Hi everyone,
I am flying to YUL from CDG on June 6th for a well deserved three week vacation :-)
I didn't buy a full Y because that weekend is the Formula 1 Grand Prix, and I am pretty sure that C will be impossible to get; In fact, ITN shows for AC870 (A330)
J9 C0 Y9 M9 B9 H9 V9 Q9 L9
So I bought a V fare, knowing that I can pay the difference and upgrade to Y and then use my SWU's. Questions:
1. I remember reading somewhere that the 100 change fee for V fare is waived if you upgrade to a higher fare class. Is this correct?
2. Let's say that 72 hours before my CDG-YUL flight, C is still at 0, I call to see if I can upgrade and I can't. OK, I will fly in the back for this leg, I have seat 12H, which is pretty good. ITN shows for my return on the 30th, AC871 (A330)
J9 C3 Y9 M9 B9 H0 V0 Q0 L0
Ok, so a smidgen of hope :-) My question is can I upgrade the return part of my V fare (YUL-CDG) to y AFTER I have flown the first leg of my trip ie. pay to upgrade the remaining segment to Y and then use my certs. Is this even worth it? I believe it would be worth it if they charge me 50% of the cost of a round-trip Y, but maybe I am living in Utopia
As always, thanks for your help,
Jean-François
The load on your return from YUL a month from now looks like it may be overbooked by the time you fly. If this is the case, and assuming you are Elite [or even Prestige], you may receive an operational upgrade when you check in. This is now common on major routes over the Atlantic at peak season. It is your call whether J is worth $1,000+, particularly given the lottery nature of using upgrades now, and your status and thus priority for confirming an upgrade.
Hmmmmm ... following this same thread of thought.
IF I am holding an "H" class ticket, and wished to upgrade the final portion of the trip to a "Y" class ticket (so I can use my SWU), can I do that?
Also, IF I did want to upgrade my ticket to Y on the return segment, how much ahead of departure day must I do this?
I would go for the exit row so you'll have more space in front of you. Remember that the washrooms are right around the exit row though. Otherwise aisle seat row 12 works great as well!
The only reason that AC is operating the YVR-ANC route is for the summer time cruise traffic. Canada 3000 operated these prior to this year.
I didn't realize it was possible to upgrade one segment of a return fare from V to Y. Wouldn't this require combinability between V and Y? I didn't think V and Y classes were combinable.
I booked a combination cruise/flight Alaska package offered by Princess cruise lines, through a travel agent - one way by air, and return by ship. All cruise lines book a block of seats, for such cruise/flight combinations.
I had expected the fare code for the flight to be Z fare code - I was pleasantly surpised that the fare code was a (one way) V. Passengers who go on the cruise ship the other way, and come back from Alaska to Vancouver, would presumably fill the return part of the V ticket - I presume the cruise company can purchase blocks of return tickets on AC, Alaska Airlines etc - and split the return between 2 different passengers.
Well just called Aeroplan in Paris (30 minute hold) and my worst fears have been realised :-)
1. No C availability, although she said J was 'empty', she said she found that strange
2. Plane is NOT oversold, she told me and as ITN attests:
J9 C0 Y9 M9 B9 H1 V1 Q1 L1
So, no SWU possible, and as a lowly elite, travelling on V fare on a non-oversold flight, my chances of riding up front are 0%
What makes it worse is that empty front cabin, J9, if only it was J0 I would understand ;-)
But look at this return flight on June 30th, ONE month from now:
J9 C0 Y0 M0 B0 H0 V0 Q0 L0
Might get a comp upgrade on that one. I will let you know when i come back.
[This message has been edited by newbie elite (edited 06-03-2002).]
Yes, I did a YYZ-DEN-SLC-DEN-YVR-YYZ flight series on AC (some flights as UA codeshares) and upgraded only the YVR-YYZ segment from L to H class for about $350 CAD so as to sit in the J cabin with my upgrades. Not altogether a bad idea considering that this was a red-eye! Yikes!
I believe Fisch upgraded to H on the day of departure and he only upgraded the return segment so the only condition that he has to follow is the Sat night stay requirement.
If you're simply upgrading the return segments, the advance purchase doesn't apply. Most agents don't know how to upgrade just part of the ticket so you better leave plenty of time for them to figure it out if that's what you're intending to do.
Originally posted by newbie elite:
In fact, ITN shows for AC870 (A330)
J9 C0 Y9 M9 B9 H9 V9 Q9 L9
Do you know of any other sites which also provide info on flight capacity?
Thznx
[This message has been edited by Kidz (edited 05-28-2002).]
Another example of how screwy yield management (Tons of open J & no C) cost AC a full fare customer. I would check again on the night before departure or day of departure and they might throw in some Cs.
On the bright side, you saved a bundle of cash and you can use it for a nice hotel and meals when you get to YUL, better than using it on a J seat! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Nice to hear about that. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
You're out of luck. It's only 2 hours and you'll be getting points so not getting J is not a big deal. Those fares are most likely negotiated between AC and the cruise company and it doesn't necessary have to be roundtrip. ANC is not a business route so AC can afford to make these deals.
It's possible... some people here on FT (think it was Fisch) even upgraded a L to V at the gate just so he can use his upgrade coupon. So I am quite sure that one way V to one way Y is possible, but I could be wrong since I've never done it myself.
Originally posted by newbie elite:
1. I remember reading somewhere that the 100 change fee for V fare is waived if you upgrade to a higher fare class. Is this correct? Find Last Minute Vacations on the Web - The Best Websites for Last ::
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That's correct. If you are upgrading to a higher fare, they waive the change fee.
My question is can I upgrade the return part of my V fare (YUL-CDG) to y AFTER I have flown the first leg of my trip ie. pay to upgrade the remaining segment to Y and then use my certs.
Yes, you can do this. The ticket actually breaks down the cost of each segment and you can pay the difference between whatever you paid for YUL-CDG and one way Y.
Is this even worth it? I believe it would be worth it if they charge me 50% of the cost of a round-trip YOnly you can decide whether it's worth it. They definitely won't charge you round trip Y. If you are doing this for one-way, it's based on one way Y. Remember though, Y fare ex-Canada is a lot more expensive than what you pay in CDG.
[This message has been edited by Empress (edited 05-28-2002).]
ITN is the same as flyaow assuming you are using this link:
http://flyaow.com/classavailability.htm
The result from that page is generated from ITN.net.
If you want to refund a discounted ticket, there is a portion or all of the ticket that may not be refundable.
If you upgrade a discounted ticket to a fare type that is fully refundable, and then try to refund that one later, the original non-refundable amount or the original ticket still applies. It is carried forward as a restriction of the new ticket. This stops people from buying discounted tickets, then when they decide they don't want or need them from upgrading to a refundable ticket, then trying to apply again for a full refund.
Oh, and the change fee on the discount ticket, when upgraded does not get charged during the upgrade. If you have upgraded to a fare level that has no change penalty, then any future changes will be at no penalty (subject to space available in class of service booked).
Depending how much you paid for your V class, you are probably looking at paying up to $2000 CAD to upgrade your YUL-CDG from V to Y.
So even on the same flight, if I were to try to upgrade from (let us say) a departing segment V to H (for upgrade purposes to business class) - 72 hrs in advance - I can not do it - one has to obtain an H ticket 7 days in advance.
If I were to upgrade a returning flight - V to H - I could do it, if there were H seats available on the flight, and I would be charged the change fee, and the upgrade fee.
I have booked a one way flight on AC from Vancouver to Anchorage, in conjunction with a cruise from Alaska to Vancouver. The fare on the flight is V class. Could I, 72 hrs in advance, try to upgrade to an H class fare - ie is the flight considered like a departing flight, or like a return flight - when one books a return ticket?
Originally posted by nobody-elite:
IF I am holding an "H" class ticket, and wished to upgrade the final portion of the trip to a "Y" class ticket (so I can use my SWU), can I do that?
Sure. Pay the difference between a full Y and H. If you're going to YVR, you'll probably be looking at $1000-$1500 CAD. As Academic said, you can do it at anytime before departure.
If you are upgrading to a higher fare before you start your trip, then you will have to meet all the requirements for the fare that you are upgrading to. That's why for Elites, they could only upgrade to full Y in most cases because they can only upgrade 3 days in advance.
Most fare will state that "change fee waived for upgrading to a higher fare".
FlyerGold, that's exactly right. the exception being that if you upgrade to a changeable fare then you don't have to pay the change fare. i.e. from V->Y you pay only the fare difference, since the Y allows you to change the flight for free anyways.
That's only one exception. Let's say you wanted to upgrade your Q to H 7 days in advance (and you haven't started travel yet), you won't have to pay a change fee and you can pick a new set of flights on your new ticket. Techinically, you are simply refunding your old ticket and using the value of the Q ticket towards the new H class ticket. Change fee is waived because you are upgrading to a higher fare and since it's a new ticket, you can pick new flights.
It all depends on whether you are upgrading the whole trip or just the return and what fare you are upgrading to.
Here's another idea, maybe you can get yourself on the 767 CDG-YUL flight that leaves later in the day. AC sells that flight as all Y so you could at least get a J seat but Y class meals.
Earlier, I had checked into a fare class change from B to Y on a LHR-YYZ flight for mid June -- the cost would have been over $1400. It looks like the flight is almost sold out so I am hoping for an operational UG instead...
Nice to hear about the upgrade, but let's not overlook the fact that they lost (or changed) the original seat assignment!
andrew
I guess that is why I was asking the question. Did Fisch make the change outside the H window or closer to flight time?
I have come across some fares that don't say anything about waiving the change fee.
Is anybody else having trouble today with ITN? It is very slow and also spitting out some odd numbers.
Greetings from Montreal.
Well I had a pleasant surprise this morning. Went to check in this morning at CDG, get to the counter, the woman says I was assigned 22H, I say no way, show her the AC paper showing 12H. She says, it doesn`t matter since you are going up front anyways http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif My first operational upgrade.
Flight was overbooked in Y, didn`t expect this as I checked ITN in the morning and it didn`t show anywhere near overbooked. Not complaining though.
I will let you know how the return goes in about 3 weeks.
I've just had a similar experience on a YYZ-YYC flight on Thursday, J9, C0, and fairly open in the back. It had been like that for weeks. However, I just checked and 1 C had opened up. In your case, if there are still seats available in J, and you're willing to upfare to full Y, you should be able to do that when you check-in on Thursday.
However, if one "refunds" a discounted economy ticket, one gets a refund minus $145 (+GST).
Empress, would I not lose that change fee, unless I were to upgrade to a Y (and possibly M) fare?
Just to clarify the lack of a requirement to pay a change fee, if one is upgrading - that refers only to the same flight.
If one refers to a different flight - eg from V to Y, as stated in the original posting - one would have to pay 2 fees - the change fee, as well as the upgrade fee? I know that I had to pay both fees, when I changed the return flight, and upgraded in the recent past, from V to H (for obvious reasons, to be able to upgrade).
If you want to upfare to a full Y, then there should be no advance purchase restrictions. In practice, as an Elite you would want to do it 3 days before, so that you can upfare and upgrade at the same time
Originally posted by FlyerGoldII:
I have booked a one way flight on AC from Vancouver to Anchorage, in conjunction with a cruise from Alaska to Vancouver. The fare on the flight is V class. Could I, 72 hrs in advance, try to upgrade to an H class fare - ie is the flight considered like a departing flight, or like a return flight - when one books a return ticket?
Are you simply holding a YVR-ANC one way ticket? Did you get it from a travel agent/consolidator? As far as I know, if you bought the one way ticket directly from AC for this route, it would be 'B' class. If it was really 'V' and it's a one way ticket, you can't upgrade it to a H. Main reason is because AC doesn't have a one way H fare on this route.
[This message has been edited by Empress (edited 06-01-2002).]
Does this mean that it is possible to avoid the lottery by only buying L and doing an upfare when the u/g window opens?
It was my impression that if you wanted to upfare, then you had to meet the advance purchase requirements for the higher fare, and that there could be a change fee depending on the original booking class.
Thanks for all your responses. They confirm my initial feeling that I will probably just go in the back and hope for an operational upgrade, since the flights will probably be pretty solidly booked.
Now my next dilemma is row 12 or exit row 30? :-) Don`t answer as I know that a thread already exists on this very topic.
 Nobody understands...any help please?
 50 points for someone willing to do this!!!!!!!!!!?
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V fare question