wmaciej

Hi fellow travellers,

So I'm at SFO right now waiting for my flight to London. Due to late booking of my flights, I had to go economy to save the company money.

I asked about upgrades at checkin and was offered WT-CW for $1050 or WT-WT+ for $355. I went for the latter and after collecting the payment the lady (L) said:
L: oh, there is a note here that I cannot sell you an upgrade
M: ???
L: do you upgrade your flights often?
M: erm... no? last time I've upgraded a flight was a year or so ago.

In the end I did get my WT+ boarding pass, but I remain confused. To give some more background, the ticket was issued on AA (001) stock.

I realise I may not be BA's favourite gold card holder, usually flying economy and only now and then in J/A on AA, but banning from buying upgrades is a bit excessive I would think... Has anyone had a similar experience?

DELLAS

Yes I have heard this a few times but normally from people that upgrade a lot at the check in. Maybe someone else can advise if a similar situation has happened for someone who has not upgraded many times. The only other thing I can think of is if the fare rules did not allow it. Glad you got the upgrade after all that though ^

angatol

.....

wmaciej

interesting. So I've only ever upgraded at the airport once and it was nearly a year ago. I've used POUG several times last year, but not since they've gone bonanza price-wise.

Tafflyer

Maybe somebody else can clarify legalities, but I do believe that if there is an upgrade offer, it should be offered to anybody, regardless of any potentially prejudicial factors including past flying patterns.

Penalising a passenger, especially a higher status passenger, for taking an offer of an upgrade too often makes a farce of offering the upgrade in the first place.

Indeed, I could argue that a business traveller on a Y fare plus an AUP could easily be paying far more than a confirmed J passenger on a discounted I class ticket.

This is a sign of things gone mad. Every time I book my I class ticket now I will half expect to see a popup telling me I've booked too many cheap fares this year and as a loyal Goldie I should be paying far more for my tickets !

Oh hang on, maybe that's why my BA fares displayed recently online have been forcing me over to VS !!!

paul4040

No, it doesn't.

Much like how if you're paying in Avios you get extra economy availability as a Gold. "Yes, there's a seat on that fl- ah, you're only Silver".

There isn't any consumer law that says you can't be selective about some customers and offer them better deals.

CCayley

This is utter garbage. Trust me, I am a lawyer and I know! My favourite restaurant can offer the next table lobster at half price but not extend the same deal to my party.

Advice to OP and others is the same as ever: You don't want to fly economy? Then don't buy an economy ticket!

windowontheAside

IANAL but any such restriction would prohibit targeting marketing offers, which is clearly not the case. I get vouchers from Sainsbury's based on my buying patterns that I know Mr W doesn't receive. This would seem to be the same.

I think airlines can offer what they like to whoever they like. Their ball and all that.

Gold77

The AUP can be selective. It is a commercial decision that does not depend on your contract with BA (including fare rules)

Is is the full-fare differential upgrade, which follows your fare rules, that cannot be refused to you if seats are available in the higher cabin. But at the last minute at the airport it is likely to be much more expensive than the AUP.

Gold77

Three lawyers and three accountants got on the train in New York to go to a convention in DC. The three accountants bought a ticket each, but the three lawyers bought only one ticket between them. The accountants commented on the illegality of their action but the lawyers said, "Trust us--we're lawyers." When the conductor entered the end of the car to collect the tickets, the three lawyers got up and all went into the bathroom together. When the conductor knocked on the bathroom door, a hand shot out with the one ticket, which the conductor duly cancelled. On returning to their seats the three accountants expressed admiration for such a clever trick. "Well," they said modestly, "we ARE lawyers." After the convention they all entered Union Station for the return trip home to New York. This time the accountants bought one ticket between them, while the lawyers did not buy any tickets at all. The accountants were amazed and said so. "Trust us," the three said. "We're lawyers." When the conductor arrived, the three accountants quickly jumped up and went into the bathroom. As soon as the door closed, the three lawyers got up and headed for the adjoining bathroom. As the last lawyer went by the accountant's bathroom, he knocked on the door. A hand shot out with the ticket, which the lawyer quickly grabbed before entering the other bathroom.

DS7

I am NOT a lawyer but I do know that an offer is an invitation to treat. That doesn't mean the entity offering must sell to you AT THAT PRICE..

Carry on...

Tafflyer

And the only good lawyer is ?

But no, seriously, I know marketing offers can be targeted, and although I also regularly take business away from companies offering bigger incentives to new customers compared to existing customers, this case is different.

The upgrade was offered, and then accepted. Payment was also collected, at which point, and I am not a lawyer but, I believe a contract was made. To attempt to withdraw the offer after-the-fact cannot be allowed, surely.

The whole idea that an AUP is a cheap way into business class is IMO incorrect. The price of these upgrades has gone up and is regularly over GBP500/USD800 each sector. That combined with anything other than the cheapest Economy tickets is more expensive than widely sold Business tickets. And as a commercial entity, refusing somebody's money and flying with an empty seat seems ridiculous. Rather than enticing the customer to pay more next trip, they are prompting him to try another carrier. Revenue management gone mad, but that just my opinion.

CCayley

Now that is a much better argument, but careful readers will note that it doesn't bear any resemblance to the drivel you argued in your last post, and also that OP got the desired upgrade, presumably for precisely this reason.

P.S. I am available for legal tuition at wholly exorbitant rates!

zkzkz

The only time I think the airport upgrades from BA are a good deal are when the higher class was not available in a cheap fare when you booked but the lower class was. This happened to me a lot with WTP because there were only two cheap fares and to SFO often only full fare W was available.
Well there are lots of reasons to fly with empty seats if people aren't willing to pay enough to make the product a long-term success. But as a commercial matter it seems ludicrous that BA is refusing to sell their product to a given person at any price. If you're in business you decide on your prices and ask people to pay that. If it's not enough then it's your own darn fault for choosing the wrong price. Blaming your customer for taking your offer is just bad business.

hillrider

Hmmm, your favourite restaurant is not a common carrier like a scheduled airline is.

I think your analogy works for private (charter) flights, not so much with scheduled carriers.

Maybe it's better if a transportation lawyer comments.