Can TAs request instant upgrades using SWUs?

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:06 am //
By: cfz //
Category: xn--zlvp56j.com
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One of the companies that flies me to the States from the UK 1-4 times a year is changing their policy later this year to only cover coach instead of business class travel. I'll get my last paid C later this month so I'd better enjoy it!

I am wondering about the possibility of routing through YYZ or YUL on my way from LHR-IAD (or possibly CHO). This way they could buy me a Leisure/Leisure + and I could have a chance to upgrade with an SWU for the transatlantic bits. It adds quite a bit of time, 2 extra trips through Canadian immigration, and (possibly worst of all!) a trip on a CRJ for the cross-border part. On the plus side (apart from sitting up front) I'd get a lot more miles (Q and regular), and could probably stop in YYZ for a few hours for lunch with my parents :).

My question is whether or not the TA can request and confirm the instant upgrade. I have to use their TA (American Express) which is based in the States and they will be paying in full. Do I need to give them any extra information? Is this common? Last year they didn't even know what Aeroplan was until I explained that it was the AC frequent flyer programme :(.

Thanks,

Dr. PITUK

Besides, if it weren't complicated, we wouldn't have anything to talk about on here. ;)

I can only speak from my own experience, and Carlson Wagonlit certainly has done it for me before when travelling on business...

I've had it work for both when I'm on an fare with instant upgrade, and when they phone in during the 7/4 day window.

I have the same experience, no problem for my TA using the certificates to upgrade.

Currently no U fare ex-UK.

So much for simplified fare structure!

So much for simplified fare structure!

Once again, simplified fare structure has nothing to do with YUM, RNGPET, etc.

For normal travelling public, there are now five fare classes. That's it. "U" availability is only something people like us see under the covers.

So it is not simple for those of us who try to make use of the complexities :)

Thanks for the confirmation that I can do it. Now I just need to decide whether or not it is worth it for the extra comfort and miles. Given that some people on FT seem to spend free time traveling to Asia just for the miles, the sample might be a bit biased :).

That said, I was seriously considering getting a RTW ticket for my paid C trip in a few weeks. Because of the fare they chose for me it would have only been a few hundred dollars over the cost of the direct C class (I would have paid the difference myself), I could have tried several new airlines, stopped in a few cities as a tourist and qualified for Elite by the end of January! Too bad work here got in the way and I don't have time :(. Now that they've changed to coach fares I'll not get the chance again :( :(.

TRAVELSIG - when you mention 'a little coaching', what did that involve? I've never done an instant upgrade myself, but I want to make sure they don't mess it up! I actually have to use the US offices of Amex, so they might be more used to this kind of thing.

Thanks,

Dr. PITUK

I must admit I'm pretty confused by the UK fares. However, isn't it only the Latitude Plus fares that are eligible for the instant U/G? - unless of course you are booking within your 7/4 day window.

Y,M & U are the fare classes in Latitude Plus that were in the AC announcement. So should this not change then upgrade at time of booking should only be possible on this fare.

This way they could buy me a Leisure/Leisure + and I could have a chance to upgrade with an SWU for the transatlantic bits....

My question is whether or not the TA can request and confirm the instant upgrade.

I must admit I'm pretty confused by the UK fares. However, isn't it only the Latitude Plus fares that are eligible for the instant U/G? - unless of course you are booking within your 7/4 day window.

The TA has nothing to do with it. They have to follow AC's rules which for the UK are
Y/M/U at time of ticketing with SWU or SSWU.
B/H within 7/4/2 days depending on status with SWU
V/Q/L/A with in 7/4 days depending on status with SSWU (No Prestige Upgrade Possible)

Should the TA mess it up in someway or pull the I class trigger in advance, AC audit in YWG will send the agency a bill for the difference between the fare paid and full J on the segment in question. That's why we are sooooo glad AC made the fares to the UK so simple :rolleyes: :confused:

No problem with this from AMEX either- I had to also use them due to a multinational client requirement. In Italy, they were (somewhat obviously) not too familiar with the AC program- I gave them my ff# and the number for AC- and they were able to confirm everything- a little coaching but it paid off and the agent was actually quite happy to learn something new!

That's right. Y/M/U to/from UK are upgradeable at time of booking (after reservation is ticketed).

Thanks for the confirmation. So re the OPs question his/her TA will not be able to instant U/G a leisure fare but only "YUM" fares unless its within the 7/4 day window. And as always its obviously pending I availability.

That's right. Y/M/U to/from UK are upgradeable at time of booking (after reservation is ticketed).

Well Freedom55, I'm going to hang on to the hope that "currently" no U fare ex-UK , means it is coming.

Think positive, we need all the good vibes we can get :)

Must agree with you though, this new simplified fare structure is not so simple.

TRAVELSIG - when you mention 'a little coaching', what did that involve? I've never done an instant upgrade myself, but I want to make sure they don't mess it up! I actually have to use the US offices of Amex, so they might be more used to this kind of thing.

Thanks,

Dr. PITUK

No...you shouldn't mess anything up. By a little coaching I meant that I FAXED a copy of the t+c of the cert, walked through how a cert works (ie be sure to book the correct fare classes and confirm instant availability) and advised the agent to also be sure of seat selection at time of booking- my confirmation came back CONFIRMED-I- EXECUTIVE so all was well with the flights.

Is it worth it? Hmm...this is a little tougher- where in the US are you flying to? If you are doing LHR-JFK for example I doubt it is worth the extra hours. If you have to transit anyway- could be very worthwhile- particularly if you can spend some time with your parents in YYZ on the way through! You may also want to check to see if the client will pay for WT+ or VS economy+: If the answer is yes than again...depends on if it is really worth the extra hours! Finally- UA sometimes have YUP fares where you can buy Y and have a confirmed UG to C: so be sure to look into this as well.

Once again, simplified fare structure has nothing to do with YUM, RNGPET, etc.

For normal travelling public, there are now five fare classes. That's it. "U" availability is only something people like us see under the covers.

So it is not simple for those of us who try to make use of the complexities :)
Exactly. As said many times before here, it is us freaks who pay attention to fare buckets and other stuff that the general public would deem as nuts.

- yyzcrackpot

That's right. Y/M/U to/from UK are upgradeable at time of booking (after reservation is ticketed).

:confused: I am confused, and I don't think I am the only one either.

A couple of nights ago, I phoned AC to enquire how much a "U" class fare would be from LHR-YVR-LHR.. ( Latitude Plus)

Two different agents said they don't see that option at all. They can only book YVR-LHR-YVR. in U class

I was then informed that the "U" fare was NOT available if one is starting a ticket in the UK....it's a fare that is only available for purchase when starting in Canada.

From the UK, the cheapest upgradeable fare (at time of purchase) is the M

So is U FARE available both to and from the UK ???

:confused: I am confused, and I don't think I am the only one either.

A couple of nights ago, I phoned AC to enquire how much a "U" class fare would be from LHR-YVR-LHR.. ( Latitude Plus)

Two different agents said they don't see that option at all. They can only book YVR-LHR-YVR. in U class

I was then informed that the "U" fare was NOT available if one is starting a ticket in the UK....it's a fare that is only available for purchase when starting in Canada.

From the UK, the cheapest upgradeable fare (at time of purchase) is the M

So is U FARE available both to and from the UK ???
Currently no U fare ex-UK.

Thanks Andrew for this confirmation and clarification.

When I saw your initial posting saying that U fare was upgradeable at time of booking both to and from LHR, I was hoping that the women I spoke with at AC reservations were wrong.

With the wording of your latest reply... does "currently" mean that there is a possiblity that "u" fare will soon be available for those purchasing tickets from LHR? :)

The M from the UK and the U from Canada seem to be on par with each other, or a sister fare at an equivalent rate with a slight discrepancy for currency or marketing considerations.
(YYZ-LHR-YYZ Mar 15/Mar 29 CAD1898 in U. LHR-YYZ-LHR Mar 15/Mar 29 GBP1016 in M as per ac.com. Slight difference maybe explained by currency conversion, the fact that fares from UK traditionally higher than those from Nth Am and could be a seasonality difference.)

The wording you allude to, I read it as simply meaning a Canadian buying a U can upgrade both to and from the UK while a UK'er can do the same but on a M fare and of course upgrading both to and from Canada. The classes or fare buckets are offered in both directions, it's just not the actual booking class that's offered for sale in both directions - or in other words the Canadians buy U, the UK'ers buy M. Same fare $ wise, just a different booking class.

This could be done for any number of reasons - it's a new pricing concept - maybe it's AC's way of having an instantly identifiable way of seeing how it's going in each of the markets.
The amount of M fares sold on UK routes instantly tells AC how many UK'ers are flying across the pond without going through loads of ticket auditing information while the amount of U fares tells them instantly how many Canadians are flying across the pond on the UK flights.

It's not unusual to have the same fare equivalent in a different booking class, with a different fare basis on sale at each end of a route. All airlines do it and have done so for years.
It's also not unusual to have a upgrade from a certain class when that class is not offered from your home market. Until recently AC never offered a Q fare from here in Oz to Canada/U.S., but the SSWU's still said I could u/g from Q!
Cheers.

Currently no U fare ex-UK.

Thanks Andrew for this confirmation and clarification.

When I saw your initial posting saying that U fare was upgradeable at time of booking both to and from LHR, I was hoping that the women I spoke with at AC reservations were wrong.

With the wording of your latest reply... does "currently" mean that there is a possiblity that "u" fare will soon be available for those purchasing tickets from LHR? :)

At J1C0 (before the invention of 'I' class), I got the upgrade from a SSWU on a NRT-YYZ flight.

That made me very happy :)

Y,M & U are the fare classes in Latitude Plus that were in the AC announcement. So should this not change then upgrade at time of booking should only be possible on this fare.That's right. Y/M/U to/from UK are upgradeable at time of booking (after reservation is ticketed).

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