4 Ways to Save Big on Flying Business Class

ON ANY GIVEN DAY, a handful of eager-looking passengers lines up at the Air India counter at New York’s Kennedy Airport well before the ticket agents have even arrived. Their goal: to buy one of the coveted upgrades to business- and first-class that the airline sells at check-in on a space-available basis. On its New York-to-Delhi route, for instance, passengers can currently purchase an upgrade from coach to business class for $900 one-way, enjoying more than $1,600 off the cost of a full-fare, one-way business class ticket—along with French wines, fine cheeses and a lie-flat bed for the 14-hour flight.

A growing number of airlines are making it possible for fliers who lack fat mileage accounts to move to a cushier seat on the plane. Virgin Atlantic, Etihad and Air Canada are among the other carriers that are offering passengers a chance to purchase last-minute upgrades, either at check-in or at the gate. Alitalia takes the trend to its most extreme, letting passengers buy their way out of economy right on the plane: The fee to upgrade from coach to business class on long-haul flights is 1,200 euros (just under $1,300 at current exchange rates). With round-trip fares between New York and Rome on Alitalia currently running at about $1,400, purchasing upgrades each way brings the total to about $4,000. Not chump change, but still steep savings off Alitalia’s published round-trip business class fares on that route, which recently ranged between $8,000 to $11,000.

Andrew Dhuey, a lawyer in Berkeley, Calif., said that whenever he flies coast to coast he tries to take advantage of Virgin America’s first-class upgrades, which the airline offers for sale to non-elite travelers six hours ahead of flight time. He said he recently purchased one for $399 one-way between San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Adding to the casino-like atmosphere, Etihad, LOT, KLM and Virgin Atlantic are just a few of the many carriers that now let passengers bid for upgrades to business class.