Singapore Airlines has followed the lead of other airlines, and is now offering the opportunity to bid to upgrade your class of travel. It is baby steps, however, with the introduction of mySQupgrade restricted to bids for an upgrade from Economy to the new Premium Economy cabin.
The new offering was announced in an email to Krisflyer members. In the email, Singapore Airlines did note that Krisflyer redemptions would receive priority over bids made through the new bidding system.
How mySQUpgrade works
The program looks to work much like the equivalent program at other airlines. The process that Singapore Airlines will follow is:
- If you’re eligible, you may receive an email invitation to bid 7 days before departure. Bids must be in $, and lie within a preset range.
- You can make, change, or cancel your bid for an upgrade any time before 50 hours to departure.
- If your bid is successful, expect an email notification 48 hours before departure. Only successful bids will be charged.
Only Premium Economy
As mentioned, at present, there is only an ability to bid on an upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy. The Singapore Airlines email hints at this being expanded in the future:
mySQupgrade will initially allow invited customers booked to travel in Economy Class, the opportunity to make a bid for a seat in Premium Economy Class. This functionality will be gradually introduced across the network, and provide customers another option to upgrade their class of travel, and enjoy greater levels of comfort when they fly.
Having said that, in the event of a successful bid, you will be entitled to the full range of Premium Economy offerings. This includes enhanced food & beverage options, increased baggage allowance, and priority check-in, boarding and baggage handling. Note, however, that accrual of KrisFlyer miles and Elite miles will be based on the original Economy ticket.
Other airlines that operate similar schemes include Qantas, Virgin Australia and Malaysia Airlines. Generally, however, these other schemes allow for bids to the more premium cabins, such as Business.