Can I upgrade to PE now, then The Business later when available?

[mad_atta]

I'm Velocity Gold, and I have SYD-LAX-SYD flights booked for October. I'm in an upgradeable fare class, and I'm ideally looking to upgrade to business both ways, but I'd happily take an upgrade to Premium economy if that's all I can get.

Right now, it appears that PE upgrade/award seats are available but business seats aren't. If I lock in PE upgrades now, can I still waitlist for an upgrade to business should that become available? Or do I lose the ability to waitlist once I've made one upgrade, in which case would I need to manually keep an eye on whether any business availability opens up?

In the happy event that some business space *does* open up, what happens then? Can I just pay the points differential and lock in an upgrade to business, or do I have to go through the process of cancelling my existing PE upgrade and then requesting the business upgrade, and pay the 4.5K points or $35 penalty, as per this page:
Velocity member upgrade cancellation and amendment policy

Any advice or experience on how to approach this would be very gratefully received!

 

[serfty]

I would suggest a $35 penalty would be well worth it.

 

[mad_atta]

I would suggest a $35 penalty would be well worth it.

I would absolutely agree! For a business seat across the Pacific I'd happy pay much more.

I'm very happy to pay $35. I guess what I'm more interested in is whether there's a right way to go about it, or anything to avoid. Eg if I have to cancel my PE upgrade to then apply my business class upgrade, does there have to be availability in my original fare class, and what happens if there isn't?

 

[serfty]

Given flexible then fate class availability is more likely than not. If not, perhaps you'll get a sympathetic agent who is happy to move you strait to Z.

I have not experinced this and can only conject and I do understand why you hesitate.

It is really up to you.

 

[mad_atta]

A mini-update on this: I went ahead and upgraded into PE in both directions, one of which I had to do over the phone because the website had a glitch. I took the opportunity to ask the agent (who seemed knowledgeable) about what would happen if I wanted to upgrade to a business seat if one came available, and he indicated that I should just call up and an agent can make the change, and that there shouldn't be a fee (only the points difference from 18K to 45K).

Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to test that out... but if not, at least I know I'm not down the back of the bus.

In the meantime, any recommendations on the best seats in PE? I'm a window seat person, and I've currently booked the second row of PE as I generally find bulkhead rows lacking in legroom (I'm 6'2" and long in the leg). Was this the right move? And what is the footrest like in PE - does it fold down from the row in front?

 

[Muppet501st]

A mini-update on this: I went ahead and upgraded into PE in both directions, one of which I had to do over the phone because the website had a glitch. I took the opportunity to ask the agent (who seemed knowledgeable) about what would happen if I wanted to upgrade to a business seat if one came available, and he indicated that I should just call up and an agent can make the change, and that there shouldn't be a fee (only the points difference from 18K to 45K).

Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to test that out... but if not, at least I know I'm not down the back of the bus.

In the meantime, any recommendations on the best seats in PE? I'm a window seat person, and I've currently booked the second row of PE as I generally find bulkhead rows lacking in legroom (I'm 6'2" and long in the leg). Was this the right move? And what is the footrest like in PE - does it fold down from the row in front?

Virgin Australia Boeing 777 premium economy (Brisbane-Los Angeles)

Im flying out Sunday week in PE, and same height as you, currently in 16K ( son in H ) returning in J

 

[serfty]

6'2" ? Definitely avoid the bulkhead (although since the re-config it is not as bad).

 

[mad_atta]

Virgin Australia Boeing 777 premium economy (Brisbane-Los Angeles)

Im flying out Sunday week in PE, and same height as you, currently in 16K ( son in H ) returning in J

Thanks for that AusBT report, Muppet501st - somehow I had missed that one. It makes it much clearer that bulkhead legroom is limited, and also how the fold-down footrests work in the other seats. Like you, I'm opting for row 16.

VA obviously puts a lot of effort into this product, and service levels look very high. But they really do seem to have missed a trick with the seats - the lack of decent armrest and legrest seem like very odd decisions, especially given there's a decent amount of pitch to work with. My current fave PE seats are AirNZ's current (non-Spaceseat) model, and although my legs are too long for me to use the footrest, the thigh/calf support from the legrest makes a huge different to sleeping comfort. Even on tighter products like SQ or CI the legrest really helps. VA's seats look more like basic economy seats with much more pitch and recline, which I think is a real mistake as with PE the comfort and space of the seat really is the #1 thing you're paying for over Y, at least for long flights.

6'2" ? Definitely avoid the bulkhead (although since the re-config it is not as bad).

Yup. I'm never a fan of bulkheads in Y / PE products as I run out of footroom.

 

[clipped_wings]

Stay in 16. It's the happy medium. Row 15 has the coughpy TV monitor in the armrest, so you can't watch anything during take off and landing. Also, the leg room is less.

17 is not as bad, but 17H/K are right in front of the larder and I've heard people say it's a bit chilly.