flyboy777

Are the £59 upgrades available from any economy class ticket, including those not booked with BA, booked using Air Miles, booked using BA Miles or any other frequent flier account?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated,

Skipcool3

Hi, flyboy 777.
I booked a pair of cheap tickets LGW- Venice using airmiles (only about 300 each, plus taxes and charges If I recall correctly) (obviously airmiles now include tax and charges but require more miles to be spent)
In MMB it said that the ticket was not upgradeable or refundable, (the upgrade for miles and upgrade for cash were greyed out on the screen.)
When we arrived at Gatwick, I went to the ticket desk and was able to do the upgrade for what was then fifty pounds.
We also upgraded on the return, for 75 euros.
I have further bookings this year; I am off to FARO in portugal on the new BA mainline flight. I have paid cash for these flights (in economy,) but the fixed fifty nine pound upgrade is not available at the moment, BA wanting 3x this (each way)....I will keep checking my booking (it is not until October) to see if this opens up.
I was at Gatwick this afternoon, and upgrades were widely advertised for the fixed 59.00... However, there has been some talk on this forum that as part of the crewing issues at LGW, the 59.00 upgrade will be phased out....
So, if you book an airmiles economy seat it is perfectly possible that you will be able to upgrade on the day, but not guaranteed. Neither does the ticket score tier points or full BAMILES or the enhanced baggage limit when you upgrade at the airport.
cheers.

BA or bust

I would assume the trick must be to arrive mega early at LGW just in case there are only a few seats available, to ensure you get one. Does shorthaul check in at LGW open at T-3 or T-4?

flyboy777

Thanks Skipcool3. BA say you can get the extra miles & Tier points if you upgrade in advance. Can you upgrade in advance with an air miles booking or anything? I assume yes.

Thanks for your help. Bad news about it getting phased out though...

Skipcool3

I have been unable to upgrade an Airmiles ticket in advance, the option just hasn't been there on MMB.
When I purchased economy tickets for Cash to NAPles and BLQ last year, I was able to upgrade in advance for the fixed fee, and these tickets scored full miles and tp's.
Getting to the airport early may help, but you can check-in the day before at LGW for flights until lunchtime the next day.....(!)
It is posted somewhere on FLYERTALK about some matrix related to crew numbers (i.e 3 or 4 crew) having an affect on the upgrade availability.

BAAZ

I have a cheap(ish) economy class flight booked in N class outbound and O class return, LGW-GVA in March. Booked a month ago. In MMB it's currently offering me the £59 upgrade option in both directions.

(Can't help with non-BA-booked flights, sorry, as I don't have any at the moment and don't use LGW much)

astralclouds

I think you will find that this is because AirMiles is a Travel Agent in the eyes of BA - and therefore your booking and any changes have to be handled through the booking agent (i.e. not possible online)

trickster

I'm interested in doing this for Naples this summer, but looking at this link:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...ers-clubeurope

...the small print indicates Naples is not part of this promo (as indeed are a lot of Italian destinations).

Upgrade price quoted excludes flights to Venice, Pisa, Naples, Dublin and Jersey.

Can anyone confirm either way from experience.

Also, is there a similar upgrade option on the return journey?

flycatcher

It would be interesting to know how popular the upgrades have proved with the general travelling public. For most flights I would pop for a £59 upgrade to CE in an instant, but perhaps FlyerTalkers are a strange breed!

I'm assuming this promo is primarily aimed at leisure travellers, but I guess there must be some people on a Y-only corporate travel policy who upgrade (although maybe less so at the airport as they can't get the TPs).

csdf

I wonder why Pisa (and indeed, Naples and Venice) are specifically excluded? Particularly annoying when PSA is somewhere I go to on a semi-regular basis.

Skipcool3

Perhaps BA are tightening up the £59.00 upgrade... it's relatively good value for the Naples run when you are probably in the aircraft for around 3 hrs.
All I can confirm is that I managed to get the upgrade to Bologna and Naples in advance for the fixed fee, and was able to upgrade on the day to and from Venice.
I would just suggest that people access bookings and see how much BA offer the upgrade for.
I have a flight to FARO on the new BA route, (as opposed to the GB route) and the upgrade fee is around £130.00 each way.....too much, IMHO.

baclubflyer

Hi all,

Need to book a LHR/LGW- RAK flight in MAR but cannot locate the option to book a one way upgrade to Club? It basically only seems to allow rt in Y or rt J no Y/J combo.. am I missing something here?

Cheers.

flyboy777

Upgrades to morroco are unlikely to be cheap in anyway, due to sector length & demand. £200 each way is slightly more realistic

sunrisegirl

The £59 upgrades are available on most BA mainline services with one or two on GB flights. However, the availability on GB is seldom there.

They are very popular with some people, ie. that strange breed known as Flyer Talkers (), but others think it's a high price to pay Many just want an upgrade for free and are not interested in paying.

The Specialist

Surely thats also an accurate description of most FTers!