OZFLYER86

YES at check in, they'll always take cash for upgrades to business class, but only at Fiji Airways check in.

ehchan

Just a data point for you here. On a 1/1/20 NAN-LAX flight on the new A350 I bid US$1050 for 4 seats, 2 adults 2 children. The bids were not accepted. I had been checking ExpertFlyer the day before and day of and saw 8 J seats available so we arrived early for the flight and asked about paid upgrades at the checkin counter, and they offered FJ$8620 (FJ$2500/adult, FJ$1810/child) which converted to US$4013. So we came out very much ahead by asking at the counter rather than Bula Bid.

OZFLYER86

have been looking at this from Australian end in Australian dollars.

Bidding on NAN/LAX did start at AUD$865, but someone has bumped up the minimum bid.

Maybe someone got too greedy ? The economy in Australia is heading into recession & airlines are one of the 1st to feel it.

The surprising thing is that it's a blind auction. If it were an open auction, some people would get into a bidding war, ie. an extra $10,becomes an extra $100 or $500.

jeffery1994

My BulaBid get me business class credit to QFF, should be I fare code

dparkinson

Can you BulaBid a Y award ticket? I know you can at the counter, but wasn't sure what the rules were otherwise.

Intl359Widget

I was wondering the same since I'm on an AS Redemption with FJ flights and the Bula Bid option doesn't come up.

dparkinson

Also, does anyone know if upgrades at check in or via. Bula Bid map back to FFPs as J tickets or Y. Are there any receipts that show a new (higher) class of service?

OZFLYER86

you can only do bula bid upgrades from paid tickets not on frequent flyer tickets, but this might change with reduced demand due to Coronavirus.

BTW - business on A350 flights NAN/LAX/NAN & SYD/NAN/SYD is awesome. Best on any airline flying Pacific BY FAR

Intl359Widget

Thanks for the update, I keep calling FJ every other week as they keep kicking me out of the comfort seats that we paid for but not my companion.

theduckbear

Data point:

FJ accepted my Bula bid for flights in August this night.

FJ910 SYD - NAN 300AUD per Pax
FJ911 NAN - SYD 350AUD per Pax

I was a little bit surprised that they accept offers so far in advance but I think they need the money right now.

LiveForTravel

Hi,

I’m flying FJ on the 17th, and just got an email offering an upgrade on my four segments with them (SYD-LAX). Is it worth bidding for the business class upgrade or try my luck at the airport to see if it is any cheaper? Would love to hear anyone’s experiences with this. Three of the four segments are on A350.

Cheers

gnaget

Any recent data on Bula bids for LAX-NAN? I am looking at (one way) USD 900 in economy vs. USD 2900 in business and only 4 seats taken on the seatmap in business. So the expected bidding range is USD 800-1200 or thereabouts?. Would make sense to gamble on doing the bid and to get it with close to minimum offer.It appears that ehchan got a child discount for business upgrade at check-in.I suppose that does not work for bula bdis.

gnaget

How long does it take to get the invitation? Knowing FJ's general incompetence, I wonder if I will get an invite since my ticket was purchased 5 days out. Also, there is a macro script error on the bula bid page where you enter PNR and name.

ccolvin19

Did anyone who flew FJ recently either upgrade at the counter or do a Bula Bid upgrade? I'm flying in April and right now the flight doesn't have many seats sold, so I'm trying to decide on how long to hold off before either bidding or trying to wait and upgrade at the counter or shortly before the flight by calling in. The minimum bid for LAX-NAN is currently $850 USD and the same for the return flight.

gnaget

For my flight I did not get a bula bid opportunity, which could relate to general incompetence or the fact that I booked the flight 5 days out. This is my first time booking economy with FJ, so do not have experience about how it works. I called them and emailed; no response. I thought it said that the bula bids are sent 7 days before departure but you got one months ahead?
So, at LAX my flight only had 4 people in business a couple of days before departure. At the airport the first agent told my wife (I was returning the rental) that it was a waste of money because there were so few passengers on the flight in eco. Sure enough, the load was about 20% at most and everyone in my party got a row of 3 seats.
When I arrive at check-in, I pressed the issue about upgrading because they had told my wife it was "full" in business, which was nonsense. It turns out that they did not really want to sell the upgrade because of catering; they did not have meals. But if I really wanted it they would sell them for $1600 without meals. Quick math indicated that it was only about $100 less than what I would have paid for business. We boarded late and the load in business was about 8-10 people from what I could see. My estimate of 4 pax was based on expertflyer's seat map. I guess it is possible that some pax in business did not have seats assigned or last day purchase.
In Jan 2020 my mother paid $1500 for upgrade LAX-NAN, at the gate I think, so on the way back we bought a one way ticket to SFO for her, which was much cheaper and avoided an overnight connection to Europe. If you fly from NAN-LAX-NAN you could buy business class for slightly over $2000 round/trip. It is much more expensive LAX-NAN-LAX.