upgrading to first class at the airport?

[purbeast0]

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.

yeah it's the business class that it would be an upgrade to, which looks nice with the seats that lay fully flat which would be nice to try and get some sleep since it's an overnight flight.

i just checked and 11/36 of the business class seats are still available.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

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.

I upgraded us to first class on the leg back from Hawaii once while at the airport - it was $350/person to upgrade and I'm sure it would've been much more expensive had I bought first class in the first place. We had gotten a good deal on that vacation but as a result, we were the middle two seats in a row of four on the way back. If we had been in a row of 3, I probably wouldn't have done it, but my wife had never flown first or business class before (I had) so it was a treat for her as well.

You can occasionally catch really good deals on first class flights to Europe - I saw a few earlier this year going for $1300 round trip. You just have to follow the various cheap airfare sites and FB pages to catch them.

I've flown to/from Europe in coach many, many times. I have a few strategies to maximize my chances of being comfortable:

1. Book the window and aisle seat - I've had good luck with this approach and we often get a row to ourselves. However, on my last trip a few weeks ago, United caught on and moved us.
2. Book two aisle seats - you'll have a little more room and won't be squished like the guy in the center.
3. You can always buy all the seats in the row - buying all seats in a 2 or 3 seat row will still likely be cheaper than a single first class ticket in most cases. I have not done this yet, but I've seriously considered it.

I don't know what time of year you're going, but you're probably going to find that those seats fill very quickly. I've tried to do the first class upgrade on several European flights and every single time, they're filled - even in off season.

 

[purbeast0]

^^ i'm guessing you didn't quite read the post you quoted lol

 

[IndyColtsFan]

^^ i'm guessing you didn't quite read the post you quoted lol

Which part exactly? The window and aisle thing? I saw you booked that. That may or may not work for you but it is worth a shot, like I mentioned. United screwed us over and moved us. I mentioned it as more of a general strategy than anything.

 

[K1052]

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

It's too bad most of Delta's hard product is still crappy. Their service has been miles ahead of American and not even in the same universe as United the last few times I'd flown them. The airline's penchant for keeping old planes until the wings fall off and doing only the bare minimum in upgrades is really apparent.

 

[purbeast0]

Which part exactly? The window and aisle thing? That may or may not work for you but it is worth a shot, like I mentioned. United screwed us over and moved us. I mentioned it as more of a general strategy than anything.

the part where i said i already booked the flight and have a window and aisle seat, and that the flight is in 9 days (10 as of yesterday, as mentioned in the post).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

the part where i said i already booked the flight and have a window and aisle seat, and that the flight is in 9 days (10 as of yesterday, as mentioned in the post).

Yeah, sorry, I missed that last part when I skimmed it. You're probably out of luck, but it doesn't hurt to ask. This is among the busiest times of the year to travel to Europe and if any first class seats are left, they'll give them to people in their various reward programs first or sell them as last-minute deals on their site or to vendors.

Also, not sure how much you know about Barcelona, but be on the lookout for pick pockets - they're very bad there. When I was leaving there, some lady in a tour group had her wallet stolen (her passport was in it) and she had to stay behind to get a new one or retrieve the old one.

 

[purbeast0]

Yeah, sorry, I missed that last part when I skimmed it. You're probably out of luck, but it doesn't hurt to ask. This is among the busiest times of the year to travel to Europe and if any first class seats are left, they'll give them to people in their various reward programs first or sell them as last-minute deals on their site or to vendors.

Also, not sure how much you know about Barcelona, but be on the lookout for pick pockets - they're very bad there. When I was leaving there, some lady in a tour group had her wallet stolen (her passport was in it) and she had to stay behind to get a new one or retrieve the old one.

i don't know much at all about barcelona, but i will keep an eye out. typically i have the "street smarts" when out and about in other countries just since i've traveled a bit. we're only in barcelona for like 3 days or so, but everywhere else i go in spain/france i will still have a keen eye out for suspect things going on around me.

 

[RagingBITCH]

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 "Vegas" trick really works at any hotel. The front desk agents are normally hourly folks. Anyone can be bribed to upgrading your room. Most of the time, being super friendly, a smile, and asking them personal questions to show interest can get you a free room upgrade, if available, without slipping them money. They don't give a crap what room they put you in. Vegas is a bit different in that it's all about money, so different rules apply there.

You can certainly slip a flight attendant a few hundred, but it'd probably be cheaper to upgrade at the counter.

 

[dullard]

Slightly off topic, but I personally really liked the east side of La Rambla street (Barri Gotic neighborhood). It was full of romantic, narrow winding streets with beautiful architecture. It is the perfect area to get lost on an evening stroll.

The key sites are packed with tourists (Sagrada Familia and other Gaudi builidings), get to those places early or be faced with long lines.

La Rambla street is worth the time to walk down, but from what I saw every bit of food along that street was complete crap, meant for tourists who will never come back so no need for quality. You need to go a couple blocks off to get to the better restaurants. It doesn't have the highest possible reviews but Los Caracoles is unforgettable and was about the best food I could find in that area.

Watching a Flamenco dance show is actually quite a nice way to spend an hour or two. The venues tend to be quite intimate and have really good music.

Figueres to see the Salvador Dali museum is a very good day trip. It alone is a pleasant town (with subtle humor in the shop names if you pay attention) and the Dali museum itself was quite enjoyable for me.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I was once fortunate enough to have had a flight cancelled due to plane icing in Atlanta one March. The flight meant I was re-routed through Cincinnati to JFK and the flight from JFK-Milan only had first class seats available....so we were bumped for free. 7 course meal with champagne and hot towels....it was much better than the return trip from Paris where I was stuck between the normies.