My experience bidding for the MyExtraSeat upgrade on Azores Airlines

Flying a small and unknown airline is always somewhat risky when it comes to what you’ll experience both on the ground and on board – my recent non-stop flight on Azores Airlines from New York City to Madeira, Portugal, was no different. But a surprise upgrade bid for an extra seat on my list for 80 euros ($88) made all the difference to my transatlantic flight experience.

The next time you fly with Azores Airlines (or any airline that offers this kind of upgrade bidding process), don’t automatically turn off that delete button. By using this type of upgrade option, you can significantly improve your flight experience without the price tag of a business class ticket.

What is MyExtraSeat?

A little over a week before my scheduled flight from New York at John F. Kennedy International Aiport (JFK) to Madeira Airport (FNC) in Portugal, I received an email saying “I can own the entire row” on my economy flight across the -Atlantic. for 65 euros ($72).

As a plus size traveler (and someone who just loves extra space on long flights), I was intrigued and decided to check it out.

MyExtraSeat is an upgrade bidding process (separate from the Azores Airlines business class upgrade bidding process) where eligible economy class passengers can bid for one or two extra seats next to them on an Azores Airlines flight.

Bids start at 65 euros per seat, but you can adjust your bid higher. Azores Airlines has an FAQ page dedicated to MyExtraSeat, but the website didn’t answer many of my questions about the process.

What is the seat selection process if my application is accepted? The flight’s seat map was a 2-4-2 configuration in economy, and I had an aisle seat in the outer row chosen during the bidding process. Can I automatically get one extra seat next to me in my row? The website said you can buy two extra seats — when can I choose whether I want one or two seats? When can I expect to hear about my upgrade?

I couldn’t find answers to these questions on the internet – either through the Azores Airlines website or Reddit.

Bidding process

In the end, I decided that having an empty seat or two next to me for less than 100 euros ($110) I should at least try, regardless of the answers to my few questions. I have never flown this airline, and even the best economy products are uncomfortable when you are stuck with a stranger for six hours.

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Thankfully, the bidding process was simple and straightforward.

I went to the first email and hit the “request now” button. This took me to the Azores Airlines website, where I could choose a specific bid to place — from as low as 65 euros ($72) to as high as 125 euros ($138). There was also an “offer strength” gauge to show if my request was likely to be accepted.

When I bid, the plane seemed empty. There were plenty of empty seats available on ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures), although it was impossible to know whether that was due to a genuine lack of passengers or a large percentage of passengers waiting to board. got a seat allotment. I decided that 80 euros was a safe bid – higher than the minimum but not an unreasonable price to pay for an extra seat on a six-hour flight.

I chose 80 euros for my bid, entered my card details and received a confirmation that my request had been sent.

Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting much from getting an extra seat. My bid showed up as “correct” on the offer’s power guage, and my online research of passenger experiences turned up one Reddit thread with a mixed bag of anecdotal results. Some people bid 300 euros ($330) for the flight and their bid was rejected. A few bid the lowest possible price and were accepted.

Finally, I received an email saying my upgrade was accepted 48 hours before my flight — I would get the seat next to me in my existing row for 80 euros ($88). There was no option to change my seat or buy more than one seat, as the website stated, and I was informed that I might lose my extra seat if I tried to change seats during the check-in process.

While it wasn’t the end of the world, I would have liked the option to choose a different row and/or move to the center of the seats so I had a total of three seats to stretch across.

Why the upgrade was really worth it

The big question: Was the upgrade really worth it?

Yes, absolutely. 100% Hands down. Zero question. I would pay it again in a heartbeat.

The plane was not full – there were many empty rows at the back of the plane for the lucky passengers who turned into poor people’s business class to get some sleep on our plane. However, there were fewer people on the flight than the actual seat map suggested, so there was a very real possibility that I would not have gotten the extra seat if I hadn’t gone through the MyExtraSeat bidding process.

And I can’t overstate this: The extra space was essential for a tolerable flight experience.

We were delayed for about seven hours, which changed our day flight to a night flight. Additionally, the delay was due to mechanical problems, forcing us to use a different flight that flew down from Boston to replace our originally scheduled flight. The Azores Airlines website says the carrier is renewing its fleet with a fleet of Airbus and Bombardier aircraft, but we ended up flying a Boeing 767-300ER in Euro Atlantic livery.

Related: TPG’s guide to understanding EU261 flight compensation

The seats on this plane were small. The economy cabin had a 2-4-2 configuration. By comparison, the flight maps of United Airlines and Delta Air Lines for their Boeing 767-300ER aircraft usually list a 2-3-2 configuration. My bum couldn’t fit in the exit row seats (my friend had an exit row seat for her, and I just popped out midflight), and even my non-egress row seat was really suffocating.

If someone had been sitting next to me on the plane, our meal would have required Olympic-level coordinated elbow placement to avoid any accidents, and being side-by-side on a six-hour flight wouldn’t have been very good.

The fact that I am plus-size is not the only factor that contributed to the tight space on board. My friend, who is not plus-size, complained about her lack of seat width and leg room, too.

A few other things to note about this flight:

• While there were rear screens, there was no place to plug in headphones, and subtitles didn’t work. So, unless you’re playing to practice your lip-reading skills or you want to experience watching “Ocean’s 8” in silent movie style, the armchair entertainment was useless.
• There were no outlets or USB ports to charge your device, making listening to music or playing games on your phone dangerous on a long flight unless you have a portable charger with you. (Thank you, I did.)
• There was no Wi-Fi available on this flight.
• The seats did not stay. This wouldn’t have been a big deal if our flight had left at 11:50 am EDT, as scheduled. However, given our delay that turned our flight into an overnight stay, the lack of accommodation was not a good thing.

This was my first experience with this airline, so I can’t accurately assess if this is a common experience on board economy or if I was just unlucky with this flight due to mechanical issues with our original flight. But looking at my experience on board, I would pay that 80 euros for an extra seat again in a heartbeat to make sure the flight is tolerable. Otherwise, I would have been miserable, even with a short transatlantic hop.

My one suggestion to anyone using this option in the future is to make sure you select the seat you want before placing your bid. You are successfully locked into your pre-selected seat and the one (or two) next to it if your request is accepted.

Bottom line

I’m not going to lie — I’m unlikely to fly this airline again. For one thing, the airline has a small footprint, as it serves only a few Portuguese islands, so my chances of flying in the future will be limited. But even when I inevitably return to Madeira, I might choose another airline and accept the reality of the layover.

That said, for those who decide to fly an airline – to island hop between Madeira and the Azores or take advantage of non-stop flights between the US and the Portuguese islands – I recommend trying the MyExtraSeat upgrade bidding process to give yourself the best experience possible. My flight would be unbearable without it.

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