MEL > PER business upgrade leg preference

[Gianni S]

Hi all,
wife is off for a work trip to Perth and was thinking of surprising her and taking a chance by making an upgrademe bid upto business class.

quick question though, if you had a choice of going business , would you upgrade the 9.30am MEL > PER flight or the return red-eye flight? I imagine there is pros/cons to both?

My thoughts are going with the 9.30am MEL >PER leg to take advantage of the meal service offered(from the virgin website)

• On flights over 2 hours and 45 minutes, guests can indulge in a full, three-course dining experience for lunch and dinner

and at least you will be awake for the whole time.

Whereas going with the return leg you would pretty much board and off to sleep with a light snack and breakfast apparently.


Also minimum bid is $400, has anyone had any experience on bidding on this route? personally wasn't going to bit too much above the minimum. at the end of the day if not successful not the end of the world

Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated

 

[Daver6]

Perhaps the way home. Finish the day at work, head to the lounge and have a shower. Although being the red-eye I presume it leaves around midnight? So if she has nothing on between work ending and the flight, another benefit of lounge access.

Usually the flight heading east is also shorter though, so less time in J.

I suppose it comes down to personal preference. Is a flat bed for sleep more important than making the most of food and drink. If she's flying to Perth for work and needs to his the ground running, I'd imagine you don't want too much booze.

 

[Bagpuss]

Hi all,
wife is off for a work trip to Perth and was thinking of surprising her and taking a chance by making an upgrademe bid upto business class.

quick question though, if you had a choice of going business , would you upgrade the 9.30am MEL > PER flight or the return red-eye flight? I imagine there is pros/cons to both?

My thoughts are going with the 9.30am MEL >PER leg to take advantage of the meal service offered(from the virgin website)

• On flights over 2 hours and 45 minutes, guests can indulge in a full, three-course dining experience for lunch and dinner

and at least you will be awake for the whole time.

Whereas going with the return leg you would pretty much board and off to sleep with a light snack and breakfast apparently.


Also minimum bid is $400, has anyone had any experience on bidding on this route? personally wasn't going to bit too much above the minimum. at the end of the day if not successful not the end of the world

Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Easy ... The 9:30am ... Mel - Per is the longest segment and you will get better experience. The red-eye is too short to enjoy business and you cant sleep on the red-eye anyway (well I never can)

 

[Oxy]

I've done both and you want to be awake to get the most out of it. The red eye is shorter and all about sleep but too short to be decent. It's nice to lay down but for a nap doesn't make much difference. As you mentioned the meals are lighter too. Well worth it on the way over though, very enjoyable.

 

[Denali]

Problem no matter which one you choose is if the switch the plane to a 737. If they do, complain, complain, complain until you get a bulk of points or $ back because there would be major disappointment if I booked the A330 and got the 737 J seats.

 

[Bundy Bear]

If they don't have lounge then I think the flight home is better to upgrade, yes its short but at least you can relax on the overnight flight.

 

[Gianni S]

Thanks for the tips everyone,
i think ill stick to the MEL > PER leg, she will have lounge access already for the return leg so plenty of time to relax and she is already in economy x .

@Denali, yes agree if the plane was changed then that would be pretty disappointing, hopefully that doesnt happen.

One last thing,
she booked the flight but i have access to the email to bid and upgrade etc so i can easily bid and then archive the follow up emails confirming the big and if successful, would i still be able to use my CC details to enter for the bid? she won't need the cc at any stage on the trip?

 

[clipped_wings]

I did the same thing with my husbands account one year,. Bid for the upgrade by logging in to his profile and using my credit card as the default payment method. It worked a treat - but make sure she doesn't check the app on her phone, as it will send notifications to her.

Good luck, what a nice gesture

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

About 2 years ago, I think it was, the bid min was about $250, and PER - SYD fares were about $299 in whY.
Seeing that full J fare can be $1999 or so, even if the basic whY was $399 and min upgrade me bid was $400, totalling $799, that is still cheaper than true full J.
I would go for the dinner one, if that was available, or if no 330, then the 9.30am over would suffice.
I had seat 2A in the older VA 330, prior to the suite system.
Was great as I could see the sunset, 4.30pm from PER, 10.30pm into SYD.
Good luck though.
PER lounge would be the newest dom one, MEL's dom VA J lounge was formerly the AN lounge, as is the SYD dom VA J lounge.
Bah humbug, maybe a visit to the PER VA J lounge is worth the $400!/?.
You know, upgrade her bid on both ways and see the fireworks happen.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Heh, imagine though if the bid succeeded both ways, $800 or more on the credit card for her to PER and back.
Would she be happy or would she nag you non stop for spending good hard earned $ willy nilly.

 

[Cynicor]

Shows how different everyone is. Business for me is about being comfortable. If I spend extra $ I want to maximise my comfort which means upgrading the redeye. In business I can literally be asleep from sitting in seat (before takeoff) through to touchdown, it's great. If I took Y I would hate life after the flight.
On the daytime leg, business is nice but if it's costing me too much then it's not worth it, I'm able to entertain myself in the seat if I'm not trying to sleep.
I just value my sleep so much, apparently!

 

[clipped_wings]

Heh, imagine though if the bid succeeded both ways, $800 or more on the credit card for her to PER and back.
Would she be happy or would she nag you non stop for spending good hard earned $ willy nilly.

LOL, that's what will happen to me this year, when I attempt to make a "second" booking for Mr Clipped.

The story so far: We're all on Y reward fares to LAX in October, so rows 27/28 will be our home for a combined total of over 29 hours.

He's having minor knee surgery in August (an unavoidable issue that arose after we booked). I am simply dreading the potential of his poor 6' recuperating frame being squished into a measly 32" pitch like some fat dill pickle in a tiny jar.

So, I came up with a cunning plan to buy a J seat for the trip over and surprise him at the airport. His existing booking would remain, but I'm not sure he can check in twice. I would also benefit as his (now spare) Y seat would be a brilliant space for the kids to stretch out.

My plan was thwarted however, when I went online and found that a one way J seat is actually MORE than a return J seat. So $$ will turn into $$$$ and I'm not sure sure the gesture will be received without some form of stern "wait till we're alone" face. And I don't mean romance...........

What should I do?

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Is the 930am a breakfast flight? If it is id do the redeye

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

LOL, that's what will happen to me this year, when I attempt to make a "second" booking for Mr Clipped.

The story so far: We're all on Y reward fares to LAX in October, so rows 27/28 will be our home for a combined total of over 29 hours.

He's having minor knee surgery in August (an unavoidable issue that arose after we booked). I am simply dreading the potential of his poor 6' recuperating frame being squished into a measly 32" pitch like some fat dill pickle in a tiny jar.

So, I came up with a cunning plan to buy a J seat for the trip over and surprise him at the airport. His existing booking would remain, but I'm not sure he can check in twice. I would also benefit as his (now spare) Y seat would be a brilliant space for the kids to stretch out.

My plan was thwarted however, when I went online and found that a one way J seat is actually MORE than a return J seat. So $$ will turn into $$$$ and I'm not sure sure the gesture will be received without some form of stern "wait till we're alone" face. And I don't mean romance...........

What should I do?

You might find that empty Y seat your husband has vacated, if and when he goes up to J, will be sold to someone else.
I don't work for any airline, but I do know one thing, if they can pack (sell) that seat, they will.
Unless you have bought that seat husband has vacated as a "comfort seat request", I would not expect the seat hubby has vacated will be open for the kids to spread out.
Being squashed into a window seat, when my 3.5 hours flight from SYD - AKL (equipment swap from an (Air) NZ B777 to an A320) was enough.
Now, I will either fly whJ or buy that seat next to me so its empty.