B-class upgrade question
 

I just booked my first B-class tickets (H on the outbound, B on the return) - I usually book lowball K, T, or V class fares - but this was a for a biz trip to SLC next week & NW's B-class $860 beat out DL's $950 & UA's $1100 (though it didn't beat out AA's $770, but I don't fly them) flights for the tickets (spring break in a ski town??).

I'm flying DCA-MSP-SLC-MSP-DCA. The SLC-MSP is NW coded, DL operated & the MSP is NW coded/operated - both flights are booked into NW B-class. I noticed that even though my retun is still about 11 days away, tonight, the MSP-DCA has been changed to a first class seat booked into P-class. My SLC-MSP ticket (which is an NW coded B-fare basis) is still in coach.

Will SLC-MSP on DL get upgraded automatically into an F-class seat due to the fare? This wasn't a fare that on NWA.com showed as B-up fare where it automatically books you into P - it was a normal B fare that didn't appear to book into P. Mistake or is that how its supposed to be? I normally don't buy this high of a fare basis.

Thanks!

No upgrades on Delta unless you're Delta Medallion. As for B getting upgraded early, if you pull up the ticket can you see the exact fare basis? e.g. double check it's not BUP...? At any rate though, I've seen EUA run earlier than the published dates, there are posts here describing the phenomenon. I certainly wouldn't let it get my hopes up for a DL upgrade ;)

I have had this happen to me on a couple of NW - CO connections and what I discovered is that a "B" or "Y" fare on NW does not necessarilly convert into an upgradable fare on CO. I suspect that you may find that with DL also. I did get an EUA on CO but that is only because NW - CO have an agreement to UG each others elites. DL does not participate in that agreement. Good luck though.

Thanks for the answers...too bad about the DL thing - I was hoping that a B-class would mean an automatic upgrade on DL too, even though they don't participate in the EUA. The fare basis wasn't a B-up as far as I can tell - BA3BFN.

Is BA3BFN a nw fare code? It doesn't come up in Sabre...

Since many FT'ers, including myself, tend to be looking for K fares, this is a rarely sought after benefit of Elite status:

Upgrade at time of ticketing when purchasing a Full Fare ticket.

See http://www.nwa.com/worldperks/elite/upgrades.shtml for details.

This applies to NW and CO flights only, not DL as noted above by others. While "Full Fare" is defined as all Y and -26 or -27 type fares, it can also include any other fares that they choose to consider "full fares". The upgrade is processed automatically, shortly after ticketing is completed.

This is what was booked on NWA.com:

DCA-MSP H7E2QNV
MSP-SLC H7E2QNV
SLC-MSP BA3BFN (NW coded, DL operated)
MSP-DCA BA3BFN

I knew that all Y class fares were full fares - but thought that only some B's were full fares. This was one of the B's that didn't appear to book into P-class. There were other fares that were under a different B-class fare basis that were about $1100-$1300 that clearly booked into P-class.

That said, I'm not complaining - just wanted to know about the DL segment & if there was any opportunity for an upgrade based on fare basis.

The snow in Utah is usually among the best in America and the prices usually beat most Colorado resorts so, yes, SLC is indeed a popular spring break destination. Best bang for the buck and a family environment may be Alta, but we all have our personal preferences. Best kept secret in Utah?...Brian Head, near Cedar City, a fun little drive from LAS.