upgrading to first class at the airport?

[purbeast0]

i'm just curious if people here have ever upgraded to first class while at the airport.

i just booked my flights via delta to barcelona in 10 days, and there are quite a few first class seats left. however i wasn't going to pay $1500 more just to sit in them.

but i was just curious, if when at the gate about to board, and there are still a bunch of first class seats available, do they drastically reduce the price of upgrading to first class at that time?

i did pay $45/person extra to have 2 seats (window and aisle) near the front of the plane because all they had left were either single seats or 2 squished between 2 other people. paying $90 so that we're more comfortable for an 8 hour flight was more than worth it, but i couldn't see myself paying $1500 for that.

 

[Beer4Me]

Nope, never have I ever. However you can upgrade to 1st class or Economy plus (ymmv on availability) at check-in at drastically reduced rates, which is what I/we normally do.

 

[purbeast0]

Nope, never have I ever. However you can upgrade to 1st class or Economy plus (ymmv on availability) at check-in at drastically reduced rates, which is what I/we normally do.

okay i may look into that. like how drastic are we talking here?

 

[repoman0]

Enjoy the trip! I got in on a Norwegian air deal to Barcelona for mid-January ... same deal with the pay to choose your seat, but it was still around $460 / ticket round trip for good seats at the front of the plane. I'm too much of a cheap bastard to pay for first class, even if it's only a hundred bucks.

 

[gamefreakgcb]

My friends had some success in request biz class upgrade from an economy for $50 or so. I asked once or twice but was given a very high $ amount.

 

[Ns1]

Nm

 

[EvilYoda]

I've never cared enough to ask how big of a discount I could get, but with status I've simply been bumped up when they scanned my ticket a few times.

 

[ControlD]

okay i may look into that. like how drastic are we talking here?

On my recent Lufthansa flights I think it was something like $100 to upgrade to economy plus. The upgrade isn't available until after you have boarded the plane and they have done a head count first however. I don't recall my last few Delta flights offering anything similar, but I don't think they offered economy plus on those.

Since I am always flying for my employer I have never paid the upgrade fee since that would come out of my own pocket.

 

[Elganja]

i've never had good luck domestically ... international i usually use miles to upgrade but it's still overall pricey

 

[Ns1]

i've never had good luck domestically ... international i usually use miles to upgrade but it's still overall pricey

waaaaaay cheaper than the actual $$ cost of first class tix though.

 

[purbeast0]

yeah and i don't have any delta points. i'm just flying with them because they were by far the cheapest.

 

[edro]

I have been bumped into first class a few times, interestingly enough, once on a Delta flight to Barcelona.
My wife is diamond level on Delta, so she always asks to be put on the upgrade list as soon as she arrives, and she probably gets it a quarter of the time.
We just went to Florida and my 2 year old and I were both upgraded to first class, while my wife sat in coach.
Son is a daddy's boy, so that's how it ended up.

Have never tried to pay to upgrade at the gate though.
First class on a long international flight is amazing. Fully lay down and isolated seats, more food and drinks than you can shake a stick at, better video/audio equipment, power outlets, etc.
Good luck!

 

[smackababy]

If a long flight, I'll upgrade at the check in for a small fee. It's usually much cheaper than buying the ticket itself. Though, if I'm flying international, I'll usually just go with business class on a non US carrier.

 

[mcveigh]

I have been bumped into first class a few times, interestingly enough, once on a Delta flight to Barcelona.
My wife is diamond level on Delta, so she always asks to be put on the upgrade list as soon as she arrives, and she probably gets it a quarter of the time.
We just went to Florida and my 2 year old and I were both upgraded to first class, while my wife sat in coach.
Son is a daddy's boy, so that's how it ended up.

Have never tried to pay to upgrade at the gate though.
First class on a long international flight is amazing. Fully lay down and isolated seats, more food and drinks than you can shake a stick at, better video/audio equipment, power outlets, etc.
Good luck!

You can set you preferences on the Delta website to always upgrade to first class and Comfort+ if available.
DO it once and forget it.

 

[Elganja]

waaaaaay cheaper than the actual $$ cost of first class tix though.

yeah... in my experience w/ points, internationally ... business class is usually 2x the points, but using cash, it's usually is 4-5x the price

honestly these days, any flight longer then 5 hours, I always fly business class. usually domestically/mexico/PR the price to buy business class isn't terrible (usually 2x)... so i tend to save all my points for international flights

anything under 5 hours I tend to fly economy unless a very cheap alternative presents itself

 

[Garet Jax]

i'm just curious if people here have ever upgraded to first class while at the airport.

i just booked my flights via delta to barcelona in 10 days, and there are quite a few first class seats left. however i wasn't going to pay $1500 more just to sit in them.

but i was just curious, if when at the gate about to board, and there are still a bunch of first class seats available, do they drastically reduce the price of upgrading to first class at that time?

i did pay $45/person extra to have 2 seats (window and aisle) near the front of the plane because all they had left were either single seats or 2 squished between 2 other people. paying $90 so that we're more comfortable for an 8 hour flight was more than worth it, but i couldn't see myself paying $1500 for that.

Unbooked first class seats (especially for long haul flights) are always given away to their most frequent flyers. I have never seen them discounted for at the gate sale, but then again have never asked since when I flew a lot would get upgraded because of my top tier status.

 

[Exterous]

Unbooked first class seats (especially for long haul flights) are always given away to their most frequent flyers.

Lots of stories out there about flights going out with empty F seats and people on the wait list. Delta limited complimentary upgrades on a good chunk of their long hauls in 2014. It only lasted a little while but they are headed in that direction again.

i'm just curious if people here have ever upgraded to first class while at the airport.

i just booked my flights via delta to barcelona in 10 days, and there are quite a few first class seats left. however i wasn't going to pay $1500 more just to sit in them.

but i was just curious, if when at the gate about to board, and there are still a bunch of first class seats available, do they drastically reduce the price of upgrading to first class at that time?

The prices seem to be all over the place for those upgrades as airlines try and figure out how much money they can squeeze out of their better seats without pissing off their frequently fliers too much. Probably won't be cheap unless there is no one on the flight

 

[Ns1]

Lots of stories out there about flights going out with empty F seats and people on the wait list. Delta limited complimentary upgrades on a good chunk of their long hauls in 2014. It only lasted a little while but they are headed in that direction again.

when I flew emirates, tons of empty seats in F. Biz was fully booked up.

 

[madoka]

I heard that in Vegas you can slip the desk clerk some money under the table to get a room upgrade.

What's to stop people from slipping a flight attendant a couple hundred to switch to first class when there are empty seats?

 

[Ns1]

I heard that in Vegas you can slip the desk clerk some money under the table to get a room upgrade.

What's to stop people from slipping a flight attendant a couple hundred to switch to first class when there are empty seats?

the other 4 flight attendants in first class (which are different from the attendants in business/econ). depending on the plane, first class might not even be in the same area as business/econ.

 

[madoka]

the other 4 flight attendants in first class (which are different from the attendants in business/econ). depending on the plane, first class might not even be in the same area as business/econ.

IIRC, I've been on flights where there was a single attendant for the first class or business section. What would stop that attendant from taking the bribe, because I've never heard of it happening.

 

[Ns1]

IIRC, I've been on flights where there was a single attendant for the first class or business section. What would stop that attendant from taking the bribe, because I've never heard of it happening.

nothing, but that sounds like a pretty shitty airline to only have 1 FA in First or Business.

Unless you're talking about domestic flights, in which case the only thing stopping you is the fact that the business/first seats are likely to be taken by complimentary upgrades for people with status.

The last United flight I was on, I was hoping to get a free bump due to status...I was #19 on the upgrade list. There was 2 open seats. LOL

 

[Markbnj]

Have done it many times, usually costs between $50 and $150 if there are seats available, and I never felt like it was a waste of money. Not even a little.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Well Delta doesn't have 1st class on trans-atlantic International flights so there's that Also I have seen on occasion offers to upgrade to Business class seats, but they've been very pricey and usually they don't offer that on most routes because people who actually paid full fare business class would think twice about it if it was easy to upgrade at the last minute.

 

[Ns1]

Oh. Delta businessfirst sucks. Way better than Econ though.