Let’s face it, chances of flying at the pointy end of a plane for free are pretty much nil. That means you have to pay, and the less the better as far as I’m concerned. Each airline handles this differently and I like how KLM handle paid business class upgrades.
Recently I had a two sector ticket on KLM, which was Dublin to Toulouse via Amsterdam. Much to my surprise I was able to upgrade one of the segments when checking in online via the phone app. Here’s why I was surprised and how it works.
It’s A No From British Airways
Regular readers will know I fly British Airways quite a lot. Once you have booked, you might get a paid upgrade offer, which appears in Manage My Booking before the flight. Frequent flyers know that if you have a multi-sector booking say Dublin to Stockholm via London, the system they use is unable to offer you any upgrades.
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- This is how BA do theirs in Manage My Booking.
It’s a creaking old crappy IT thing apparently, and BA seem happy to watch the additional revenue float away. Since computer says no, desperate people (like me!) will sometimes book separate tickets in the hope of an offer.
KLM’s Paid Business Class Upgrades
The Dutch do it differently, I’ve discovered. When I made my booking in economy class, I figured it would be a similar situation to British Airways. No paid business class upgrades would be offered as it was a multi-sector ticket.
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- This is post purchase – before, the entire plane was visible to select.
Imagine my surprise when a friend travelling on the same flight noticed she could select business class seats at check-in. I’d already checked-in, but I could do the same – I could reselect my seat. The app then tells you it’s €47 for the seat, which is the price to upgrade. You pay, you’re done.
Overall Thoughts
KLM paid business class upgrades are exceedingly simple. I really have never seen such a straightforward process before and being able to do this not only on a connecting itinerary but after check-in as well is really the icing on the cake.
Is it enough to make me switch from oneworld to SkyTeam, or from British Airways to KLM? No, it’s not. However I found it to be a lovely thing and it’s a shame that other airlines are unable to do this. That’s you, British Airways… and don’t get me started on Aer Lingus and their computer says no antics.
Have you ever seen an airline upgrade tool as simple as the KLM paid business class upgrades are? Let me know who and how it works. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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AC will also provide the option of bidding for a paid upgrade and will automatically rate your chances depending on how much you’re willing to pay. The cheapest option (but also the most risky) is to show up at the airport and go to a ticket counter and ask what the cost of an upgrade would be. You might be very pleasantly surprised. I did this on my last trip to LHR on AC and was able to get the paid upgrade for under CAS900 from a mid range economy fare.
That’s very good to know, thank you for that. That’s a decent enough price really, especially from a mid-range economy fare. Certainly less than you would have paid upfront. British Airways also do paid upgrades at the airport as well, but as you said, more risky as there may not be space.
I was able to do this on a United Airlines flight from Narita to San Francisco. Economy to Polaris Business for $800USD. Just went thru the app, paid, and was done.
Nice, that’s really good! I like how simple it is.
KLM offers this on international flights if seats are available in Business. Have done it several times. Sometimes upgrading transatlantic flight for under 300 EUR. Air France does the same but with AF you only go from Economy to Premium Economy on those flights that have it. KLM you go from Economy to Business as they don’t have a PE cabin.
That’s really good to know. I think it makes sense, you may as well sell your unsold inventory for whatever you can get for it. Thanks for that information!