Upgrades update

The days of free upgrades may be coming to an end. It makes sense once you hear the reasons.

Having just received this information, it's fresh off the press. United is upgrading their business and first class product. Other airlines are doing the same. Even more others are buying new jets with beautiful new products.

In all this investment, there's no room for freebies. Typically, after about 5 years in service, the full fare passenger finds that the product has aged too much to pay full fare, at which time the airline tries to pull additional revenue by upgrading passengers.

For now, with the stiff competition in the airline marketplace, their best source of revenue is their business product. Even if the airline doesn't entirely do away with their upgrade policy, it would become increasingly difficult to upgrade if the plan works as the seats would have been sold out to full fare passengers.

To upgrade or not to upgrade? That is the question ...

Upgrades are the wild card in the airline industry. Be nice when checking in, and you just might get upgraded.

In the airline industry, the available business or first class seat is often used to upgrade an economy class passenger. This is typically done because the freed up economy class seat can be re-sold to someone who is willing to pay a higher fare for that seat.

The person receiving the upgrade is chosen from amongst many factors, namely, frequent flyer status, the ticket class and how sold out that flight is.

In my experience, I've been upgraded because I am a frequent flyer. I've also used stickers for upgrades.

Now this needs an explanation. Different airlines have different methods that they utilize to define their upgrades. American Airlines uses stickers. After you fly a certain number of miles, you are awarded 4 upgrade stickers. Each sticker is worth 500 miles and so a trip of 1600 miles would need 4 stickers. You can also buy stickers and use them for an upgrade, if seats are available. Even there, it depends on the ticket class.

On other airlines such as NorthWest and Continental, so long as seats are available and you are a frequent flyer with status, you get upgraded for free.

Automatic and complimentary upgrades on international flights don't happen. This is mostly because international travel is generally more expensive, less competitive than the domestic market and not really open to scrutiny by the general public.

There is, however, the option of spending miles on upgrades. This, however, required you to hold a Y or H class ticket, meaning that it's a full fare refundable ticket. In this case, capacity allowing, you can spend some of your hard flown frequent flyer miles to move up a class, and the reward is worth it.

Let's think about this - a complimentary upgrade on a 4 hour flight feels good. Business class in a bed you can actually sleep on over a 15 hour flight - good sense. The only thing is the cost. That, unfortunately, boils down to your wallet.

Hence the dilemma ... To upgrade or not.