GabrielExea

Hey all,

First things first is I haven't put this in the POUG thread because there's no upgrade offered online... I just called in.

With Jamaica being featured in the sale I thought I'd check the cost for upgrading my and the missus' return KIN - LGW from W to J on the 10th of April. It's a BA holidays booking as well to complicate things further. At £449 PP it's right on the edge of where I personally valued the difference, and unfortunately there don't seem to have been any POUGs on this route for me to compare the pricing to, although it seems about in line with other similar length routes.

However, I wanted to check, am I correct in thinking that the only BA lounge facilities in KIN are the 'Club Kingston' lounge which you can buy access to on departure for ~$25.00 a head anyway? So realistically, apart from perhaps £80-100 of extra avios, some tier points which unfortunately I think I am unlikely to gain any additional status from, and ~£40 of lounge access, that's valuing the difference in the service at about £400/pp for the flat bed and catering.

Does anyone have any experience of the CW service between KIN and LGW that they could share to help make the decision? I'm guessing as it's an outstation it's perhaps not the most outstanding?

Thanks for the input anyway, I know that valuing an upgrade is hugely subjective, so that's why I'm just trying to get an idea of the perks the upgrade on that route affords...

Emma Cocker

We've used Club Kingston once and have a trip booked to KIN in CW on 6 December.

It's not a bad lounge, was very quiet when we were there. Didn't eat any of the sandwiches, soups or patties etc but they had a decent range of snacks. Bar service was good, very friendly and large measures. I believe there are also showers. The other benefit to CK is that you get escorted from the lounge to the gate and board the aircraft straight away. Helpful, as the boarding area was hugely disorganised!

I think the price offered is decent, especially given the length of service and the fact that economy is now 10 a breast on this route and the PE cabin has been massively increased and therefore likely not to be as enjoyable....

Cymro

Never been to Jamaica but: it's a flat bed.

Would i use 25k avios instead? Yes, of course. It really depends on what you need to do when you land: if you need to hit the ground running with minimum jetlag, and you can actually sleep on a flat bed but not in a WTP seat, I'd say it's a bargain as long as you can afford it without issue. If you have several days to recover or wouldn't sleep any better anyway, then you won't derive much benefit other than slightly better service which is in no way worth the extra unless you don't need to think twice about it.

T8191

Done KIN-LGW 4 times (last one in April 2018) and a couple of ANU and UVF too. Club Kingston is nice (if windowless) with decent snacks and a good service bar ... but that’s not your question, of course. Agree on the boarding process, though ... very covilised!

The catering will, sadly, be standard BA catering ... neither better nor worse than that we’ve encountered on many other CW trips to the US and Africa. There may be a slight Caribbean twist to the menu, but that’s about it.

So your ‘value’ largely rests (excuse pun) on the flat bed. I sleep reasonably happily in CW, but sadly the OH doesn’t sleep at all. We have no idea about W or Y ... we only fly CW.

firstlight

So we go to KIN once a year and like T8191 we go in CW (we were even on the same plane from KIN a couple of years back on the first rejuvenated 777-200). We think it's worth it because we use an amex companion voucher and avios so we get return in CW for approx 130K avios and £500 each in taxes and fees.

It's a long flight - 9 hours coming back into the UK so a flat bed is definitely worthwhile.Service is BA standard and meals are OK. Smaller CW cabin is better as is the IFE.

Other advantages are as others have said - fast track security, club kingston lounge with some good snacks and rather nice cocktails, and the escort to the plane.
Like others I wouldn't want to be in economy with 10 across on such a long flight and personally I find premium economy uncomfortable - even the front row bulkheads which I normally get to sit in when travelling in WT+ on company business.

But essentially you're paying £1000 extra for a flat bed for 2. You can have a 5* top notch hotel room for a night with dinner for that.

GabrielExea

Thanks all - Some definite food for thought here. Myself and the wife are still quite junior and, believe it or not, I do manage to sleep in economy relatively well on the quarterly trips between SFO / LHR, so I am currently leaning towards toughing it out in WT+! I may check in a few times between now and then to see if it is any lower although I am doubtful of that looking at the POUG values on other similar routes.

For sure if I could swing reward availability I would snap that up, though, we have plenty of avios going begging. I've got an active alert on the return to see if any avios availability opens up, because it looks like a very empty flight at the moment. All classes showing 9+ availability on EF.

Though, I have to admit, I think this will probably be the last LH I don't just book directly into J...

mec72

I'd definitely go CW in these circumstances, for what it's worth.

AJA_

For me a 9 hour flight has to be in CW. The lounge access and fast track on the ground are bonuses but a flat bed for an overnight flight is well worth paying for.

TTmex

That's a really good price for upgrading. Many similar length flights will be 800-1000 gbp per person.

Of course is your money, but I'd personally go for it at that price. Whole experience just becomes so much nicer.

YMMV

GabrielExea

I hope you are all aware of the level of lifestyle inflation you're advocating! I'm on hold now to snap it up... Fingers crossed the price remains the same. Also, I am clearly far too easily swayed.

GabrielExea

Well - And this is mostly just in case it helps anyone else. In the end I upgrade both legs for just under £700pp, which for W to J is an exceptional value for money in my opinion. The wife is very happy too. So thanks all for the encouragement to be profligate!

T8191

Well done ... and welcome to the “We only ever fly in Business” community!

TTmex

Excellent decision, sir. The whole experience becomes so much nicer when you know you can lie down when you get on board. Got 8 flights booked already and all in Club. Sit counting down the days

GabrielExea

Yes I think I am about to be a permanent member... Except on business travel! Maybe I need a new job!

elwe

That sounds like a good price for the upgrade.

I am lucky that my employer will pay for J. In fact if I opt to go W they will give me the saving, but capped at £500 per segment. I will never do this as I view £500 as a reasonable price for a W to J upgrade, but that ability to get money for flying a lower class really helps me put a value to upgrade/downgrades.

Although recently I have just been flying F (and CE). Well if you can, why not?