14 hours Ago By Aaron Spray
Passengers flying with Virgin Atlantic have the opportunity to upgrade their flights affordably by placing bids. These bids provide passengers with the chance to enjoy the next class of service without having to pay for the full cost. Bidding is risk-free from the point of view that passengers only need to pay if their bids are successful.
Virgin Atlantic operates a fleet made up exclusively of widebody Airbus A330, Airbus A350, and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and flies a wide range of long-haul routes, including many routes to the United States. Virgin is one of two major UK-based airlines operating long-haul flights from the United Kingdom . Here is what to know about bidding at Virgin to upgrade the class of service.
Virgin Atlantic's Classes Virgin Atlantic is one of the main carriers of the United Kingdom, and it competes with the country's flag carrier, British Airways. The airline offers three classes: Economy, Premium (formerly called Economy Premium), and Upper Class. It has a total of five classes if the sub-economy classes are considered.
These are made up of Economy Light, Economy Class, and Economy Delight. In economy, the seat pitch ranges from 31 inches in Economy Light and Classic to 34 inches in Economy Delight. Premium economy seats come with 38 inches of seat pitch, along with two checked bags weighing up to 23 kg and various other perks.
Upper Class is Virgin's business class and comes with seats that convert into fully flat beds. Passengers traveling in Upper Class get an allowance of two checked bags of up to 32 kg. They get a "glass of bubbly" when they board and enjoy a four-course meal with pre-order options.
They can also enjoy a range of other perks and benefits, including the use of Virgin's social spaces found on some of its long-haul aircraft. Most passengers can't afford to pay for a business class seat, but Virgin offers passengers the option of placing a bid with the chance of being selected to upgrade at a much more affordable rate. Virgin Atlantic's Bidding Instead of paying the large price of upgrading between various Virgin classes, Virgin offers passengers the option of bidding for an upgrade.
Virgin says , " Name your price - we might just say yes ." Passengers are able to place their bids on Virgin's online auction for upgrades. Those who are accepted " could very well score a swanky new seat .
" Upgrades are subject to availability on the flight. Even if there isn't the option of bidding, passengers can still check for upgrade options in the "My Booking" tab. They can also ask Virgin when at the airport for upgrade options.
Successful bidders can save a large amount over just purchasing the higher class seat. Key bidding info: Bidding processing window: 7-2 days before flight Classes able to bid: Next service class above the original booking Virgin Atlantic classes: Economy, Premium Economy, Upper Class (aka business class) Passengers' bookings continue to show their original seat booking until the upgrade is processed, normally fairly close to the flight time. Successful bidders receive an email and/or other notification from Virgin.
Passengers can bid for the next class of cabin service. So those who booked Premium can bid for Upper Class, while those with Economy can bid for Premium, but not Upper Class. In March, the carrier will fly its Dreamliners on long-haul routes across its network.
Destinations to the United States are particularly popular. Who Can Bid For Virgin Upgrades? To bid, passengers need to have a confirmed ticket issued by Virgin Atlantic for a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight. Passengers can bid via the "Your Bid" auction service website anytime up to 2 days before the scheduled date of departure.
Bidding passengers also need to be at least 18 years old and be able to enter into binding contracts to place the bids. When it comes to multiple passengers, the rules are a little more complicated. Those whose bookings include a non-seating infant are not permitted to bid for upgrades.
However, when there are multiple passengers in a booking, the bid needs to be to upgrade all of those passengers. The bid amounts are on a per-passenger basis. Those who have multiple flight segments flying a multi-sector journey need to bid for each sector flown.
Passengers ineligible to bid: Passengers with unseated infants Passengers aged under 18 years old Passengers booked with partner airlines with a flight not operated by Virgin Atlantic Put another way, if a booking includes four passengers, and one would like to bid $100 for an upgrade, the overall bid will need to be $400 to cover all four passengers. Virgin flights depart from three British airports, namely, Edinburgh, Manchester, and London-Heathrow. All flights are beyond Europe to destinations in the Caribbean, the United States (and Toronto in Canada), Africa, the Middle East, and India.
So those flying with Virgin are going to be on the flight for some time, and the upgrade may be worth it. Placing The Bid & Virgin's Selection Criteria After placing a bid, the bidder receives an email from Virgin confirming the bid has been received. The money will be taken by Virgin no later than two days before the flight.
The passenger needs to provide their credit card or debit card details to place the bid. After bidding, the passenger needs to wait until Virgin provides an answer. All bids are assessed within seven and no later than two days prior to scheduled departure.
Winning bidders are notified sometime within that five-day window. The payment is non-refundable, unless Virgin Atlantic cancels or changes the flight. When processing bids, Virgin considers a range of factors that are not limited just to the amount of money placed in the bid.
Other factors include the number of seats available in the next cabin, the number of passengers named in the bid, and the time when Virgin receives the bid. Passengers can also amend or cancel their bids anytime up to two days before departure, provided that the bid hasn't been accepted. So if one places the minimum bid, and later decides they really want the upgrade, they can go and increase the bid as long as its still being processed.
Record revenues played a key role in the airline's profitability. Cancelations, Re-bookings And Refunds The bid amount is also non-refundable if the passenger cancels or changes the flight, even if the passenger has purchased a refundable ticket. If the bid is unsuccessful, the bidder's card will not be charged.
The upgrade is also not transferable to other flights or passengers. This should come as no surprise, as all airline tickets are non-transferable to other passengers. In the event that Virgin changes the flight, they are not obligated to honor the upgrade on the flight they rebook the passenger on.
However, if Virgin cancels or changes the flight, it will try to honor the upgrade purchased on that flight. If that class of cabin ticket is not available, Virgin will provide the passenger the class of ticket as originally purchased and then offer a full refund of the upgrade price. Passengers who choose not to fly on the flight re-booked by Virgin can apply for a refund.
Refunds after a successful bid: Refund if passenger cancels flight: Non-refundable Refund if airline cancels flight: Refundable Refund if airline rebooks flight: Refundable if the airline is unable to honor that class of service In other words, there is nothing to lose by bidding. If the bid is unsuccessful, the passenger will not be charged. If the bid is successful, but the flight is canceled or otherwise re-booked by the airline, then the passenger will either still have that class of service on the other flight or have their money refunded.
Going Upper Class Virgin's Upper Class is its top-tier service. Those who successfully bid from Premium to Upper Class are able to use Virgin's Clubhouse or an applicable third-party lounge at the departure airport for that sector, where the passenger has been upgraded. The use of these lounges is also subject to availability.
It's not possible to say how much one should bid for upgrading to Upper Class; It really varies. Passengers have reported placing successful bids for $800. Some have also reported minimum bids for Upper Class starting at $550.
In Upper Class, passengers can make use of Virgin's social spaces. On its Airbus A350s, Upper Class passengers can find The Booth. The Booth is a "cozy corner" reserved for Upper Class passengers where two people can relax while enjoying wine, having a romantic dinner, or getting a change of scenery.
People must book their spot at The Booth with the crew when onboard. Another social space is The Bar. The Bar is also only open for Upper Class passengers and is found on Virgin Atlantic's Airbus A330 and Boeing 787 aircraft.
Finally, there is The Loft, an exclusive lounge where Upper Class passengers can chat, stretch out with a coffee, or otherwise socialize. The Loft is available on Virgin A330neo and Airbus A350 aircraft. After a few years of robust demand for transatlantic travel, demand might finally be slowing down.
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