Delta says it is selling more first class seats these days. (Image: Delta)
For decades, elite-level business travelers came to expect free upgrades to first or business class as part of their birthright. But in today’s changing environment, they often have to decide in advance whether they want to spend some money to guarantee a seat in a front cabin, or take their chances on getting a space available upgrade.
The New York Times took a look at the changing upgrade scene, and concluded that “the perks of being a frequent flyer are not as valuable as they once were.”
The report noted that airlines are finding new ways to gain some revenue from unsold front-cabin seats instead of just giving them away. Increasingly common tactics include pre-departure offers of low-priced upgrades; taking bids for unsold premium seats; and cutting fares for front-cabin seats in order to boost sales.
JetBlue’s Mint class meals are excellent (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
The newspaper interviewed a number of frequent travelers who bemoaned the changes and the new pre-departure calculations they must make in order to achieve the comfort level they want.
For example, should you just go ahead and buy that JetBlue Mint seat between California and NYC for $699, or pay United or Delta or American $499 for an economy seat and hope for the best? (Or pay just $399 each way for Mint seats on JetBlue’s new LAX-Ft Lauderdale flights!)
The NYT article also said that the airlines’ new strategies seem to be working, citing Delta’s prediction earlier this year that the percentage of paying passengers in its first class seats will increase from a little more than 50 percent in 2015 to 70 percent by 2018.
What about you, readers? What’s the best deal you’ve taken for an upgrade recently? What’s the most you’d pay for a transcon upgrade? Please leave your comments below.
NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers | First class phase out coming soon
Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!
Please join the 125,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!
I am Diamond on Delta, but am buying first class more often because upgrades have become rare. However, when I buy first class there is no longer any real value to being a top loyalty tier customer. I’m becoming pretty open to shopping fares – something I didn’t do so much in the past when my loyalty was valued by the airline. In my case, I’m spending a little more on individual tickets, but flying Delta much less often than I did in the past, when upgrades were expected. It will be interesting to see (watching airline earning reports) how trading long term loyalty for short term first class revenue works out for the airlines. Since loyalty programs have been proven to work, I expect that cutting back on them will be negative for airlines profitability longer term.
SWA card is a good deal. Nearly pays for itself with the 6K in points they give you every year. Also, make sure you sign up when they have the 50K sign-up bonus.
I had my American (formerly USAir) card renewed for free. Have had it 10 years, and mentioned that the annual fee was not worth it for the 1-3 times I fly American. They comped the annual fee. Would have/will cancel if not comped.
Yes, paying for upgrades more these days — but forget any loyalty, to either airlines or their credit card banking overlords. Most of my credit card renewals are in the fall (for some strange reason), and I doubt I’ll be maintaining my AA/Citibank cards since I rarely fly AA anymore (only twice this year). I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but the only airline I’m flying repeatedly these days is Southwest so I may wind up with one of their cards (in addition to my AmEx portfolio since they’re the only one that provides any real value).
It helps to keep in mind that this too shall pass. There will come a day when the airlines have to scramble for customers again (no matter how hard they try to rig the game to avoid that possibility), and I’ll savor every moment of their grovelling. Jerks.
I have said this for over a year, I am now on flights going over 3 hours first class. The good news and frankly don’t know how long it will last, first class fares on flights from Washington Dulles to West Coast have gone down to the point that for a roundtrip coach ticket it’s $400 to $500 verse $900 for first class. Yes it’s a lot of money but it’s very inhumane those five, six hour back of the plane flights.
In some ways I think that the airlines have gone out of the way to make it uncomfortable so that people think about paying for an upgrade.
I only fly about 40,000 miles a year and haven’t seen an upgrade in five years. When I use to go coach last year to California, it was amazing seeing my name 40th, 45th and 50th on the upgrade list. So now I just pay.
I am buying first class more now. Even though I am 1K on United, you can’t count on an upgrade. If you buy in advance the difference between first and coach isn’t so bad!