General questions about the upgrade program

Why am I being offered an upgrade?

From time to time, we have unsold seats in our Business Class cabin. Instead of flying them empty, we offer our passengers booked in Economy cabin/s the opportunity to make us an offer to upgrade to that Business Class seat. If you see an invitation to request an upgrade, your booking has one or more flights that are eligible to participate. The invite does not mean that you are guaranteed to be upgraded.

Why should I upgrade?

We welcome you to experience our Business Class cabin. Privileges enjoyed by Business Class Travellers

• Business Class Baggage Allowance
• Priority Check-in
• Priority Baggage
• Priority Boarding
• Gourmet Meals
• Comfortable Seats

How is this different to the other options for upgrading my ticket?

If you were to adjust your ticket today to rebook your trip to a Business Class on all segments, you would be charged the difference between the fare you have paid and the fare for the Business Class. Our upgrade program does not change the rules or cabin of your original ticket, it provides you the opportunity to experience a higher class of travel and is charged as a cost in addition to the fare you have already paid per segment upgraded.

How is this different to buying a ticket outright in Business Class?

When purchasing a ticket in Business Class your ticket will carry all of the rules of the Business Class and you will have a confirmed seat in that cabin. This is the only way to guarantee that you will travel in Business Class. This upgrade program uses unsold seats, if they are available in the days prior to departure of each flight sector, selecting the best offer/s for those seats to give you the experience of an upgrade.

What do I get if I am selected to be upgraded? What is included in the upgrade?

If you are upgraded, you will have the experience of flying in the Business Class cabin for that flight. This includes:

• Business Class Check-In
• Priority boarding
• A luxurious seat in our Business Class cabin
• Business class service including gourmet meals
• Business class baggage allowance
• Priority baggage

What isn’t included in the upgrade?

All Business Class privileges are included in the upgrade except that the fare conditions of your original ticket remain unchanged, including cancellation policies, change fees and earned frequent flyer miles.

How to Participate

How does this upgrade opportunity work?

After you have booked your flight ticket you may be invited to make an offer to upgrade to a higher class than was booked. The invitation will link you to a website where you can indicate which flights you would like to make an offer to be upgraded on.

• Step 1 - select how much money, per person, you wish to offer to be upgraded per flight
• Step 2 - enter your payment card information that will only be used if you are selected to be upgraded. You should also confirm or enter an email address on this page; this is what we will use to communicate with you about your request
• Step 3 - Review the details to ensure everything looks good, tick the box to agree to the terms and conditions, and submit your request.

You will receive an email confirming your request. You can use this to modify or cancel your offer up until the deadline shown by clicking the included link.

In the days prior to your flight, we will notify you via email if your request for an upgrade has been successful or not. If your upgrade offer has been accepted, your credit card will be billed with the amount you offered and your flight will be rebooked to the higher cabin. On the day of travel, you should check-in as a passenger traveling in the higher cabin e.g., at Business Class counters. If your upgrade offer is not accepted, you pay nothing and travel in your original booked cabin.

How do I get invited?

There are a number of ways you can access the upgrade site:

Retrieve your booking in our Manage Your Booking area and look for the Upgrade option

From our dedicated information page about the Solo Upgrade program

If an email address is associated with the booking, you may receive an email seven (7) days prior to travel. After completing a booking on www.flysolomons.com,  you may see an offer to upgrade

How do I participate if I don’t get an email/ see an invite?

If you didn’t provide an email address when you made your booking you may access the Upgrade option through Manage Your Booking on the Solomon Airlines Website or from our dedicated information page about the Solo Upgrade program

Passengers travelling on certain tickets may not be eligible to participate. If your booking fits the designated criteria yet you have not been invited to participate, you can contact us.

Why should I participate?

Some of our passengers are interested to experience a higher class of service, which includes these benefits:

• Priority check-in
• Priority Boarding
• A more spacious seat and gourmet meal & beverage service
• Priority disembarkation
• Priority baggage
• Business class baggage allowance

How do I stop receiving the upgrade invite email? 

At the bottom of the email, you will see an Unsubscribe link. If you do not want to receive upgrade invite emails from us you can click this to be removed from our mailing list

How do I get on the mailing list for invites?

You can contact us to be added to the mailing list

What do I do if I accidentally clicked to unsubscribe?

You can contact us to be re-added to the mailing list

How do I get on the mailing list for invites?

Be sure to provide your email address when making bookings

You can contact us to be added to the mailing list

Making an offer to be upgraded

Are all of my flights eligible to upgrade?

Only those flights mentioned in the email or indicated after clicking the invite are eligible for an upgrade. The identification of eligible flights is made sole by the airline’s discretion.

How do I know if my flight is eligible?

You can verify your eligibility from our dedicated information page about the Solo Upgrade program. Alternatively, we may send an email to all eligible passengers and invite them to make an offer 7 days prior to departure of the first sector of the booking. Please ensure that you provide your email address when making your reservation.

Are there only certain destinations that the upgrade is applicable for?

Yes, upgrades are applicable for international flights only.

Any change to this will be solely at Solomon Airlines discretion.

Are there any specific reasons why I might not be eligible to make an upgrade offer?

There are several different factors that may impact your eligibility to make an offer to upgrade, these include:

• You do not have a ticket yet
• Your reservation is not confirmed yet
• Your flight is not operated by Solomon Airlines
• The flight you are travelling on is not currently accepting offers
• Your ticket is not eligible for an upgrade due to the conditions of your fare
• You did not include your email address at the time of booking
• You are travelling with an infant
• You are in a Group Booking

Can I upgrade on partner airline flights?

Right now only flights operated by Solomon Airlines are eligible.

How do I know what cabin I am upgrading to?

In the offer process you will see the upgrade cabin that you are eligible for. Solomon Airlines is currently offering upgrade from Economy to Business.

Why is there a price range and not just one price?

The program is a bid-based system built on the willingness of the passenger to pay for an upgrade. When submitting a bid, by moving the slider on the strength meter on the offer page, you see an indicator of how strong the bid is.

How do I select the upgrade amount I want to pay?

Move the slider to show how much you would like to pay for each flight shown on the page

Why do I need to pay per segment?

Bids are accepted per flight segment, you may not be able to be upgraded on all segments.

How much should I offer?

All flights have a range from which you can select the value you want to offer. The strength meter, found on the offer page, can help you determine the strength of your offer. The gauge is to be used as a guide, not confirmation that your offer will be successful

Is there a minimum amount I must offer for an upgrade?

Each flight has minimum and maximum assigned offer value and your offer must lie between these two values.

Can I choose any amount I want?

The system has a default minimum and maximum bid amount set. It will not accept any offer lower than the minimum amount or higher than the maximum amount.

If you do not wish to offer at least the minimum value you will not be able to participate in this program.

Why is there a minimum amount?

We have set a minimum amount per person to ensure that all offers are within the range we are able to consider to be upgraded.

What is the strength meter for?

This will let you know how strong the offer amount selected is. Offer amount is not the only indicator of the likelihood your upgrade will be accepted however it is an important component. Upgrades are selected at the discretion of the airline, based on availability; as such there is no guarantee that your offer will be accepted, even at the highest permitted offer amount.

What does it mean if I make an offer amount that is at the top end of the dial?

The strength meter is a guide that shows the strength of your offer amount. An offer in the green section means that the offer amount is strong but does not guarantee a successful bid.

Can I select different upgrade amounts for different flights on my itinerary?

Yes, simply use the slider to set how much you would like to pay for each flight shown on the page

How can I increase my chances of being upgraded?

There are many factors that determine whether or not an offer for an upgrade will be accepted. The main factors are the participation of other passengers booked on the same flight, the amount the passenger is willing to pay for the upgrade and the status of your Destinations membership

Can I make an offer to upgrade if I am travelling with a child?

Yes, as long as the child is not an infant and the offer amount for the child is the same as the offer amount for the adult in the same booking.

Is the amount per person or for my whole group?

Your bid is per passenger on your booking reference, and all passengers on the same booking must participate.

Can I bid for everyone in my group or just me?

If there are multiple passengers in your booking you must bid to upgrade all of the passengers.

How do I make an offer just for me, not my travel companion?

You need to split your booking so you and your travel companion will have a separate booking reference each. If you have booked via Solomon Airlines, you can contact the reservation office and ask the agent to split your booking. If you have booked via travel Agency, you can ask your travel agent to split your booking. Request for booking split should be done 3 days prior to the departure date to avoid the expiry of offer submission.

What do I do if I have multiple flights on my itinerary?

Offers are made for each sector of a journey so if you are travelling on more than one sector you will need to choose which you wish to upgrade on and make an offer for each.

What do I do if the segment I want an upgrade on isn’t eligible?

With this program, you can only place a bid on flight segments that are eligible to request an upgrade.

What do I do if I don’t want to make an offer for a particular flight?

If you do not wish to make an offer to upgrade on any flight, you can just ignore the invite you have received to make an offer. If you wish to make an offer on some segments but not others, you should move the bidding slider to the fare left until you see No Offer. This means you do not wish to make an offer on this segment and won’t be considered to be upgraded.

How do I know how many passengers are included in the offer?

When you are going through the offer process, you will see how many passengers are included under Your Offer section. This should match the count of passengers booked together on your booking reference.

How do I know which passengers are included in the offer?

The offer is for all passengers on your booking reference.

Is there a time limit to make an offer?

The offer window closes 2 days prior to the departure date of each flight. You can also make changes up until this time.

Is there another way to make an offer?

You can only make an offer through the invite email you have received or by accessing your booking via the Manage Your Booking Section on the website.

Can I make an offer if I don’t have a ticket yet?

No, you must have made a reservation in order to request an upgrade.

Paying for the upgrade

When will I be charged?

As part of the upgrade selection process, we may authorise your card for the offered amount, we will only take payment after your upgrade has been confirmed. This will happen when your bid is accepted 48 hours prior to your scheduled departure time.

Do I pay now for the upgrade?

No, you only pay for the upgrade at the time when your bid is accepted. This will be 48 hours prior to the scheduled departure time of each segment.

Can I pay with two different cards?

No, each upgrade for your booking reference can only be paid for in one transaction by the same credit card.

What if I don’t have a credit card?

In order to make a bid, a valid credit card is needed.

Why do I have to give you my credit card information?

Credit card information is needed to process your upgrade in the event your offer is accepted. We collect this now and it is stored securely with the payment processor to be used only in the case you are selected to be upgraded.

Can I pay with points/ miles?

Payment for your Solo Upgrade must be paid for with a credit card.

Are there any taxes or fees to be paid when bidding for an Upgrade?

The total amount shown on the offer confirmation screen includes all prepayable airline taxes and fees. Excepted from this are any fees or charges your financial institution may impose for transactions with your payment card, please contact your card issuer for more information.

Does it cost anything to make an offer to upgrade?

We do not charge any booking fees or sign-up fees for making an offer to be upgraded.

Submitting your request

What are the steps I need to follow to submit an offer?

You may receive an email 7 days prior to the departure of your trip, inviting you to make an offer. Alternatively, you can login to Manage Your Booking online using your booking reference

• Choose the flight sector you would like to upgrade, and move the slider to indicate your offer.
• Enter your contact and payment details in the fields provided.
• Review and submit your details.
• After completion, you will be emailed confirmation of your upgrade offer. You can use this email to modify or cancel your offer.

What do I need to review?

Please review the offer amounts and totals for each sector of your trip to ensure that each matches your intention. Please also verify you have entered the correct payment & contact information. You should also review and agree to the program Terms & Conditions.

What are the terms & conditions?

The terms and conditions are the full program details. They can be found on the Review & Submit page or on under the Solo Upgrade section on our website. The terms & conditions must be agreed to before submitting your bid.

Why do I need to agree to the terms & conditions?

The terms & conditions spell out the full rules of the program and we cannot process your request until you indicate you have read and agree to these.

What do I do if I don’t agree to the terms & conditions?

If you do not agree to the terms & conditions, you won’t be able to participate in the program.

What do I do if I get an error when clicking to submit my request?

Go back through the offer process and check that you have entered all details correctly. If you are still receiving an error message, you can contact us.

What do I do if I didn’t get any email after submitting my request?

Please wait 2 hours as it may take time for the email to be generated. Also please check your spam folder on your email account.

Can I call the airline to place a bid?

No, this service is currently only available online.

Can I change my offer to a higher or lower amount?

Yes, you can change the amount up until the deadline noted in your upgrade requested email or up until your offer is accepted, whichever happens sooner. All you need to do to change your offer is click the link in the upgrade offer email and use the slider to select your new offer amount.

What do I do if I need to change my payment card after I have submitted my offer?

To change the credit card information, you must first cancel your request and then re-submit the offer via the button on the cancel confirmation screen or e-mail you receive.

What do I do if I need to cancel my offer?

You can cancel your offer by clicking on the cancel link in the upgrade requested e-mail you received when you submitted your bid.

How do I change the amount offered?

You can modify your offer by clicking on the modify link in the upgrade requested e-mail you received after submitting your bid.

I forgot to make my offer before offer window closed. Can I still submit an offer?

No, once the offer window has closed you are no longer able to submit an offer. All offers must be made at least [2 days] prior to the departure date of each flight segment.

Determining which passengers to upgrade

When do you decide who gets upgraded?

We will take a decision on upgrades 24-48 hours before departure. You will be notified by email as to whether your offer has been accepted or not.

How do you assess my offer?

We take several criteria into consideration when assessing upgrade requests. These include the value of your offer and the value of other offers for the same cabin class, your Destinations member status, the number of seats available in the higher cabin class and the number of passengers in the booking. Once our assessments have been made you will receive an email indicating whether your Upgrade request was successful or not.

How can I increase my chances of being upgraded?

You should submit the best offer price you are willing to pay. The only way to guarantee you travel in the higher cabin is to purchase a full ticket for travel there.

How do I know if I’ve been upgraded?

If your bid is successful, you will be notified by email 12 to 24 hours days before the scheduled departure of each flight.

Would you be sending me a confirmation SMS in the event my offer is successful?

All communications around your request will be via email.

When will I know if I’ve been upgraded?

If your offer has been accepted, you will receive an email confirming your upgrade within 12 to 24 hours of the scheduled departure of your flight.

How can I find out the current status of my request?

In the email we sent confirming that we received your request there is a link to View the details, if you click this and select the appropriate flight you will see the status of your request in the top right corner of the display.

What does it mean if I see an authorization for the upgrade amount on my card?

As part of the upgrade decision process, we may validate if the payment card provided has sufficient funds available. This is not a guarantee that you will be upgraded however is a step in the acceptance process.

What happens if there is an authorization that’s declined by my bank?

As part of the upgrade decision process, we may validate if the payment card provided has sufficient funds available. If funds are not available, we will not proceed with the upgrade acceptance.

If this happens, you will receive an email from us with two options to make funds available for the upgrade:

1) Call your bank to approve the transaction and ensure funds are available, then click the email link to let us know

2) Click the link to provide us with new card details

Once notified we will re-try the upgrade acceptance if there are seats available and if there is sufficient time to fulfil the upgrade prior to departure.

What happens if I am not upgraded?

You will receive an email 12 to 24 hours prior to departure informing you that your offer was unsuccessful. No amount will be deducted from your card and you can travel in your booked cabin.

Note: Please check your JUNK folder as a precaution

If my offer is unsuccessful, will I be told why?

No. Numerous factors impact the selection process and therefore we cannot specify why certain offers are unsuccessful.

Can I transfer the upgrade to another flight if my bid is successful?

No, successful upgrades are non-transferable, non-refundable, and are valid only on the flight and date shown.

Can I increase my offer after I find out I was not upgraded?

No, if your offer has been unsuccessful, another offer cannot be made. It’s important to put your best offer forward initially for the best chance of being upgraded.

After you’ve been upgraded

What do I do now I’m upgraded?

There’s nothing more you need to do. Remember that the upgrade only applies for the flight segment indicated. The fare conditions of the original ticket, including cancellation policies, and change fees will continue to apply.

What are the documents that I need to present at the airport?

You should bring your original ticket along with the Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) that was issued when your upgrade was successful.

Do I have more baggage allowance?

Yes, you will have additional baggage allowance for the sector that has been upgraded. Note that this applies only on the segment that has been upgraded.

Can I check-in later than usual?

You will follow the check-in rules of the cabin you have been upgraded to, find more about check-in times.

Can I use the lounge?

You will have access to lounge at the departure port.

Do I get a better meal?

You will enjoy the services on-board of the cabin you have been upgraded to.

Will my pre-ordered meal request be transferred to my upgraded cabin?

All special requests recorded for the original flight ticket in will be transferred when you are upgraded to the next cabin, including special meals.

Can I pick my seat?

You cannot select a seat at the time of requesting an upgrade.

What do I do if the seat I want isn’t available?

You can request your preferred seat during check-in or at the airport. Unfortunately, we are not able to guarantee the availability of any specific seat or location in the cabin.

What are the fare rules of the upgraded ticket?

If your upgrade request is accepted, the ticket conditions of travel of your original ticket reservation (before the Business class upgrade), will remain in force, including the conditions for minimum and maximum stay, cancellation, and changes.

Who do I contact if my upgrade is not honoured at the airport?

If you experience any issues at the airport or in transit, please contact us.

What do I do if I need to change my upgraded flight?

Changes are not permitted

What do I do if I need to cancel my ticket?

Once accepted the upgrade is non-refundable, so if you cancel your original ticket the upgrade amount will be forfeited.

What do I do if I have changed my mind and don’t want the upgrade anymore?

Once accepted the upgrade is non-refundable

Terms and Conditions

Definitions

The following definitions apply to the Terms and Conditions herein:

“Flight Segment” means the flight from one location to another on an aircraft (with zero or one scheduled stop(s) in between).

“Invitation” means an invitation to purchase upgrade for a Flight Segment on Solo Upgrade.

“Solo Upgrade” refers to a flight related service provided by Solomon Airlines which allows passengers who purchased a flight with Solomon Airlines to then purchase for an Upgraded class in relation to the same flight. 

“Relevant Booking” means the booking for which the upgrade purchase was made.

“Upgrade” means to upgrade via Solo Upgrade.

“Upgraded class” means the higher cabin class which the passenger is upgraded to, being Premium Economy class, Business class where applicable.

Upgrade Purchase Invitation

2.1 If a booking is eligible, Solomon Airlines may send an email Invitation to passengers to join Solo Upgrade.

2.2 Subject to 2.3 below, an Invitation for online purchase of Solo Upgrade shall be valid until 9 hours prior to the scheduled departure of the eligible Flight Segment.

2.3 An Invitation may be invalidated if the Relevant Booking is modified or cancelled at any time prior to the scheduled departure of the eligible Flight Segment. All decisions relating to the validity of an Invitation shall be in the sole and absolute discretion of Solomon Airlines, and shall be final and conclusive.

Upgrade Submission

3.1 An Upgrade purchase shall be taken as a purchase for all passengers named in the Relevant Booking, and shall be deemed an undertaking by the passenger making the submission of such Upgrade that he/she is authorised to act on behalf of all the passengers identified in the Relevant Booking.

3.2 Payment for an upgrade can be made by way of credit card. All other forms of payment are not accepted.

3.3 The passenger making the submission of an upgrade is responsible for ensuring that the credit card indicated as payment (the "Credit Card") is valid and has sufficient funds for the upgrade purchase of the Flight Segment associated.

3.4 An upgrade purchase can be submitted online from the time of receipt of the Invitation until 3 hours prior to the scheduled departure of the Flight Segment associated with the upgrade purchase. No amendment or cancellation can be done once upgrade purchase is successful.

3.5 An upgrade purchase may be invalidated if the Relevant Booking is modified or cancelled at any time prior to the scheduled departure of the eligible Flight Segment. All decisions relating to the validity of an upgrade purchase shall be in the sole and absolute discretion of Solomon Airlines, and shall be final and conclusive.

3.6 The eligibility of any Flight Segment may be changed, subject to the availability of seats in the higher cabin class which are the subject matter of this Solo Upgrade.

Upgrade Acceptance

4.1 The acceptance or rejection of an upgrade will be at Solomon Airlines sole and absolute discretion.

4.2 The submitted amount (in the submitted currency) will be deducted from the Credit Card by Solomon Airlines at the time of purchase acceptance. A fee or charge may be levied by the bank which issued the Credit Card, which fee or charge shall be borne by the passengers.

4.3 In the event that the amount has not been collected for whatever reason, and the Relevant Booking is Upgraded, Solomon Airlines reserves the right either to cancel the Upgrade or to deduct or retrieve the amount unpaid for the Upgrade at any time.

4.4 All fare conditions of a ticket with one or more Upgraded Flight Segments will remain the same as that of the ticket before the Flight Segment(s) were Upgraded.

4.5 The baggage allowance for the Upgraded passenger Flight Segment(s) in the Relevant Booking will be per Solomon Airlines baggage allowance policy, except that extra baggage allowance may not be accorded when the itinerary contains a Flight Segment operated/marketed by another airline.

4.6 An Upgraded Flight Segment is not entitled to further upgrade regardless of the means of further upgrade.

4.7 An Upgraded passenger may not receive all benefits applicable to the Upgraded class. Please note that separate terms and conditions may apply to the said benefits.

4.8 Upon acceptance of an Upgrade, similar seating arrangements to the original booking cannot be guaranteed. Upgraded seats may only be available for selection at check-in.

Upgrade Cancellation and Refund

5.1 With the sole exception of the scenarios mentioned in section 5.3 below, the Upgrade is non-refundable, non-transferrable and non-changeable (i.e. no date/flight/destination changes).

5.2 Solomon Airlines does not guarantee that the Relevant Booking, including but not limited to its fares, terms and conditions, will be available should the Upgrade be cancelled or forfeited for any reason whatsoever.

5.3 The amount paid for an Upgrade of a Flight Segment for a passenger will only be refundable if

1. that Flight Segment has been cancelled by Solomon Airlines
2. that Flight Segment is eventually operated by an aircraft without a Premium Economy cabin due to an aircraft change
3. there is a change in flight timing by Solomon Airlines where the passenger is unable to accommodate the rescheduled timing
4. the passenger is eventually unable to travel in the Upgraded class on that Flight Segment because the Upgraded class cabin has been overbooked
5. the passenger misses the flight on that Flight Segment because he/she was on a delayed inbound connecting flight operated by Solomon Airlines. 

5.4 The refund pursuant to section 5.3 above will be made in the amount or currency that was paid for the Upgrade, except that any fee and/or charge pursuant to section 4.2 above shall not be refundable by Solomon Airlines. The refund specified herein will be the full and final compensation from Solomon Airlines.

General

6.1 The Solomon Airlines Condistions of Carriage, Conditions of Contract and Privacy Policy applies to all bookings with Solomon Airlines, including but not limited to bookings which have been Upgraded.

6.2 A passenger may at any time withdraw his or her consent to receive an email Invitation to join Solo Upgrade. Solomon Airlines will provide such option in each email Invitation.

6.3 Solomon Airlines reserves the right to make changes to Solo Upgrade, including but not limited to terminating Solo Upgrade or any part thereof, at any time with or without prior notice. Solomon Airlines is not liable to customers for any loss of value or benefits that may arise as a result of any changes made to Solo Upgrade.

6.4 Seat availability in the upgrade class is checked in real-time and may be different between the time you receive the invitation to purchase Upgrade and when you choose to make a purchase. The acceptance or rejection of purchases is at Solomon Airlines sole discretion.

6.5 Confirmed upgrades are non-refundable and non-transferable. Changes cannot be made to upgraded flight segments.

6.6 Any purchase of seat selection and additional baggage on the original segment may be refunded if you have been upgraded on that segment, please contact us to enquire about the refund options available. After an upgrade is confirmed, seats should be re-selected in the upgraded class. Similar seating arrangements to the original booking cannot be guaranteed. 

6.7 Solomon Airlines may assign or deal with these Terms and Conditions in favour of any of its subsidiaries, subcontractors or appointed agents to carry out any of its obligations herein. Solomon Airlines shall not be responsible to the customer for any delay in performance or non-performance of its subcontractors and/or agents due to causes beyond its reasonable control.