This weekend, we’ll be stepping on a plane for the first time in way too long.
We’ll be heading to El Salvador on United Airlines. The flight was a real bargain at an average price of around $192 per person. (Adult fares came to $205, the kids were $178.)
Our flights are in economy but I did receive an interesting e-mail from United offering us the opportunity to upgrade to Economy Plus.
Upon quick glance at the e-mail, the offer, starting at $77 to upgrade sounds interesting. The upgraded seats include perks like extra legroom, a seat closer to the exit, power outlets (possibly) and premier qualifying points.
However, if you read the fine print, you’ll quickly find out that the upgrade is based on a one way nonstop option!
Our flight to El Salvador is not direct. There’s no way I’d pay a minimum of $308 for the four of us to upgrade for a 3.5-4 hour flight. While extra legroom sounds enjoyable, we’ll deal.
The cost of our flights (roundtrip) cost only $767.52. It wouldn’t make sense IMO to add a 50% premium for a few hours of extra comfort. If this offer was for all of our flights, I might have to seriously consider it!
What would you do- upgrade to United Economy Plus or stick with your original seats?
Brooks- I totally see your point but for one way and only one leg of that trip…
I don’t think you should factor the sunk cost of the economy seats into your decision about whether to upgrade!