[Anonymous]

[RoadKing]

Hi

This Sunday returning from Shanghai, I opted for an upgrade to First on my way back, being a 777 aircraft it was fit with the New First.

I simply loved the cabinet in 1K. Such a small detail, but for me it almost made the whole thing.

Service was outstanding, although the cabin was full.

I was disappointed however, to see that this great new screen suffered from the same poor resolution as you’d find elsewhere in the plane.

It was also a disappointment that the one movie that was captioned did not work, and the news would not run at all.

I suppose all this is related to the central AVOD serving the entire plane, and has nothing to do with the New First implementation.

I really liked New First :-).

Of course, it was also exciting to visit the Concord room for the very first time. Too bad I wasn’t hungry, surprising though, that the bartender had no clue on how to make Irish Coffee, I suppose that is no drink for the finer folks.

Needless to say, I had a fantastic trip at a reasonable cost.

I noticed though, that I didn’t get any more miles (or points for that matter) for travelling in First, compared to what I got on the outbound in CW. Is that correct?

[LuganoPirate]

If you upgraded with miles, or if the gate staff upgraded you for free, you won’t get any more miles credited other than those for the type of ticket purchased and paid for.

If however you paid for the upgrade, then you should get the extra miles for travelling in F.

[VintageKrug]

Spot on, lugano.

If you paid, fill out the missing miles form online (login required):

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/retro/execclub/_gf/en_us

Wait a week, if that doesn’t work, then call them up and it should be sorted once they are aware it was an upgraded fare.

Seems best to go through the standard missing miles process rather than phoning directly as that’s what happens if you phone anyway, and having done the online application, it gets escalated to someone who can actually help.

Why they can’t simply put a tickbox on the missing miles form for MFUs, MMB paid upgrades or at check in paid upgrades, I’ll never know!

It’s a shame about the lack of resolution; thankfully the screens are future proofed and configured to display HD, it’s apparently the underlying system which isn’t HD right now; this will come in due course. Personally I’m happy using my laptop with personal content on board; naturally the cabin crew always pass during racier scenes in otherwise innocuous movies, but such is life…..

[RoadKing]

Thank you for the info both of you and the link VK.
I did pay at the gate, so I am entitled to miles then.
Funny thing is, I was first offered upgrade at check in, declined, then checked again at the gate and the price was lower. Nice.

[SimaHir]

I flew last week LHR-RUH WT+ and, having been told I could upgrade for £200, was then informed that I would not benefit from any extra miles or tier points.

[RoadKing]

@SimonHirsch: Now that was interesting.

Is that right VK?

[VintageKrug]

Not right. You can normally submit a retro claim and be awarded the normal TPs and Miles for the cabin for which you paid; as you paid for the upgrade, you should get the miles and TPs cabin in which flew.

There’s nothing in the T&Cs to suggest otherwise.

I would imagine it’s because it was a gate upgrade you “checked in” to the original cabin, and that’s what might be recorded on your booking; I would expect BA to come back denying your claim, and then you’ll need to take it further in a week or so.

[RoadKing]

Thank you VK, I’ve posted the retro claim. We will see what happens.
Having another trip in a weeks time to LA. Looking forward to enjoy some champagne in the lounge, and onboard for that matter 🙂

[RichHI1]

VK, been there with the racier scenes. For while airline movies (except Iberia) have most of the fleshy bits removed, Blu Rays do not… and the flight attendants always walk past when things get horizontal… Thye tell me the new autostereoscopic 3d laptops that do not use glasses have a more limited field of view, bit like a privacy screen..

[Stretch]

On the subject of paid upgrades at check in/gate, are these commonplace? I’m due to fly to Chennai in December in WT+, but could really do with upgrading to Club World due to a back injury. The last time I flew to Chennai I went in Club World, but paid less than the current price of £1,800 (money’s tight right now). Would you advise purchasing a WT+ ticket and hope for an offer of a relatively cheap upgrade?

[VintageKrug]

There’s no guarantee it’ll be offered, especially on fairly full routes like Chennai.

It’s a risk, but if the http://www.ba.com/sale fares aren’t an option, and you have no BA Miles, thenh it’s certainly worth asking at check in if there is an option to Pay to upgrade (I’d imagine every single passenger asks if upgrades are possible, so be specific you would like to pay).

You are often also offered the option to upgrade in Managem My Booking, both well in advance and just prior to checking in, so it’s worth going into your booking and checking.

[RoadKing]

We upgraded at the gate. Upon checkin there was a display on the counter advertising upgrades available. We decided first not to, but then at the gate we changed our minds. At checkin an upgrade was approx £1000, at the gate we paid approx £850. This was from CW to First.

I usually book discounted CW tickets, ex EU and I have rarely experienced upgrade offers in Manage My Booking, I have presumed this to be due to the discounted tickets, of course it can also be due to full flights.

[Stretch]

Thanks for the advice VK. I’m going to book WT+ outbound, and hope for a reasonable price upgrade (as I don’t think the flight will be full in early December) and CW on return in early January.

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