PE upgrade price shock!

macchu picchu · 15 Sep 17, 02:55 PM

Went on the Virgin Holidays live chat this morning to enquire about the availability and cost of upgrading to PE on a Sun flight from Manchester in Oct. Was shocked to be quoted Ł1260 each - a total of Ł3780 for the 3 of us. I politely declined and had a big cup of tea to recover (would have been a large gin if later in the day!). Is this an average price to be quoted for such an upgrade?

PJB71 · 15 Sep 17, 03:01 PM

Haha last year the day before we flew I rang VA to see if there was a avaliavality (which there was) and to ask how much an upgrade from PE to UC would be they quoted me Ł1250 pp & as there was 5 of us I "politely declined"! I hope you have a fantastic holiday 👍🏻

darsch1982 · 15 Sep 17, 04:51 PM

Ive bien camping regularly and got quotes from Ł3700 for 3 of us down to 1400 and today called again Ł1000 for all 3 of us so took it

Demonwar · 15 Sep 17, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by macchu picchu

Went on the Virgin Holidays live chat this morning to enquire about the availability and cost of upgrading to PE on a Sun flight from Manchester in Oct. Was shocked to be quoted Ł1260 each - a total of Ł3780 for the 3 of us. I politely declined and had a big cup of tea to recover (would have been a large gin if later in the day!). Is this an average price to be quoted for such an upgrade?

Remember with virgin holidays they will be quoting you for replacement tickets not upgrades. Virgin holiday tickets aren't for upgrading from one class to another I believe.

darsch1982 · 15 Sep 17, 07:09 PM

I just called virgin and changed my flight from Gatwick to Manchester and saved Ł315 😊😊😊🤗🤗🤔 so happy

ianc · 15 Sep 17, 07:54 PM

Originally Posted by Demonwar

Remember with virgin holidays they will be quoting you for replacement tickets not upgrades. Virgin holiday tickets aren't for upgrading from one class to another I believe.

I think you have made a good point. There isn't a single Virgin Economy ticket - there 12 different fare codes, all with different conditions and prices, ranging from the cheapest very restrictive O code to the most expensive fully flexible Y code. Similarly, there are 5 PE fare codes and 6 UC codes.
If you book Economy with Virgin Holidays you get a V code ticket which is the 10th most restrictive out of the 12, and PE you get a H code ticket, the 3rd most restrictive out of the 5. Obviously, if you try to change a non-changeable non-refundable Economy ticket to a PE one, you are not upgrading but buying a new PE ticket. Don't buy a non-changeable ticket if you want to change your mind later!
When you book with VA rather than VH on their web site, you can chose the cheapest available fare still available, or pick a less restrictive/higher price one. If you book later when the cheapest codes have sold out, you may be purchasing an upgradable one and then you are paying just the difference in price if you do chose to upgrade.
The fare codes are listed and described on Vflyer: v-flyer/toolbox_fare_codes.php?code=V

macchu picchu · 15 Sep 17, 08:29 PM

Thanks for the info - that explains the large price rise! Was hoping for a more comfy seat for my dodgy cartilage-free knees but will just up the painkillers instead!