How much would you pay for a first/business class upgrade?

[audreyh1]

I've been watching the upgrade price on a 5 hour United flight we're taking, last week it was $1,000 and today it dropped to $220 so I bit. DW is travelling with me and she's PG so thought it would be good for her comfort. Also I rationalized it by figuring we'd have spent $25 for a checked bag and $70 for an E+ seat, so marginal cost was not too high.

Definitely have to compare against the E+ seat, and if you need to check the bag that too!

 

[audreyh1]

When I see days like today, where my portfolio drops as much as I made most years, I get the feeling I better hurry up and spend before its gone.

Still, a lifetime of thrift is hard to overcome.

Booking tickets from HI back to mainland in the next couple of days. $375 for coach, $875 for 1st class. What should I do?


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Be sure to compare against economy plus!

That's a long flight, right? Can't believe it's that cheap to fly to HI - either class!

 

[samclem]

Sitting in coach vs sitting in business class: The benefits (space, drinks, maybe better food) are worth about $5 per hour to me. After all, either way I'm in the same aluminum tube for the same amount of time. Since upgrading would typically cost a lot more than that, I don't do it.
If I had knee problems or other issues that increased the difference in discomfort between coach and business class, I might upgrade.

 

[RunningBum]

I rarely remember dreams but for some reason I recall this one. I had a dream the other night that we were flying transAtlantic and barely made it to the gate on time. The agent smile and showed us our new boarding pass or some sheet of paper that said we were in row 1. Got on the plane, the flight attendant was very pleasant, and the seat was nice but not one of those pod things. After the plane took off and we could get up, my son got up to use the bathroom and when he got back I got up and he said it was down a side hallway (not the aisle). As I started walking there I saw another doorway leading to a dining room for first class. Not elegant, but nice enough. They had just handed me a leather menu to select my meal from when I woke up. Guess I'll have to upgrade some day and find out if this is what it's like.

I did get bumped once, when AA bought out TWA and switched some planes. When we first checked in they said they'd have to reassign our seats since they didn't exist on the new plane and to wait to be called. When it looked like everyone else had boarded and we still hadn't been called I went back up to the gate agent, and I'm pretty sure she had forgotten. She apologized that she could only get us close but not together (my son was 9 or 10) but maybe we could switch with someone on the plane. Looked at the passes and they were first class, and someone was nice enough to switch within that cabin. It was just a 2 hour flight, with not enough amenities to pay for it.