1KHI

I'll be flying Delhi to LHR, then connecting to the US. Everything is booked on an AA ticket with AA flight numbers.

I'm booked on Economy H, which doesn't allow me to use AA miles to upgrade. Also, called BA and I can't use AVIOS to upgrade an AA ticket. Arghh.

Anyway, flight is operated on a 777 and I have the exit row seat. According to seatguru it's a little more room.

1) is upgrading at check in my only option? What's the typical upgrade cost?

2) given that I have an exit row seat already, is WT+ worth?

3) is there any way to upgrade to business class?

Thanks everyone!

Genius1

1) Yes, you may be offered an upgrade price at OLCI, but probably not due to the AA codeshare nature of the ticket. You can ask at check-in, and price is likely to be around £199.

2) I would say probably worth it, as long as it's not a middle seat. You get a larger, comfier seat with more legroom and a choice of Club World main course. You also get better headphones than WT (as I've recently found out!) The cabin will also be quieter and you will be off before the WT pax. (Caveat: I have never flown WT or WTP, so take all of that as a pinch of salt - I base my comments on my perception/reading trip reports and what I would do in your situation).

3) Yes, you will possibly be offered a further upgrade price at check-in (either at OLCI or at the airport). I wouldn't say this was as certain as a WT to WTP upgrade. You can of course simply pay the fare difference between WT and WTP if your WT ticket fare bucket allows - but that is likely to be a hefty cost.

Seshy

I'm doing that very same route in about 6 hours time though not flying in those classes.

Upgrading at the airport would cost around £200 in my experience, but it can vary depending on whether the flight is oversold or not.

I would take the step from WT to WT+ if the cost is right, since the seats are more comfortable & the cabin slightly more private.

The upgrade to business may well be an option at the airport but expect to pay £££.

PotNoodle

1. Ask at check-n. They are likely to have a few spaces availible for a few hundreds pounds.

2. Whilst exit rows are good theres a lot more to WT+ than leg room like more width, Business class meals and so on. I personally think it is good especially for long haul flights and you have two long-haul flights so I would recomend it. It is reasonble in terms of value for money.

3. Perhaps, you need to ask at check in.

In the US I have noticed a lot of people get a lot of upgrades but you would probably have to end up paying for better classes of service with BA.

CaptainHero

1. Already answered, nothing to add.
2. I would get it, i'm rather tall and big so travelling WT is a torture for me. Better seat, better food, smaller cabin, to me it's totally worth the typical £189 (or equivalent in local currency)
3. i have been offered once the choice of WT+ or CW upgrade at the checkin counter, IIRC the jump from WT to CW was roughly around £650. So ~200 for WT+, an extra ~450 for CW

Fruitcake

My last flight in WT was also from India - Mumbai - in 2007. Perfectly good flight but at the end of it I said 'never again if In can help - I'm a bit more creaky than I once was and past this now!!'

Why not go for WT+. It's a good standard. Have a good trip. ^

VolcanoMan

I've done this once or twice now, especially if I've needed the points (work pays Y only!). Since the improvements to WT+, I'd say it's fairly good value for 200GBP... of course some peoples idea of value is different to others! Myself I value the quieter cabin, more space, better service, better food... allows me to work, etc. Especially day flights when a flat bed is less useful, as it were.

vm

Athlete95

Go for it. India flights are often chaos- lots of hand luggage, lots of special meals, nearly always full or oversold- my flights to/from BLR last month were heavily oversold (I was in CW) and at the gate it was manic with lots of ground staff trying to sort out lots of seat changes because of it. If you book WT+, you stand an excellent chance of a CW Op-Up if you have OW Sapphire/Emerald or even Ruby status.

I always walk up and down the plane a few times to stretch my legs when I fly longhaul, and on my flight from BLR-LHR in WT there were lots of split groups, lots of people standing in the aisle, children running riot, about 6 infants, most of whom were crying loudly. I got stuck in the aisle for about 10 minutes when trying to get back to CW! WT+ seemed like a quiet heaven compared to it, and CW was even better!

There are often a lot of children and infants on the Indian flights, a lot of whom are in Economy who are connecting or have connected from the USA, who are understandably tired, cranky and worn out. I do sympathise with people and especially familes who have young children and travel say LAX-LHR-DEL, it's a seriously long trip, and isn't easy at all, or for anyone, regardless of travel class! WT+ would be a no brainer for me, and as you have an onward flight to the US, it is a serious no brainer

TheAAdmiral

I would be prepared to fly in y since that is what you paid for. BA elites will be offered the opportunity to upgrade before other OW Emeralds.

paulwuk

Beware of people who offer advice about cabins they've never flown in.

I find the leap from Y to W to be more worthwhile than W to J. Imagine an 8 hour flight with a screaming toddler next to you and someone jamming stuff into the seat pocket all night.

I'm flying W to Del on Monday, only problem I expect is the crap 777 planes Ba have. Got op-upped to J last time on this route, and I found the seat a lot less useful to work in.

Genius1

I can still offer my opinion though - and it would seem that we agree on the value of WTP over WT.

paulwuk

Of course, it's a free country (at least most locations you fly WTP to are)

jk1234

Hi, I have flown this route a couple of times now for work. I to have a Y only policy and after 16+ LH flights so far this year it stopped being funny. With this route I always try and get a WT+ seat, because flying WT isn't fun, especially on the night flights to and from DEL (the fellow passengers being the main reason). My tip is to check out the WT+ flight when booking, sometimes WT+ is only £80 to £110 more expensive than WT, in this situation I take a screen grab of the difference in price and print it, pay for the WT+ ticket and claim back the WT price, my boss seems to approve of this. When WT+ is much more expensive I upgrade at the airport, last time it cost £189 from LHR to DEL and a similar amount on the return in Rs. I did get offered a Club World upgrade for Rs 70,000 but declined.

1KHI

Thanks everyone! This is my first time that I read a thread with a unanimous decision! Everyone agrees that I should go for WT+

Work policy is Y only, but should be fine paying for the upgrade at check in if it's around £200. I really hope I get offered one, otherwise that will be a crazy ride all the way to Honolulu.

Happy travels to everyone [especially the ones to/from India these days ]

1KHI

Hey all! Just completed my DEL-LHR trip. I was offered an upgrade to WT+ at check in (Indian lady was proactively asking for upgrades as 'a very unusual and great offer' at check lane). The cost was 12K rupees, which equals about $215 usd. I specifically asked for an aisle seat, which I got.

Overall, I'm glad I paid for the upgrade. The service was much better than what you get in Economy plus at other American airlines. Food was fine and the reclining seat was more comfortable than I expected (esp. after flying hard rock CO seats for a while). Entertainment was great relative to other American airlines.