Where to Find Free “In-Class Seat Upgrades” through Little-Known American Service Anomalies
On international flights, First Class is first class. Airlines really try to show off. On domestic flights (except the transcon), however, First Class is a big come down in comfort and amenities—but not always in price.
But there’s a simple way to get real First Class on some domestic flights. Find the routes and flights on which a carrier uses an international aircraft. This month, we’ll take American as an example.
American sometimes uses three-class international B777-200s and B767-300s on domestic routes. The B777 offers AA’s.
Where to Find American’s International First and Business Class Seats on Domestic Routes
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“Flagship” suite, which has a 30-inch-wide seat (with the armrest dropped), converts to a 78-inch-long flat-bed, and has an 8.4-inch touch screen monitor. Business Class seats, in a 2-3- 2 layout, recline 171-degrees, are 20 to 23.5 inches wide, have 54 to 61 inches of pitch, and a 10.6-inch touch screen monitor.
Why Pay Top Dollar for an Inferior Seat?
The chart to the left shows the current American routes with these aircraft and the flight numbers. Dallas and Miami tend to monopolize these aircraft, with Chicago, Hawaii, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco accounting for the rest.
[aside headline="Alternative Transcon Fare Options" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]
The transcon, non-stops from JFK to LAX and SFO, is American’s really big show, a domestic route on which it goes for international-level seats (as far as U.S. carriers go, anyway). The carrier offers up to ten non-stop flights between Los Angeles and JFK, usually using a three-cabin B767-200 or new A321T (for more see Oct. 2013 and Jan. 2014 issues). AA charges dearly to fly on these Aircraft: $4,374 round-trip in Business Class and $5,840 in First Class.
Need to travel non-stop, but getting a new premium seat is not a high priority? Consider flying to/from Newark because AA offers a special premium fare on this non-stop (Los Angeles-Newark), starting at just $984. The lowest JFK Business Class fare starts at $4,374, so you’ll save $3,390 (77%).[/aside]
When to Pay Cash for an International Seat on a Domestic Route
Promotional domestic First Class fares are often valid for B767 Business Class seats
First Class ticket pricing on flights within the continental U.S. have changed over the past year, in ways that make a mileage upgrade or free mileage award less attractive on many routes.
A good example is San FranciscoMiami, a route on which American flies the B757 and B767-300. If you book American flight 931, a B767, with an international Business Class seat (booking class P), the lowest domestic First Class ticket is $1,024 round-trip, the same as AA charges for the B757 flights. That makes an award ticket or upgrade pointless, given the return on miles of 2¢ or less.
Getting AA’s B777 on a Domestic Route— Los Angeles-Miami—for Much Less
Mileage Upgrades from Economy to Business Class: AA charges $1,732 for Business Class on the B777-200 Los Angeles-Miami route, while an upgradeable fare including the co-pay ($150) starts at $498 plus 30,000 miles, making the return about 4.2¢ per mile. Transfer 25,000 Starwood points and you’ll see a 4.9¢ return because of the transfer bonus.
Mileage Upgrade from Business Class to First Class: Get an even higher return here. American’s published First Class LAX-Miami fare is $4,340 on its B777-200, while the upgradeable Business Class fare, including co-pay, starts at $2,082 plus 30,000 miles, yielding a 7.5¢ return on miles.
Other reasons for wanting to use mileage upgrades instead of free awards are that they earn Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) and miles on the paid ticket, which offset the miles you’ve spent for the upgrade. On the LAX- Miami upgrade from Economy to Business Class, you earn 4,678 miles, reducing the net mileage cost to 25,322.
[aside headline="Good Connections Count" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Keep the flight numbers and routes mentioned in the chart on the previous page in mind when connecting to get a better seat. When flying San Diego-Miami, for example, connect in Los Angeles to catch AA252 or AA1488; when flying Miami-Shanghai, go via Los Angeles to catch AA295, AA299, or AA281.[/aside]
When to Pay with Miles for an International Seat on a Domestic Route
Mileage Upgrade: Cost-Per-Flight-Hour. Spending 30,000 miles to upgrade an eight-hour, round-trip flight, to get one of these seats is usually a good value. For a 16-hour, round-trip flight, say to Hawaii, it’s a no-brainer: Even with the $350 surcharge, the cost-per-flight hour to upgrade to First Class is $22 to $79.
Sample math on a Dallas-Honolulu route: To upgrade, you need 30,000 miles, which cost $917. With the $350 co-pay, the total is $1,267 or a cost-per-flight-hour of about $79 ($1,267 divided by 16 hours), and only $22 if you already have the AA miles or can transfer them from a credit card, such as Starwood.
Mileage Upgrade: Return-onMiles-Math. The math for an upgrade on the Dallas-Honolulu route: Subtract the published First Class ticket cost ($3,323) from the upgradeable economy ticket, including co-pay ($1,168), and then divide the savings by the cost of miles (30,000): $3,323 minus $1,168 is $2,155, divided by 30,000, gives you a return of 7.2¢ per mile.
Mileage Upgrade: Better Mileage Inventory. AA’s upgrade inventory comes from the same “availability bucket” it uses for many discounted First Class tickets (booking code A). That means you are much likelier to get a confirmed upgrade than a free mileage award ticket, and the return on your miles is better (7.2¢ versus 4.4¢ per mile).