In a previous installment, I covered how I booked a last minute Lufthansa economy ticket with points from Frankfurt (FRA) to Copenhagen (CPH), after my Scandinavian Airlines flight was canceled. I had an interesting experience with upgrading this Lufthansa flight, which I’d like to share.
In this post:
My experience upgrading my Lufthansa flight with cash
As mentioned above, at the very last minute I booked a Lufthansa economy ticket with a partner points currency from Frankfurt to Copenhagen. This flight was very full in economy, and when I checked in online, I couldn’t select a seat, but instead, ended up on the waitlist for a seat assignment.
I headed to the Lufthansa Business Lounge (which I could access thanks to the Amex Platinum benefit), and I went to the customer service desk there. Out of curiosity, I asked about the cost of upgrading to business class with cash. I wasn’t even sure if that was possible on a partner award ticket, so I viewed it as an experiment, if nothing else.
Under normal circumstances I have no issue with intra-Europe economy. However:
- I was less than enthused at the prospect of ending up in a middle seat in the back of the plane, especially if it could be avoided
- I was honestly just really exhausted, as I had been flying for almost three days straight, and that was starting to take a toll (I’m a terrible airplane sleeper)
- I had fairly large carry-on bags, and I knew I was likely to have more issues with those if flying in economy
The agent in the lounge indicated that upgrades for cash are only available at the gate, and I should ask there. But then she said something else interesting — she claimed I wasn’t actually confirmed on the flight, but instead, was only waitlisted.
I followed up on that — I explained that I had a confirmed ticket I booked on this flight, and that maybe just my seat assignment was “waitlisted?” She insisted I wasn’t confirmed, which I found to be really strange, since clearly that wasn’t accurate. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there, but you’d think agents would be better informed.
I then headed to the gate, and asked the very friendly gate agent about the possibility of a cash upgrade. She said it was possible, and said the cost depends on the ticket type.
After a few key strokes, she said the cost would be 150 EUR (it’s good to know that partner award tickets can be upgraded with cash!). Okay, I was hoping the cost would be 100 EUR or less, given that it was a short flight, but I ultimately decided to go for it, just to avoid the uncertainty of possibly ending up in a very bad seat.
To be honest, as soon as I paid, I sort of regretted it, and said I probably shouldn’t have done it, just on principle, since it’s beyond the rate at which I value premium cabins. However, my opinion on that changed very quickly…
A major Lufthansa flight delay made the upgrade worth it
The flight boarded on-time at 9:50AM (for a scheduled 10:20AM departure), with the aircraft departing from a remote stand. So I was onboard the plane by 10AM, ready for the short hop to Copenhagen.
By around 10:20AM, everyone was onboard, though there was no indication of an imminent departure. In the meantime, the Lufthansa app updated to show an 11AM departure.
A few moments later, the captain made an announcement, explaining that none of the bags had been loaded yet, and that it would take around 40 minutes for that process to happen. He didn’t understand why there were no ground handlers for the flight, but talk about a mess…
Around 20 minutes after that initial announcement, the purser went into the cockpit, then came back to relay something to another flight attendant, and then they called the flight attendants in the rear. They had rather frustrated looks on their faces, so I was wondering what was going on.
A minute later, the captain announced that due to the delayed loading of bags, we had missed our takeoff slot. And because Copenhagen was experiencing high winds, they were limiting arrivals, and our new takeoff slot was… in two hours.
Side note — it’s nice when pilots try to make the best of things, but I couldn’t help but almost chuckle when he announced “I hope this information does not cause you too much inconvenience, please make yourself comfortable onboard.” Yes, these intra-Europe planes are super comfortable, right? 😉
The flight attendants on this flight were definitely not the most charming that I’ve had on Lufthansa, but they did their best with the little they had to work with. In business class, they offered to serve passengers the meal either in the air or on the ground, as there wasn’t much more to offer. Meanwhile those in economy got a free coffee or soda.
Another random point — Lufthansa’s intra-Europe catering is actually half decent now, after they dumped the “Tasting Heimat” concept.
Fortunately our delay was cut down a little, so we were actually airborne by 12PM, “only” 1hr40min after our initial scheduled departure. Then we landed around 1:10PM, and got to the gate around 1:20PM. So in the end, I spent around 3hr20min in the seat, and ultimately I was very grateful to be in business class.
Not that it’s terribly comfortable, but at least it’s not uncomfortable! And thanks to at least having shoulder space, I was able to stay productive on my laptop for the entire ground delay and most of the flight.
Bottom line
I’m happy to confirm that Lufthansa lets you upgrade partner award tickets with cash at the departure gate. I ended up paying cash to upgrade my Frankfurt to Copenhagen flight, at the cost of 150 EUR. While that was more than I ideally would’ve paid, my lack of a seat assignment in economy made me value a guaranteed non-middle seat more.
While I wasn’t too happy about the deal at first, an extended ground delay once onboard changed my opinion on that, and made me very happy that I spent the money on the upgrade. Now, I still can’t wrap my head around how Lufthansa decided to just not load bags onto a plane at its hub ahead of the scheduled departure time, but that’s a different story…
Even a one hour flight can turn into a 2.5 hour flight. Delay at the gate. Weather delay and plane can't take off. Always better waiting it out upfront.
Ben, which “partner points” did you use and how many? So cryptic… ;)
For what it's worth, the Lounge Agent was not entirely wrong: If you don't have a seat, you can't fly and at that point there wouldn't have been any seats left, not even bad ones, otherwise they would have assigned one to you. So yes, technically I'd also say you were on standby. This sheds an entirely different light on your upgrade too, as you might have been upgraded to C for free anyway with...
For what it's worth, the Lounge Agent was not entirely wrong: If you don't have a seat, you can't fly and at that point there wouldn't have been any seats left, not even bad ones, otherwise they would have assigned one to you. So yes, technically I'd also say you were on standby. This sheds an entirely different light on your upgrade too, as you might have been upgraded to C for free anyway with Y being completely full. In case you have no status with *A, they might have upgraded someone else and you would have been given their seat, which in turn would have been the (former) seat of an HON or SEN, in all likelihood not a middle seat... Nevertheless, I concede that you did get your money's worth with this upgrade in the end.
I had 6 short-haul flights with LH last October, and the food was actually pretty good. No complaints.
I would never fly in economy, no matter what.
@Lucky, Was your booking class changed and would it make the flight miles-eligible?
If you upgrade during check-in or later (like in this case), the upgrade is treated like a chargeable seat assignment and doesn't affect your booking class. If you do a fixed-price upgrade before check-in is open, this is different and the ticket will be re-issued with the new booking class.
I think it does affect the booking class, but might only change to I class if original ticket was X, so still ineligible, but would love to hear from Ben how it went for him.
Meh. I still wouldn’t have upgraded. I’ve been stuck in the economy middle seat in between two svelte blonde women. A flight delay gives me more time to flirt. You might be eating on the ground on business class, while I would be looking to eat out after the flight, if you know what I mean.
Sweet Jesus
I do not know what you mean. Given Ben is gay, what would be the point of him flirting with the two svelte blonde women?
we have commenters like this allowed yet people seem to get mad at Tim Dunn...
Of this were the case, then yes I’d rather sit in economy.