We leave Friday - we are not checking any luggage -
I received an e-mail from Hawaiian Airlines telling me they have a “bidding” program, open to me if I choose, to bid on an upgrade to first class. The e-mail reads “Place your bid for an upgrade at a price you decide” -
I pondered…what would an upgrade be worth to me? Well, I could let them check my carry on rather than wheel it myself. That’s worth $25.
I don’t drink on airplanes. That’s worth $0.
I’m not that interested in eating on the plane. That’s worth $0.
I like that we were each able to book a window seat (we wanted that). That’s worth $0.
I’m kind of thinking $25 to upgrade to first class.
Would you do it?
Why not? It costs you nothing to bid and the real prize is a roomier seat for a long flight (if it IS a long flight).
Of course it’s worth it. At least $25, and maybe a lot more. You just might decide to eat on a long flight, as first class meals can be decent. You might enjoy a free entertainment system (if they have one), more space, less chance of crying babies,etc. Sitting first class is an entirely different animal than coach. It can change a miserable experience to a pleasurable one. However, I sincerely doubt that your $25 bid will win.
I’m curious – what’s the minimum bid?
I would definitely do this for the extra room and would bid a lot more than $25. I’m sure there are people who would bid more than me, though, so I wouldn’t count on winning.
Bid a little over your bid: $29 or $31 or something so you beat out any other ‘what the heck’ $25 bids.
First class often gets TSA Precheck, so that might be worth more to you if you don’t already have it (although getting Precheck itself is only $80 or something and it’s good for 5 years, so if that’s your only motivation it would probably be more cost effective to spend the money on getting Precheck certification).
Hawaiin Air first class is nice, but not the super-luxe first class experience you would get on an international flight. It’s more of a domestic first class - bigger/wider seats, nicer service, nicer meals. No fancy pods or lay-flat seats.
That said, you do get those nicer seats with much more room than coach. And it’s a quieter cabin with its own bathroom. They also give tablets loaded with movies to watch if you don’t already have your own. And of course you get to board first and there’s no worries about finding a good spot for your carry-on in the overhead bin. You can also ask the flight attendant to whip you up a virgin pina colada to get in the right mood!
There’s also a separate first-class check-in line, which is a blessing as the coach line can get very long. You can easily save 30-60 minutes standing in line. IIRC on the Big Island, Hawaain Air has a little lounge at the departure area for 1st class passengers on their way back. It’s kind of a lame lounge tbh, but at least it’s somewhere to sit.
If all of that is worth $25 to you then that’s what you should bid. Personally I’d bid $200 per ticket, but everybody has their own priorities and budget; I travel a lot so a comfortable seat is worth more to me.
We didn’t stand a chance - current minimum bid is $170 p/p - I really was into the $26!
It’s not a long flight for us, just a straight path from Los Angeles.
Thanks everyone!
I consider myself lucky if I could get an upgrade on NYC-CA flights for 200. I recently paid 450 for an upgrade from NYC to Italy on Emirates. It was quite an experience, with a real bar lounge and flat bed.
On a lot of airlines to get an economy plus type of seat is around 70-120, so to get an upgrade to first would be a lot more than 25.
I wouldn’t pay for an upgrade on a short flight. It has to be 3+ hrs to worth my while.
So… This means they did not find the takers for the lowest non-refundable price of the first class ticket. I would bid about half of the difference between the price I paid and the lowest non-refundable price of the first class ticket on that flight. So I guess $150-200 would be a reasonable bid.