26 August 2008 – Thinking of paying to upgrade on an upcoming flight, you might be in for a sticker shock. It used to be, to upgrade on international flights would only cost a few hundred dollars if just upgrading from Economy to Economy Plus. That was before oil went above $100 per barrel. Now, you can expect to put down over $1,000 for such an upgrade.
Back in January, I purchased my ticket with British Airways for a round trip flight home to London from Washington Dulles International Airport. Oil was at $90 per barrel and the cost to upgrade was offered at $579.97 (taxes and fees included). As oil rose above $100, the price of the same upgrade went up to. If you look at the table below, you can see how over the past eight months, how prices have gone up and how it correlates with the price of oil.
| Date |
Price to Upgrade |
Price of Oil |
| January 08 | $579.97 | $90 |
| March 08 | $859.01 | $100 |
| July 08 | $1,039.00 | $145 |
| August 08 | $1,022.40 | $114 |
The price of an upgrade when oil was at $145 in July was at $1039, a 79% price increase since January; where as the price of oil had only risen 61%.
In 2007, I was able to upgrade my flight for about $450, which now looks incredibly cheep. But as long as oil is above $100, the days of the cheap upgrade are behind us.
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Airline: British Airways
Flight: IAD to LHR (Round Trip)
Upgrade from Economy to Economy Plus
Travel Dates: November 2008
