This post is a complete guide to bidding for an upgrade from Economy to Business Class on flydubai.
Bidding for a Business Class upgrade on flydubai
flydubai allows passengers to bid for an upgrade from Economy to Business Class. This is powered by the Plusgrade platform.
This is not available on all flights or offered to all passengers. The factors that will influence whether you receive an offer to bid on a particular flight will include the number of remaining seats in Business Class, the type of ticket you have purchased, and your Skywards tier status.
How does bidding for an upgrade work?
If you are eligible to bid for an upgrade, you will receive an email invitation about 1-2 weeks before departure to log in and make an offer.
You can also check if you are eligible by using the upgrade widget on the flydubai website at any time after you make a booking.
After you log in, you will see a slider with a minimum and maximum bid amount. This will vary by route. Choose the amount you want to bid and add your credit card details.
Your credit card will only be charged if your offer is successful. You can log in before your offer is accepted to change the bid amount or cancel it altogether.
You can make bids up to 10 hours before departure from Dubai and 18 hours before departure from other airports.
What does a successful bid include?
If your bid is accepted, your ticket will be reissued. You will have access to the following benefits:
- A seat in the Business Class cabin onboard
- Premium check-in area at Dubai Terminal 2 and premium check-in at other airports.
- Meet & Assist personal escort through immigration and security (including skipping to the front of the line. This can be very useful at peak travel times.
NEW: Business Lounge access not included
Unfortunately, the upgrade does not include access to Business Class lounges or the Business Boarding Gate at Terminal 2.
This is a very recent change. Previously, upgraded tickets received both lounge access and could use the Business Boarding Gate at Terminal 2. The new rules came into play last December at the same time as the opening of the new Flydubai Business Class lounge.
This is particularly disappointing as the better airport and boarding experience are a proportionally more important part of the journey on the shorter routes that flydubai tends to operate.
What’s Skywards Miles and Tier Miles do you earn
You will only earn the Skyward Miles and Tier Miles due on your original ticket. You will not earn any bonus Miles or Tier Miles for flying in Business.
However, you will continue to earn any Tier Bonus or Skywards + Bonus eligible on your original ticket.
My successful bid for an upgrade on flydubai
I recently successfully bid for an upgrade on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Yerevan.
About nine days before departure, I received an email invitation to submit a bid. I was unsure whether to bid or not. The flight to Yerevan is only just over three hours long. I was travelling on a day flight and had an extra legroom seat already selected.
However, when I logged into Plusgrade, the slider indicated a bid range of between $251 and $670. The minimum bid was quite reasonable, and I made the lowest bid possible, knowing that if it were unsuccessful, I would be happy in my extra legroom seat at the front of the Economy cabin.
Exactly 36 hours before departure, I received confirmation that my bid had been accepted. I was online at the time and immediately logged into Manage My Booking and was able to select a new seat in Business Class.
When selecting the seat, I noticed that the cabin was empty. However, on the day of departure, the cabin was almost full except for two empty seats.
At the airport, I checked in in the dedicated Business Class check-in area in Terminal 2. A Meet-and-Assist agent escorted me through immigration and to the front of the line for security screening. As the flight was just before the change in rules, I was dropped off at the old flydubai Business Class lounge and was allowed to use the Business Boarding Gate later in the morning.
Is it worth bidding for an upgrade on flydubai?
I am a fan of promotional upgrade offers. They’re great for passengers and a good way for airlines to use price discrimination to fill spare seats in premium cabins.
However, I am not a massive fan of the bid-for-upgrade model that many airlines have adopted. My main objection is that bidding for upgrades adds friction and uncertainty to the travel experience. This can not be a good thing for an airline’s brand. I would much prefer a set price for promotional upgrades. I believe this to be better for both passengers and the airline.
Whether it is worth bidding for an upgrade depends on how much you value the upgraded benefits on offer and how much you bid. My advice is not to overbid.
As a rule, I am happy to bid US $50-75 per hour of flying time to move up into Business Class, and maybe slightly more on overnight flights. The removal of lounge access and access to the Business Bus at Terminal 2 for upgraded tickets is a major negative and will affect how much I am willing to bid in the future.
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