Bid Upgrade

1. The following General Terms and Conditions of business (“T&Cs”) shall apply to a bid made by you (“you”) to Austrian Airlines AG, Office Park 2, 1300 Vienna-Airport, Austria (“the Airline”) for an opportunity to upgrade from the Economy Class that was originally purchased by you for travel with the airline, to Business Class (“upgrade”), as well as the option of an upgrade from Premium Economy Class to Business Class. Bids can only be made on selected flights operated by the airline on the condition that the passenger has a valid, issued Austrian Economy or Premium Economy Class ticket for the flight in question. Bids for tickets sold in India cannot be accepted.

2. All persons who submit a bid must have reached the legal age of majority in their country of residence at the time the bid is submitted. You shall be deemed to have the authority to act on behalf of the person or persons named or included in the bid and to bind them to these terms and conditions.

3. A bid, when submitted by you in association with a booking made with the airline, whether made directly with the airline or indirectly through other means, and presented to the airline, shall entitle the person or persons named in the bid, subject to these terms and conditions, to be considered for an upgrade. If more than one passenger exists in the original flight booking the upgrade bid applies to each passenger. The offered amount will be multiplied by the number of persons included in the original flight booking. Prior to submitting your credit card details you will see the total amount for the upgrade.

4. The airline is under no obligation to accept your bid, and it makes no guarantee that any passenger will be upgraded. Acceptance of the bid is at the sole discretion of the airline. Even if you are the highest bidder, the airline is not under obligation to accept your bid.

5. You agree that your bid remains open for acceptance by the airline at any time up to 60 hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time. You may revise or cancel your bid if your bid has not already been accepted by the airline. Once your bid is accepted by the airline, you are legally bound to complete payment for the price stated in your final bid. In this instance you are no longer entitled to withdraw your bid, unless the exceptions listed in the general terms and conditions apply.

6. In the event that the airline cancels a flight and rebooks you on to another flight, any bid you made in relation to the original booking may be transferred to the new flight(s) subject always to the availability of seats in Premium Economy or Business Class. If, for any reason, insufficient seats are available in the higher service class to fulfil your upgrade, any monies paid by you for the upgrade will be refunded to the credit card that was used to pay for the upgrade. (This only applies where your original bid has been accepted.) The refund will be offset against any compensation due to applicable legal regulations. If your booking is transferred to a flight operated by an airline other than Austrian Airlines the airline cannot guarantee an upgrade to the higher class. In this case, any amounts paid by you for the upgrade will be refunded to the credit card that was used to pay for the upgrade, and the above-mentioned conditions will apply.

7. The airline may accept your bid any time between 60 and 48 hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time. For the avoidance of doubt the acceptance of a bid is subject to the sole discretion of the airline. The fact that a bid is in first place (the highest bid) does not guarantee that it will be accepted or not accepted by the airline. In the event the airline accepts your bid, your credit card will be charged the full amount immediately upon acceptance, and the airline will issue an upgrade to each passenger included in your original flight booking. The total amount charged will include all applicable pre-payable taxes and fees (if any) for the upgrade. An upgrade that has been issued by the airline cannot be assigned, or transferred in whole or in part to another person or flight except as specified in clause 6 herein.

8. There will be no refunds, credits, or exchanges once your bid has been accepted by the airline. Except under the following conditions:

• The flight for which your bid was accepted and for which you have received an upgrade was cancelled.
• The flight for which your bid was accepted and for which you have received an upgrade was cancelled and the airline rebooked you on another flight but in the service class of your original booking.
• Your bid was accepted, and you were given an upgrade, but you were not able to be seated in the upgraded class of service for reasons attributable to the airline. These include but are not limited to a change in the configuration or a delay in the connecting flight that resulted in you missing the connection on which you were upgraded. Reasons attributable to your actions are excluded.

If the refund is approved, the amount paid for the upgrade will be refunded to the payment card that was used to pay for the upgrade. The refund will be set off against any statutory compensation.

9. Should refunds be approved, they will be processed in the currency in which the upgrade amount was charged. If a foreign exchange rate must be applied in order to complete the refund in the currency of the originally charged upgrade amount, a generally accepted prevailing rate will be used. This rate may be adjusted to account for conversion and other charges that the airline may levy. In no respect shall the amount refunded be more than the amount charged in the original currency for the upgrade.

10. If you paid for a seat reservation for an originally purchased economy class flight according to Article 5.4.1 of the Conditions of Carriage and your bid is accepted, the amount paid for the seat reservation will not be refunded.

11. The fare conditions for the original ticket you purchased shall remain in effect and will be applicable even if your bid has been accepted and you have been upgraded. This also applies to to cancellation policies, change fees and baggage conditions.

When you upgrade to a higher class of service you will be credited status and award miles. You can find further information on ​Miles & More.

12. The airline does not guarantee specific seat assignments to passengers whose offers are accepted and who are upgraded.

13. The amount of free baggage you may carry with you is determined separately and individually for each flight segment in accordance with the conditions and limitations applicable to the corresponding flight segment.

14. In the event your bid was accepted and your credit card was charged the bid amount but the upgrade was not provided, you may apply for a refund provided that the conditions for which refunds are given as described in these terms and conditions have been satisfied. You hereby agree to provide the following documentation to claim a refund at the time of application: (i) your boarding pass for the flight in question and (ii) the email notifying you that you have been upgraded. You need to contact the airline through www.austrian.com/feedback within three months after the departure of the flight in question.

15. These terms and conditions constitute the entire and only understanding between the parties and replace any prior understandings or agreements (whether oral or written) relating to the subject matter hereof. The airline shall not archive or make accessible the contract entered into with you.

16. The failure of the airline to exercise any of its rights shall not be construed as a waiver or relinquishment of the future performance of any of its rights, and your obligations with respect to such future performance shall continue in full force and effect.

17. These general terms and conditions are subject to Austrian law regardless of conflict of law provisions. Without prejudice to your right under mandatory local laws to initiate legal proceedings before other competent courts, you submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Vienna, for settlement of any dispute which might arise as a result of or in connection with these general terms and conditions.

18. These Terms and Conditions should be read in conjunction with ​Austrian Airlines’ Conditions of Carriage and Data ​Protection Policy and are hereby incorporated into and form part of these general terms and conditions.