Upgrades Uphill
Oct 13, 2018, 6:13 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 6
Upgrades Uphill
FlyerTalk Gurus -
Any SAS traveler noticed that its become an uphill challenge to get any of the bids to work out of SFO? I used to be able to get Economy to Plus for approx $400, Business for $600. Cannot seem to get anything to work under $800 for Economy to Plus and $1200+ from Economy to Business - this on full fare Economy tickets.
And with the super cramped economy getting worse by the year, looks like their strategy to make bids successful harder is working. Bravo SAS you have a new revenue stream. How about up'ing the number of Plus seats and make your minimum bids more realistic?
Any thoughts from the gurus that bid for upgrades on SAS?
Any SAS traveler noticed that its become an uphill challenge to get any of the bids to work out of SFO? I used to be able to get Economy to Plus for approx $400, Business for $600. Cannot seem to get anything to work under $800 for Economy to Plus and $1200+ from Economy to Business - this on full fare Economy tickets.
And with the super cramped economy getting worse by the year, looks like their strategy to make bids successful harder is working. Bravo SAS you have a new revenue stream. How about up'ing the number of Plus seats and make your minimum bids more realistic?
Any thoughts from the gurus that bid for upgrades on SAS?
Oct 14, 2018, 1:19 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,060
If your flight you booked is full then of course it's natural that the upgrade would cost more. If you are flexible in when to travel, you might have a look at the load in Plus of Business and find a flight that has a light load on those classes.
I don't think SK Y seats are getting worse by the year - Y is cramped if you compared to Plus/Business and have you tried the new UA 777 in Y, that's cramp even in E+.
I don't think SK Y seats are getting worse by the year - Y is cramped if you compared to Plus/Business and have you tried the new UA 777 in Y, that's cramp even in E+.
Oct 14, 2018, 1:48 am
#4
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Oslo, Norway
Posts: 557
The intention with upgrades is to fill empty seats with good revenue, not to make it so attractive that people stop buying Plus and Business.
Oct 16, 2018, 5:17 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 6
It appears that the more empty the flight - the higher SAS wants you to bid. The bid I made for a PLUS seat was rejected because PLUS was nearly empty - so SAS wanted a minimum offer of $500 to upgrade from an Economy seat vs. $300 they would accept when the PLUS cabin is nearly full. It's all about keeping the "brand".
Oct 16, 2018, 5:40 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,060
I have previously received SMS from SAS offering upgrade from CPH-IAD (somehow only this direction) slightly before OLCI opened. One way offer was around 1000DKK (from Y to Plus) and you'll only get miles from the original booking class. The condition is that you can't have special meals booked.
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Oct 16, 2018, 10:27 am
#9
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Preferable @30.000 feet
Programs: More than one
Posts: 1,673
As far as I know the minimum bid is the same in SEK for all flights on a route. The other currencies are adjusted daily based changes in exchange rates. At least this is how it works on CPH-ARN.
Oct 16, 2018, 10:31 am
#10
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Preferable @30.000 feet
Programs: More than one
Posts: 1,673
It appears that the more empty the flight - the higher SAS wants you to bid. The bid I made for a PLUS seat was rejected because PLUS was nearly empty - so SAS wanted a minimum offer of $500 to upgrade from an Economy seat vs. $300 they would accept when the PLUS cabin is nearly full. It's all about keeping the "brand".
Secondly do you have any proof that the empty plus seats wasn't filled when the bidding closed 36 hours prior to departure? I've seen a couple of times that a flight have been fully booked in PLUS and Business 48 hours prior to departure, but at boarding some seats was empty and sold as upgrades at the gate.
Oct 16, 2018, 10:34 am
#11
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Preferable @30.000 feet
Programs: More than one
Posts: 1,673
I have previously received SMS from SAS offering upgrade from CPH-IAD (somehow only this direction) slightly before OLCI opened. One way offer was around 1000DKK (from Y to Plus) and you'll only get miles from the original booking class. The condition is that you can't have special meals booked.
Oct 16, 2018, 11:16 pm
#12
Join Date: Jun 2015
Programs: AY+, SK EB
Posts: 2,951
Q: WHEN CAN I MAKE AN OFFER?
You can submit an upgrade offer from the time you book your ticket up to 48 hours before departure. For flights outside to US & Asia it is best to check the bidding page when you have less than 30 days to departure to be able to bid for the most accurate price.
You can submit an upgrade offer from the time you book your ticket up to 48 hours before departure. For flights outside to US & Asia it is best to check the bidding page when you have less than 30 days to departure to be able to bid for the most accurate price.
The exchange rate is most important for internal procedures to be able to compare offers made in different currencies.
Oct 17, 2018, 4:17 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,060
I don't know about the SMS upgrade thing now, maybe things have changed - the only times that I got that was flights to IAD, not PVG/PEK.
Oct 17, 2018, 8:46 pm
#14
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 969
I have previously received SMS from SAS offering upgrade from CPH-IAD (somehow only this direction) slightly before OLCI opened. One way offer was around 1000DKK (from Y to Plus) and you'll only get miles from the original booking class. The condition is that you can't have special meals booked.
Which is more accurate?
Oct 18, 2018, 12:46 am
#15
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
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