The state-owned carrier of Angola, TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola (more commonly known as TAAG Angola Airlines), plans to make it easier for passengers looking to experience a business class with the function ‘Plusgrade’; this will be an online auction tool that can allow passengers to place a bid to upgrade their type of service.
The move from TAAG (DT) will encourage passengers to bid up to 24 hours before their scheduled departure to be upgraded from economy to business or business to first class on the carrier’s network. When travelers are successful in their bid, the benefits of that class of service are also included, such as increased baggage allowances, complimentary lounge access, priority boarding, plus the enjoyment of traveling in the upgraded level of service.
Online auctions
It’s not uncommon for airlines to offer the opportunity to upgrade, with carriers usually rewarding their most frequent fliers with complementary upgrades or lounge passes. However, more and more airlines have opted for extra revenue for unsold seats in premium cabins by allowing passengers to bid for an upgrade.
Lufthansa (LH) is a carrier that already provides a similar incentive. TAAG’s move puts the chance of traveling business class in easy reach, with the passenger able to decide how much they would like to pay, with the highest offer winning the leftover seats. Given it’s a silent auction format, you’ll never know how much the next closest bid may have been.
It’s worth noting that codeshares, promotional fares, and unaccompanied minors will not be eligible to participate in the upgrade. However, most other passengers will have the chance to try their luck, with the offering now available via the airline’s website.
How does it work?
The passenger can log into their booking on the TAAG website and check their booking to see if any eligible upgrades are possible; the traveler will then be able to submit an offer for the higher flight class and guarantee the bid using their credit card. With the auction closing 24 hours before departure, the winning bidder will be notified before departure via email when the bid value will be charged. Those who were unsuccessful in the auction business class will have their bookings unchanged.
The latest move by TAAG is through an extensive partnership with Montreal-based Plusgrade. This ancillary revenue service provider works with airlines alongside other industries to collect extra revenues through ancillary services. Other carriers that take advantage of the service include Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand (through its OneUp program), Etihad, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic, enabling travelers to sit up front.
Unfortunately, not all airlines offer the chance to bid, with other big carriers restricting upgrades to miles, or a fixed price, with those carriers including Air France/KLM, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, and Qatar Airways.
The offering will be rolled out across the 33 destinations in TAAG’s network, where multiple classes of service are offered inflight. Outside of Africa, the airline operates long-haul services to Lisbon, Madrid, and Sao Paolo and seasonally to Havana and Porto.
