn't be arsed, which is lazy. For the reasons enumerated by several of us already above. Which is also why some of us don't know any Elites: we didn't grow up here.

The original bid was closer to $300--we raised it to $400 based on the availability. Research online claims that $350 is close to the mean bid for successful Y-to-PE OneUp bids on the YVR service.

nzkarit

Having had a gate clear RU (which are processed to gate close unlike OneUp) the scanner flashes red so they have to reissue the new boarding pass else not getting on the plane. Once the computer accepts the upgrade it would be more effort to cancel the upgrade than it would to just issue the new boarding pass.

Also have to remember if your RU only cleared at t-5 pretty sure the final OneUp pass is at t-7 or so. Lots can happen between then and check in and them offering paid upgrades. People miss connection/change flight so seats become available, the empty seats seen on plane may have been inop,

sbiddle

Basically this..

Flight would have been looked at and the decision made not to process OneUps. None of us here are blinded by Air NZ loyalty - I'm pointing out the real world reality that a OneUp sits at the very bottom of the upgrade list and as pointed out is just like gambling. The mere fact there *might* be a free seat does not guarantee a OneUp will clear regardless of how much you bid.

NZ is not a US carrier. If you want to sit in a Premium seat the solution is to get in early with an A / R upgrade or to pay for it. Everything else is a calculated gamble, with the odds of a OneUp clearing sitting very low down with the high number of HVC pax.

WLGNZ

+1
Very good summation.
Never have any expectation of a OneUp being successful.
Be pleasantly surprised if it is.

mad_atta

NZ108 SYD-AKL Thurs 27/6
2 pax
Y > PE
Bid AU $100 APD + Gold uplift
Accepted 5 days out

Loadings look low - still significant numbers of PE seats available.

Petrazimuk

Snuz

AKL-ORD
Y-PE
$400 x 2, no uplift
Rejected

YVR-AKL
Y-PE
$500 x 2, no uplift
Accepted after check-in, reversed at gate

Our bid was accepted after we checked in but about an hour before check in closed (we checked in for the flight early). 20 minutes after it was accepted we went to the gate and got called to the desk where they advised us that there was only one seat in PE so we had to choose who would take it. We decided not to take it which put us both back in Economy. We were advised that it would take 5 days to get the refund back. It's been 5 days and nothing so we've contacted them now to be advised it will be another 10 days before we get the refund. I remain doubtful.

Either one of two things happened:
1) In the 20 minutes between when got approved and then taken away, someone else checked in and did a status upgrade in which case why did they not wait until check in was completed and then award it to us at the gate if there was space?
2) There was only ever one seat so they just decided to approve and then speak to us at the gate in which case why didn't they just not approve it and then call us to the gate to discuss?

To their credit once the ground staff realised how annoyed we were they put us to the front of economy in a row to ourselves (lots of leg room). Once on the plane one of the staff tried to move us again so we explained what had happened and they let us keep our row and gave us the PE headphones and some of the PE food. The food was probably left over from their dinner but we thought it was a nice touch.

We will continue to battle with Air NZ to get our money back.

sbiddle

All Air NZ refunds can take several weeks to process. This is in their T&C somewhere.

Add to that depending if they lodge it as a reversal of a transaction or simply a credit it can take quite a number of days to be posted and actually appear on a credit card statement (but funds should appear before the full transaction is posted). This isn't the fault of Air NZ, it's simply how credit cards and banks work.

kiwicyclo

NZ191 AKL - ADL
15/7/2019
1 pax
Y > PE
Bid NZ $100 + Elite Uplift
Accepted 5 days out

First time using OneUp.

Only 3 seats left in PE including 23K under airport control

Also interesting the SP and A$ earn DECREASED for SP59 to SP41 and APD$15 to APD$8.50. My booking was originally the works, confirmed through call center this morning. Apparently AirNZ will manually adjust back to 59/15 post travel??

sbiddle

Out of curiosity why would you use OneUp vs an Elite APD upgrade which is a guaranteed price (yes it's the same $100 in this case) but with a higher priority in terms of being accepted?

kiwicyclo

..........

kiwicyclo

Did not really worry if I get it or not . . . . APD I get to keep and use personally. OneUp is company spend. I tend to use my Elite APD upgrades for USA etc . . . .

I thought I would just take a punt.

For Oz I get a choice of The Works one way and Premuim Economy the other. PE was $890 NZD, the Works $440 NZD so the one up at $100 on the $440 is still a good deal

kiwicyclo