PRG-JFK: OLCI FCM or airport DoD buy up?
 

Hey all...

I fly TATL to Paris monthly, and my strategy has been to fly AF as they have a true PE class of service that I then upgrade to J on an AF OLCI FCM offer for the CDG-JFK leg (much less expensive than booking r/t J from the start).

I never fly Delta TATL because of the lack of a true PE class of service (don't mind flying PE if no J avail but really don't want to fly regular Coach). Unfortunately, I find myself flying Delta TATL in June as they have the only non-stop JFK-PRG. I booked I (business) for the JFK-PRG leg and Q (coach) for the return.

Looking for advice if I should accept a Delta OLCI FCM offer or would the DoD airport buy-up be less expensive?

Thanks!

Even if DL were to offer this (and I've never seen it ex-Europe, but then again I'm usually already in J so not sure I would know), I wouldn't trust a contract agent at an outstation to do it right. If you have an OLCI offer (or earlier) I would just go for it.

Just out of curiosity, how much are these OLCI offers going for? There are multiple reports at the AF/KL forum about prices going up in the past years and for IAD-CDG they are really high. I am booked on a JFK-CDG flight in PE and would definitely take advantage of a OLCI upgrade if offered at a good price.

DL doesn't do DoD upgrades. They're offered ex-CDG/AMS, but that's due to AF/KLM handling all of DL flights.

AF Operated flight. I do this route mainly in paid AF business several times / year. In the past I've got upgrades for 300-400 Euros from PE to Business, but since late 2017 AF changed the OLCI upgrade prices to a more dynamic model, this is why I'm interested to know how much OP has paid in the last year or so.

"Just out of curiosity, how much are these OLCI offers going for?

I've generally been paying around $1k for the OLCI AF PE to J upgrade CDG-JFK, which brings my r/t total in J to about $2,500 less than what I am quoted when I make my reservations.

"DL doesn't do DoD upgrades. They're offered ex-CDG/AMS, but that's due to AF/KLM handling all of DL flights."


@flyerCO This is a PRG-JFK leg and is DL metal.

"If you pay a thousand dollars for the upgrade in each direction, you're not saving if one compares a DL TATL PS RT fare in class G to a DL TATL D1 RT fare in class Z. [Note that my statement is based on my perception of general DL TATL fares and not The JFK-CDG route in particular.]"


@MSPeconomist :

1. I'm J outbound from JFK so I'm only upgrading the CDG-JFK return.
2. This is AF not DL.
3. I'm definitely saving at least $2,500 over J r/t as I compare the total each time (JFK-CDG-JFK) I look at the FCM price.

This is my point. DL doesn't do DoD upgrades. You may get an offer during OLCI, you may not. Only DL flights ex-CDG/AMS have DoD upgrades for sale, and only because AF/KLM does the handling.

Gotcha! Then I'll have to see what the cost would be at the airport... at least I have row 30, if I end up staying in Coach.

Thanks. This is consistent with the latest reports on the AF forum. In the past, it was less than 500 Euros from PE to J.