Community
Wiki Posts
Search

Purchasing First Class upgrades on CO?

 
Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Feb 17, 2008 | 12:49 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
Suspended
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: DTW
Posts: 63
Purchasing First Class upgrades on CO?

Newb here... I usually fly on Airtran which has there wonderful 40-80 dollar FC upgrade. I (because of price) booked a last minute trip to SFO (from DTW) on CO for this weekend. My flight home is a pretty bad red eye 12:30am PST to 11:30am EST I'm just wondering what kind of policy CO has for upgrading to first class at the airport (for the last leg of my trip) I've searched a bit across the forums and can't seem to get a clear answer on *purchasing* an upgrade as apposed to using miles or elite status. it would cost 800 dollars EXTRA to upgrade right now. Wondering if I should expect cheaper at the airport depending upon availability etc.. thanks ahead of time and sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum.
egoods is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2008 | 1:07 pm
  #2  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Under the Liberty Visual to 27L at PHL. Stranger in a strange land - a Devils fan in Flyers country.
Programs: PWP Le Chancelier des Clefs d'Or || Sarcasm, Anti-Stupidity, Obscure References top tier member.
Posts: 24,061
Welcome to FT - you might want to try the CO forum itself, but be warned: search search search. they get very cranky if you don't.
ConciergeMike is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2008 | 3:22 pm
  #3  
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
1M
50 Countries Visited
All eyes on you!
20 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,687
Welcome to FlyerTalk egoods !

Originally Posted by ConciergeMike
Welcome to FT - you might want to try the CO forum itself, but be warned: search search search. they get very cranky if you don't.
As ConciergeMike pointed out, Budget Travel forum isn't the place for this question, so I'm moving it to Continental OnePass forum.

You ought to search the sticky with info, where you will find that there is no such thing as paid FC upgrade on CO at the gate (with the exception of Hawaii flights as I undertand it).

I'll let others chime in, but believe that as a non elite on CO you are left with paying for FC at time of purchase.

EmailKid
Budget Travel Moderator
EmailKid is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2008 | 3:25 pm
  #4  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SAT
Programs: UA Premier Silver
Posts: 3,682
For this trip your only option is to pay the fare difference.
OPFlyer is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2008 | 3:25 pm
  #5  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
10 Countries Visited20 Countries Visited30 Countries Visited20 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
Definitely not going to get it via cash at the gate. Sorry.

You can try using miles if you are on a higher fare bucket, but it sounds like you probably don't have the miles anyways since you don't fly CO that often.

S.
sbm12 is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2008 | 4:06 pm
  #6  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
10 Countries Visited
20 Countries Visited
30 Countries Visited
15 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: DFW
Programs: UA Pleb, HH Gold, PWP General Secretary
Posts: 23,199
Trans-cons and mid-cons tend to be the hardest to get elite upgraded on, so even if CO did sell upgrades at the gate like DL and AT, there probably wouldn't be any to sell.
colpuck is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2008 | 10:12 pm
  #7  
All eyes on you!
15 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Siesta Key, Florida
Programs: UA GS4Life, AF/KL Lifetime Plat, BA Gold, AA 1MM, IC Diamond RA, Hyatt Humorist, Bonv Plat, et alia
Posts: 2,741
Don't wait until you check in ... by then, it's likely all F seats will be spoken for.

Call Continental. Pay the difference for a full "Y" fare which gets priority upgraded to "F" space available. Or to full "F" which is not much higher than "Y" in many cases.

There are no discount "buy-ups" on CO.
vsevolod4 is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2008 | 1:22 am
  #8  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
10 Countries Visited20 Countries Visited30 Countries Visited20 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
Originally Posted by vsevolod4
Call Continental. Pay the difference for a full "Y" fare which gets priority upgraded to "F" space available. Or to full "F" which is not much higher than "Y" in many cases.
The Y-up only works for elites. For a non-elite the Y fare will upgrade to F AFTER all other elite upgrades are processed. Check the FAQ sticky for more info on that.
sbm12 is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.