Delta / KLM - Upgrade at check in question
#16
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,957
#17
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta PM, 1MM
Posts: 3,784
Have you been offered an upgrade in the last 10 months or so? The consensus is that prices took a hike and now are ridiculous. I was flying CDG-IAD not too long ago and was offered Y - > W for 900 Euros and Y -> J for 2,100 Euros. On the way back, they were not offering Y -> W but offered me W - > J for USD$ 900.
#18
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. / Washington, DC
Programs: AA PPro/DL PLT, PPass, Marriott / Hilton Gold, JetBlue Mosaic, Hertz Presidents Circle, Amex Plat
Posts: 4,630
For the MSP-CDG AF flights upgrades to PE and Business are sold at the gate if the seats are available. The availability is announced at the gate and in the SkyClub; the prices are scaled according to the original fare. I flew that flight on 8/21 and was offered $319 to upgrade from PE (G fare) to Business, which I took with alacrity. In the preceding weeks I had tried, without success, to get a mileage upgrade for the flight.
#19
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta PM, 1MM
Posts: 3,784
Note that the flights I described were MSP-CDG. I haven’t encountered the same offer on the westbound flights. Also, these upgrades out of MSP are offered only on the seasonal AF flights, not on Delta flights MSP-CDG. I don’t know whether there are similar upgrade offers on the seasonal KLM flights MSP-AMS.
#20
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,413
Before doing this, be careful about aircraft type, including seats (genuine flat bed or not versus slanty things or recliners that don't go completely flat) and configuration (AF does 2-2-2 and even 2-3-2 in business class). Every time I've checked the MSP-CDG AF flight had slanted seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. On certain other routes, probably including IAD, AF mostly uses their 77Ws with new cabins or perhaps an A380 (which might not have the good seats either). There's a lot of information on this in the FT AF forum (subforum of FB = AF/KLM + some other carriers).
#21
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta PM, 1MM
Posts: 3,784
Before doing this, be careful about aircraft type, including seats (genuine flat bed or not versus slanty things or recliners that don't go completely flat) and configuration (AF does 2-2-2 and even 2-3-2 in business class). Every time I've checked the MSP-CDG AF flight had slanted seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. On certain other routes, probably including IAD, AF mostly uses their 77Ws with new cabins or perhaps an A380 (which might not have the good seats either). There's a lot of information on this in the FT AF forum (subforum of FB = AF/KLM + some other carriers).
#22
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,413
The two times I’ve gotten upgrades to Business on AF (a year ago with a mileage upgrade and last week the offer at the gate) it was the slanty type of seat, not a full lie-flat, and the cabin had a 2-2-2 configuration. It was still a great deal better than economy or C+ or PE, especially at 20K SkyMiles (that was August 2017; it’s gone up to 25K since then) or $319.
#23
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. / Washington, DC
Programs: AA PPro/DL PLT, PPass, Marriott / Hilton Gold, JetBlue Mosaic, Hertz Presidents Circle, Amex Plat
Posts: 4,630
Even with the old seats (NEV4), which I didn't mind before they rolled out the BEST seats, this is a very good deal. I know that these offers are not available westbound, as I mentioned, the upgrade prices I've been quoted when departing from CDG are ridiculous, sometimes higher than the difference between Y and J at the time of booking.