I think that the cost of an upgrade, whether done online or at the counter at check-in time, depends on the price you paid for your ticket in the first place. They can tell this from the booking code on your reservation. If you buy your ticket from a discounter/wholesale agent, the cost of the upgrade would be higher than if you'd bought your ticket directly from the airline, whose price would likely be higher.

I had BA counter staff tell me on one flight recently when I inquired if I could buy an upgrade, that it would not be possible as my ticket was already at a discounted rate. It didn't make sense to me as I was ready to pay, but I didn't have time to argue.

After several recent long haul flights to Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia I can say the BA flights we encountered were on the whole pretty good. Food was acceptable and drinks were free. The fair was cheap too, booked direct.
I am 6ft tall and providing I get the aisle I am fine. On one leg we did have the misfortune to be placed in the middle section which was both cramped and claustrophobic. I thought I was lucky as the seat next to me was empty, well it was until the bloke in front of me in the seat with loads of legroom was complaining about the entertainment system being down so he moved into my proposed space because the headphones worked. Arse !

The check in on line 24hrs ahead seemed to work and we used the T5 check in terminals successfully too.

Didn't get an upgrade though!!

Not certain, but I think upgrading at airport can't be done on if tickets are bought at discounted rate. If they do upgrade you, you'll still pay the difference in ticket price plus the upgraded amount. Also pretty sure that if you upgrade to B.C., it'll be more than $300. The price would have to (certainly should) be the same as those who paid for B.C. tickets or used miles to upgrade. Anyway you do it, there are no cheap ways to upgrade.

Well, DH did the online check-in this evening and we all got aisle seats. And he swears he is NEVER doing the reservations again. At least I know he won't through a discounter :) And we wing away tomorrow. Merry Christmas to all.......

Have a good flight Lady, I hope the BA strike over Christmas will not go ahead!

Actually, we were hoping for the strike to strand us in Rome :) But it didn't. We did have the opportunity to upgrade to Plus for $250, but when I saw the layout, I was glad we didn't spend the money. We had 9 seats across and the Plus had 8 across. They couldn't have had more than 1 1/2 inch extra for that money!! No thank you!! It wasn't bad. Not great going over, but my seatmate was plus size, meaning I didn't get quite as much room. Coming back seatmate fit in his own seat and was much more comfortable.

Food Ok, service good. But all three flights were HOT, stuffy. Couldn't hardly breathe. Spent all the flights fanning to get a breath. I really, really missed that little air vent that helps me direct air on myself. I've always had that on Delta but non-existent on BA.

<i>We had 9 seats across and the Plus had 8 across. They couldn't have had more than 1 1/2 inch extra for that money!! No thank you!!</i>

I think the difference between WT+ and coach is much more than that. You get a fair amount of extra legroom and a footrest. Also, the seat width difference is noticeable, even if 1-1/2 inches doesn't seem like much. I think $250 per leg is a good price for an upgrade to WT+.