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AC Bid Upgrade Program


blues deville

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Thought this was some kind of email scam but apparently not. AC now has an upgrade bid system where you the customer offer an amount to get a better seat and AC will advise if you're successful. The lowest acceptable bid for my upcoming flight is $800 (which is considered a poor bid by a scale on their page) to $2500 which is considered good. I'm already in a premium economy seat with extra leg room. 

My question is who would do this? If you can afford to travel in first or business class, wouldn't you have already booked your preferred seat? If this was a last minute deal and discount price to fill up empty premium seats I could understand but my flight is over a week away. How successful can this promotion be? Am I missing something?

Here is a link to the program details:

http://travelupdate.boardingarea.com/air-canada-bid-upgrade/

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Some other carriers have been doing this for a little while now. Seems to me that they're looking to improve revenue by getting some extra cash for seats that would otherwise be given out as a free upgrade. Smart if it works.

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56 minutes ago, J.O. said:

Some other carriers have been doing this for a little while now. Seems to me that they're looking to improve revenue by getting some extra cash for seats that would otherwise be given out as a free upgrade. Smart if it works.

Smart if it works? It's not working for me. Why would I pay more for this flight? A starting bid of $825 only registers as "poor" on their scale. I used points and paid extra for a better seat. As mentioned, if you're used to first class travel, why bother with this game? Would you pay more for a easy YVR-YYZ flight? Westjet sells off their premium seats in the 24 hours before departure and you can decide when you check-in online. I've done that before but it was a fraction of the normal fare for those nicer seats and service. 

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3 hours ago, Geminoid said:

Another way to screw CONS from getting into the front cabin.  It's tough enough as it is.

Cons and any high miler/frequent flyer who is used to getting an upgrade seat for no charge. 

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Just received another email from AC inviting me to bid for second flight late next week to MIA. Perhaps if they do this up to 24hrs prior it might be worth seeing how low the opening bid range will drop.  JO may have a point but I still don't see this as being popular unless the upgrade fare is a real deal for the seat. 

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7 hours ago, Rich Pulman said:

No charge? Do you know what it costs to get enough "status" to get upgrades? Status ain't free.

I guess I am referring to possible operational upgrades due to oversold Econ seats. Can happen. I got one last year in ORD after switching to an earlier flight. No extra cost. Didn't ask, they just handed me a front row boarding pass. 

 As of today my AC flight for next week (YVR-YYZ) with a bid of $2500 might get me upgraded to first or business class for the trip. As already mentioned I won't be doing it, however, closer to departure day I will be curious where that number goes. But I would think prior to this recent seat promotion, an upgrade request at the gate must have been cheaper than today's price. But I could be wrong. 

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Aye, Boys. There's the rub.

No issue....any enhanced revenue from  "J" is better for the bottom line than giving that seat to a con.

But......at what price point do you deter the full fare "J" pax who may now question; "Why pay $2500. now when I can pay $1350 and bid $500 for the upgrade?"

Agreed....I don't know any business class passengers paying full tilt who book their own seats; " Angie....get me on tomorrow's flight to LA."

But those aren't the pax they ( the number crunchers) are looking at and those same number crunchers oft times aren't particularly adept at the nuances of appearance.

I recently bought a confirmed business class seat on AA from YYZ to MIA. Long story but it was NOT (as some suspect) the result of transient dementia.

The cost was something in the range of $225 plus taxes. Honest!!

I expected an empty flight. Wrong! It was full. I bought my seat about 8 days prior to departure.

My theory is that people will pay for the illusion of status. Give them a drink or two; priority boarding;  put them in bigger seats and they'll pay a significant premium. However, if you diminish the status and start putting someone wearing a Timex beside them (joke!!), they'll seek out alternate means to evidence their "status".

Strangely enough, full fare pax gracefully accept a con in a seat beside them--- I don't know how they knew. I certainly never said anything! They accept that "free" travel is a perq of working for an airline; a salve for lower pay. However, they are not so accepting of a seat mate paying 50% of what they paid.

The same is true of hotel and resort guests.....especially when you got a premium suite for 50% of what they paid for a ground floor double.

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The problem is there has to be an uncomfortable reckoning for the airlines as they try to balance their premium product with austere travel policies and keeping their frequent flyer programs relevant. An honest conversation about that is going to come into conflict with a lot of conventional wisdom and vested interests.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Plus looks like on WestJet's Max fleet and their future widebodies, I suspect this is something they are going to get right while others are getting it wrong.

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Either all first/business class seats are now full or AC has decided I am no longer welcome to 'bid' for an upgrade. Probably the later. Clicking on their emailed link now says "no longer available". Had no desire to pay extra for this YVR-YYZ flight but it was a fun game while it lasted. However, later next week we're on AC/rouge who are still offering a bid (current min is $350) for an upgrade to FLL and although I do like rouge, I don't think their front rows are worth anything close to that amount.

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