The plane ticket upgrade option most US airlines don’t offer

Airline passengers often end up at odds over many aspects of the in-flight experience — a reclining seat in the knees, groups of travelers asking others to switch rows, and overhead cabin battles, among them. Now on many international air carrier flights there is a more civilized way to compete with fellow passengers: a seat upgrade auction. How it works is fairly simple: a week or so before a flight, passengers receive an email letting them know about potentially available seat upgrades. If they want to participate, they provide their credit card details and enter a bid. If they have the winning bid, their card is charged and their seat is upgraded, often at a steep discount when compared to what the upgraded seat would have cost at the original time of purchase. While the concept has caught on around the globe, the US airlines are for the most part an exception. Spirit Airlines offers upgrades to its Big Front Seat (which is just what it sounds like: a bigger seat near the front of the aircraft) through its SeatBid program. But no other major US carriers offer upgrade auction programs. Major US carriers are at least likely to be weighing the costs and benefits of the practice, says Zack Griff, senior aviation writer for travel site The Points Guy, since upgrades are built into the business model already. But the auction model specifically raises significant tensions with the way upgrades are offered today. “Most major US airlines offer a few ways to upgrade your flight experience, whether you’re looking for extra-legroom, premium economy or business-class seats. Traditionally, that includes three methods: you can redeem miles, cash in on your elite status perks, or simply buy an upgrade like you would a regular ticket,” Griff said. The auction model is different because it offers often steep discounts, and underlying this approach is a truth about supply and demand economics: distressed inventory still available close to flight dates. “In recent years,” Griff says, “the concept of selling distressed inventory — seats that will otherwise go unsold — at a blind auction has risen in popularity.”<br/>