Dave Noble

Exactly - it seems bizarre to complain about the comparative price of buying business at time of purchase to trying to leave to last minute and changing

For < $1100 he could have been booked in business class and not had disappointment on day of travel

ppp909

The problem with this remark is we've seen it countless times on this forum. We all know that the best way to get something is to buy it rather than to buy something else and try to exchange it. There's always someone who feels the need to mention it and I'm not sure how helpful it is intended to be.

There are many reasons why someone buys a particular ticket in a particular cabin. For example, it may be company policy, to the extent that some companies' systems do not allow employees to simply pay the difference.

An upgrade is just a product and the normal rules of supply and demand apply. BA often quote seemingly high figures but clearly someone is willing to pay for it. It would make little sense for them to charge less in total than paying for the higher class upfront because then everyone would do it.

Ultimately it's down to perceived value for money and that varies from person to person. If it's too much, stick with what you have.

AlanA

tuonopepper

Every cloud.....

DominicB

If airport cash upgrades were 'reliable' I can't see what the point in having them would be, from BA's perspective. I can see so many reasons why the rates will vary - and why they could well not want a particular customer to get used to being able to purchase them. I fear it is true that if one is clear one wishes to fly in a particular cabin, one should purchase such a ticket.

1Aturnleft

I think you're missing the fact this isn't a CW cabin filling exercise. BA isn't about sending J out full in the same way AA are about theirs. They offer an Airport Upgrade possibility when CW seats are available which may or may not meet with your approval. If it does and you can justify the price of the AUP (some people can) then go ahead and buy the upgrade and enjoy the flat bed on your overnight to London. If it doesn't meet with approval and you're struggling to justify the additional cash outlay then it's probably not the offer for you and you should decline. They aren't going to lower the price - that would reduce their revenue maximisation
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trueblu

It's not meant to be a helpful comment. It's meant to be sanctimonious, usually by someone who does pay for and fly in J or whatever 'wished for' cabin the thread is about.

<aside> I say this as a physician, who has had decades of training in being sanctimonious: patients who smoke know that smoking is bad for them, patients who inject heroin likewise. I feel I'm doing my job by telling them their behaviour is detrimental. And the patient feels chastised. Very occasionally, this does lead to change in behaviour, so it's not entirely a waste of time...perhaps that explains the chorus of repeating the above phrase so much on these boards?? </aside>

In my work, I can't book J. I also can't afford the AUP price, so it's by the by for me. But it may not be for other pax: so AUPs do serve an important function/ niche. For the OP, the offer price was also not affordable/ justified (to them)...as stated ad nauseam, presumably BA has found that the right number of pax don't baulk and take the offer.

tb

Often1

The real question is whether some other passenger paid the $1,100 or perhaps even more through a last minute ticket purchase. If so, then the price is not "ridiculous" because there is a market for it.

It also makes little sense for BA to make this process pain free either financially or predictably. That simply undercuts the premium brand. For those who have an employer which will neither pay for CW nor permit an employee to keep a personal credit card with the corporate TA so that the TA may book CW and charge the difference to the personal card, that is an employment relations issue.

Andriyko

A 'thank you' for what?

DFB_london

TTmex

The exchange rate doesn't help right now. That's over 900 quid currently, but 3 years back would have been much closer to 700. Much closer to what I'd pay, but would depend on my original fare paid as to whether I'd bite.

What currency one can pay in makes a huge difference. As an earner of Mexican pesos, some of the AUP offers look insane, just down to the weak peso and the generally low salaries here.

They offer at about 850 gbp for wtp to cw on Mex lhr route. Too much to justify for one way, especially when wtp underlying fare was 1500 usd, not 800 like you can often get ex lhr. But sometimes the CW offer at the start is reachable, but often on this route 2600 to 3000 usd is about standard.

Cymro

Conversely, you could say that it would make little sense for them to charge more in total than paying for the higher class upfront because then no one would do it.

Instead, the aim is to charge as much as possible for certainty. Sell all the flights at a high price? Great, no need to offer any cheap upgrades. Fail to do this - try to claw back some of the revenue that you left on the table by charging too much earlier on. Just don't create an incentive for those who can afford to pay the revenue maximising price (whatever it is) to defer the purchase of their upgrade. To me, by the way, $1,100 from WTP-CW sounds about right.

It's expensive in absolute terms but at or slightly more than the difference between a cheap(er) one-way T and a one-way I fare, meaning that bargain hunters will still get in early, while the airline knows/hopes that some people who could have afforded an I/R or D fare but had to get W or E due to timing will be able to upgrade. Meanwhile those who could afford a D/C/J fare are already committed.

Cymro

Also, empty J seats are valuable: if someone's paid £8k for an LHR-HKG return, to BA, pulling I class availability from four £1,800 FRA-LHR-HKG returns was a worthwhile decision.

ppp909

Sorry to drag this up (was travelling)

I didn't say the same as you. I pointed out that your comment was entirely unhelpful and appeared as a bit of a smart aleck statement; sanctimonious as trublu put it.
The four paragraphs were there to explain that while your point is valid, and I don't dispute that, it added no value to the thread as it's stating the obvious. I also pointed out a reason why someone may not be able to do what you suggest.
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, as the OP did come across as a bit self-entitled, so I'm sorry if you took offence.
The wider problem is that pretty much every time someone asks a question on this subject, there's always someone who feels the need to say they should have bought a ticket in cabin X in the first place. Perhaps you haven't seen this before, but it does get tiring after a while. Maybe I picked on you a bit unfairly, but there have been too many instances where valid questions have been put down.
We could of course say to everyone that they should always just buy a direct ticket from point A to point B and pay full price for a chosen cabin, they shouldn't complain about lack of Avios availability as they could always just pay for that pair of First Class tickets to Sydney, and so on, but that's hardly in the spirit of this forum.
Anyway, I'll back down and let this thread drift off........ until next time someone asks the same question.......

LCY8737