Earlier this year Qantas launched their Bid Now Upgrades system, which allowed invited economy and premium economy customers to make an offer to
upgrade to the Business Cabin trhough an auction process.
Not exact matches
Use your Velocity Points
to upgrade your next flight
to a Premium Economy or
Business Class
cabin.
Per El Al, their new
business class
cabin boasts a number of
upgraded features including a dedicated
business class crew, lie flat beds, ergonomic cushions
to fully support the neck and back, 16 ″ personal HDTVs with touch screen capability (incorporating Panasonic's AVOD entertainment system), a personal comfort kit, and 30 % more overhead bin space compared
to other airlines.
Besides redeeming miles for award travel, you can redeem miles for
upgrades (e.g.,
upgrading from Main
Cabin, aka Economy,
to Delta One, First or
Business Class).
You can redeem SkyMiles for a Mileage
Upgrade Award from the main
cabin to Delta One, first class, or
business class.
Upgrades to in - flight entertainment, lounge service and fully - flat beds
to business class
cabins are underway in honor of Finnair's 90th Anniversary
Etihad is also
upgrading its
business and economy class
cabins, including improvements
to the seats and the on - demand in - flight entertainment system.
American will continue
to consider Main
Cabin Extra seats to be part of the economy cabin so this move will not impact upgrades from coach to business c
Cabin Extra seats
to be part of the economy
cabin so this move will not impact upgrades from coach to business c
cabin so this move will not impact
upgrades from coach
to business class.
Besides redeeming miles for award travel, you can redeem miles for
upgrades (e.g.,
upgrading from Main
Cabin, aka Economy,
to Delta One, First or
Business Class).
That was based on the idea that a Premium Economy
cabin would see the end of Economy
to Business Class
upgrades with the Systemwide Upgrades that are given to American's top - tier elites — and I stand
upgrades with the Systemwide
Upgrades that are given to American's top - tier elites — and I stand
Upgrades that are given
to American's top - tier elites — and I stand by that.
If SWUs no longer allow
upgrades from Economy
to Business class that will be seen as a massive devaluation in EXP status and, if Main
Cabin Extra is no more than a few seats dotted around the cabin, most American Airlines flyers will struggle to ever reserve those seats if they don't book 6 + months in advance — another devalua
Cabin Extra is no more than a few seats dotted around the
cabin, most American Airlines flyers will struggle to ever reserve those seats if they don't book 6 + months in advance — another devalua
cabin, most American Airlines flyers will struggle
to ever reserve those seats if they don't book 6 + months in advance — another devaluation.
The fact that the airline will offer a 787 - 9 Dreamliner on this route means that we'll have a Premium Economy
cabin to book when
upgrades look unlikely and
Business Class is expensive but, on the downside, the main Economy Class
cabin is still horribly camped with narrow seats and poor leg room.
The good news is that Qantas allows points
upgrades from Discounted Economy Class
to Business Class despite the fact that they operate aircraft with a Premium Economy
cabin.
A little perk of flying Qantas premium economy you receive the little extras, you utilize the
business class boarding bridge, you have dedicated boarding and check in,
upgraded booze and food, and you have access
to the bathroom between the
cabins, which provides the premium soap and lotions!
Virgin Australia has just started
upgrading its
Business Class
cabins to a product that looks very nice indeed (blog with more information is here).....
Use your Velocity Points
to upgrade your next flight
to a Premium Economy or
Business Class
cabin.
After that point, a systemwide
upgrade should only
upgrade you from economy
to premium economy — instead of
business class — on aircraft equipped with a premium economy
cabin.
Update 11/5/16: AA has reached out
to clarify the procedure for systemwide
upgrades, explaining «For now, when Premium Economy goes into service, our customers will continue
to upgrade from main
cabin to business class.
Dan recently congratulated El Al for bringing their
business class
cabins up
to 1994 standards by
upgrading their seat design
to a «bed - like» seat.
If Premium Economy was
to only be found on international routes this seemed like a strange thing
to say — you can't
upgrade to First Class from any
cabin other than
Business Class... and American Airlines doesn't even have that many aircraft with International First class any more.
If American Airlines introduces a Premium Economy
cabin it would almost certainly be the end of the Economy
to Business Class
upgrades.
American announced that it was going
to introduce Premium Economy
cabins on long - haul international routes back in early December 2015 but
to this day the airline still hasn't announced what this will mean for international
upgrades, whether
Business Class
cabins will get smaller and what the fate of Main
Cabin Extra will be.
While the headline - grabbing
upgrades to the 777 - 200's are in the
Business Class
cabin, it's what JAL has chosen
to do in the Economy Class
cabin that I think is most impressive.
As with most airlines, Singapore Airlines has a policy of only allowing
upgrades to the next
cabin of service so the introduction of a Premium Economy
cabin has put an end
to passengers
upgrading from Economy
to Business Class on a lot of routes.
You can
upgrade your economy
cabin ticket
to business class, even though the ticket is issued by your corporate travel desk / travel agent.
It is expected that Premium Economy will count as a separate
cabin on routes where it is present and will therefore prevent
upgrades from Economy
to Business Class (on 3 -
cabin flights) or Economy
to First Class (on 2 -
cabin flights)-- I'll publish more information on this as and when American makes any announcements.
On the negative side the aircraft swap will see the route go from having 53 premium
cabin seats (16 First Class and 37
Business Class)
to just 30
Business Class seats — not good news for
upgrades or awards.
Flying Club members will now have
to pay 50 % the cost of an award ticket
to upgrade to the next
cabin of service and pay 75 % of an award ticket
to upgrade from Economy
to Upper Class (
Business Class)
American Airlines is introducing Premium Economy
cabins to its international fleet from late 2016 and, although we don't know for sure, it's more than likely that systemwide
upgrades will only
upgrade to the next
cabin of service — i.e you'll have
to pay for Premium Economy tickets if you want
to upgrade to Business Class.
There will still be some major routes that Singapore Airlines flys that don't have a Premium Economy
cabin — like Singapore
to Sydney (SQ241) on a non ER version of the Boeing 777 - 300 — so, on those routes and aircraft, an Economy
to Business Class
upgrade will still be possible.
Qatar Airways status members automatically receive Qcredits: 40 for Gold members and 60 for Platinum members that can be used for both single
cabin upgrades (economy
to business, or
business to first) and two
cabin upgrades (economy directly
to first), as well as lounge access and award fees.
Using the formula,
to upgrade from Premium Economy
to Business Class would cost: 50,000 (
Business Class
cabin I want
to upgrade to)-- 37,500 (Premium Economy
cabin I'm booking in) = 12,500 Avios.
Dynamic Reward
Upgrades are permitted from Economy Class
to Business Class, or Economy
to First or
Business Class
to First Class, subject
to aircraft configuration, and is subject
to the availability of reward seats in the higher class
cabin.
Virgin Australia has unveiled a series of new
upgrades to its long - haul aircraft
cabins, including a new
business class seat and an extra legroom product in economy class.
The
upgrade award will now get you from Premium Economy
to Business Class or from Economy
to Business on routes without a Premium Economy
Cabin.
The
upgrade will also include the introduction of a redesigned
Business Class bar and changes
to the Premium Economy
cabin.