Since most people choose to travel only after reviewingavailable cheap travel optionssuch as cheapairplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, and cheap vacation packages, theytend to purchase economy class tickets. However, that does not mean that they would be averse to flying in firstor business class; mind you, if the price is right.
Passengers are increasingly purchasing first and businessclass upgrades on international flights for a couple of hundred dollars bybidding for seat upgrades. Auctions ofupgrades are good for airlines where otherwise seats in upper classes may gounfilled. Airlines are able to fillunsold upper class seats for more than the cost of economy tickets andpassengers can access upgrades at affordable prices.
While some worry that auctions may upset the status quo whenit comes to award flight for frequent fliers, airlines holding the auctionsclaim that they can take care of elite frequent fliers by processing theirupgrades before awarding seats to auction bidders.
Most airlines are auctioning off their unsold premium seats viaa platform called Plusgrade. While thetechnology tends to be the same, each airline handles auctions a littledifferently. Usually airlines offer theright for passengers to participate in an auction by invitation only. About a week prior to departure selectpassengers are sent emails asking if they would like to consider bidding for anupgrade.
Currently upgrade auctions are only being offered by airlinesbased overseas. American Airlines testedhaving its customers bid for upgrades in 2013, but did not decide to roll outthis option.
There is not a lot of data available regarding how much youshould bid to win an upgrade flying on an international carrier. Successful bids tend to vary by airline andthe particular flight. Recently onepassenger reported paying $200 for an upgrade on a KLM flight from Amsterdam toSingapore. Another flier recentlyclaimed that he paid $110 to upgrade to business class on Ethiad from Kathmanduto Abu Dhabi.
Most airlines outline a minimum bidding price. To make a more informed bid, you should checkseat availability in first and business class by pretending to book a ticket onthe same flight, or on ExpertFlyer, a site that tracks seat availability via analgorithm. The rule of thumb is to tryto pay less for upgrades on empty (mind you, in the upper classes) flights andbid higher for full ones.
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