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Terms and conditions for use of Upgrade Bid

The following Terms and Conditions will apply to the submission of offers for upgrading air tickets issued on Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (“Cathay Pacific” or “Cathay”) ticket stock with carrier code CX, for passenger services operated by Cathay Pacific.

By pressing the “I accept / I agree” button and/or by participating in Upgrade Bid you agree to be bound by the following Terms and Conditions.

A. Mechanics

  1. Eligible passengers may be invited to participate in this ‘Upgrade Bid’ promotion ("Upgrade Bid”), in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, through the following means:
    1. during the booking process, via an ‘Upgrade Bid’ invitation banner on Cathay’s internet booking confirmation page;
    2. by email invitation no less than four days prior to departure of the first sector of a booking, if eligible passengers have subscribed to Cathay’s newsletter; or
    3. at the cathaypacific.com/Upgrade Bid website or at the Manage My Booking page, by entering eligible passengers’ booking reference and family name.

B. Eligibility

  1. Participation in Upgrade Bid promotion is by invitation only and Cathay has the right to determine eligibility at its sole and absolute discretion. Not all passengers will be extended an invitation. Only passengers with confirmed ticket documentation purchased for travel with Cathay under selected booking classes may be eligible to make an offer in Upgrade Bid, for the opportunity to upgrade from the cabin class originally purchased to the next higher cabin class (“Offer”). Tickets must be issued on CX ticket stock. Redemption tickets are not eligible for Upgrade Bid.
  2. Upgrade Bid is available only on flights marketed and operated by CX with the respective CX prefix, as selected by Cathay from time to time in its sole and absolute discretion.
  3. Only one Offer may be submitted per flight sector in any booking. If there are multiple passengers in a booking, an Offer to upgrade must be submitted for all passengers in the booking. The Offer amount will be calculated on a per passenger basis i.e. the amount stated in an Offer will be multiplied by the number of passengers in the booking.
  4. To submit an Offer, eligible passengers must be at least 18 years of age and have the necessary authority to act on behalf each passenger included in the Offer. The passenger that submits an Offer will be deemed to have the authority to act on behalf of and to bind all passengers in same the booking to the Offer and these Terms and Conditions.
  5. All Offers are exclusive taxes, fees and surcharges.
  6. An Offer can only be submitted in respect of Premium Economy class or Economy class tickets, for upgrade to the next higher class.
  7. Once an Offer is submitted, all passengers in the booking will be considered for upgrade under the Offer, subject to these Terms and Conditions. Selection criteria may include, without limitation, the amount of the Offer, the fare class or fare type originally purchased, Cathay member status, available seats, and the number of passengers included in the Offer. Successful Offers will be selected by Cathay in its sole and absolute discretion. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, Cathay reserves the right to decide whether or not to accept any Offer, whether in whole or in part, and it makes no representation that any passenger will be upgraded regardless of whether or not seats are available in the cabin class for which an Offer is made.
  8. In the event an eligible passenger’s Offer for upgrade has been accepted by Cathay, Cathay will send such passenger an Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) to the email address provided by the passenger in the Offer submitted. Successful passengers will receive notification of the results by email no later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled departure time of the flight. Online check-in may not be available prior to such notification.
  9. Fare conditions (including, but not limited to, cancellation policies, change fees rules, etc.) of the ticket originally purchased will continue to apply notwithstanding any upgrade hereunder.
  10. Cathay members who have included their membership number in their original ticket will earn Status Points and Asia Miles based on the fare class or fare type of the tickets originally purchased.
  11. Upgrade Bid cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, discount or promotion.
  12. Baggage allowance will be based on the original fare class or fare type specified on the original flight tickets.

C. Cancellation and other changes to offer

  1. Cathay may accept an Offer any time within 50 hours prior to the scheduled departure time of the relevant flight. An Offer may be revised or cancelled by any passenger included in the Offer up until 26 hours prior to the scheduled departure time of the relevant flight, in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, if the Offer has not already been accepted by Cathay. No amendment or cancellation can be made after the Offer has been accepted.
  2. In the event of changes to or cancellation of the Offer, the passenger that submitted the Offer will receive a notification from Cathay. For the avoidance of doubt, such acknowledgement shall not in any way be treated or deemed as a confirmation or acceptance of the Offer.
  3. Once accepted, all passengers included in an Offer will be bound by it (including any subsequent modifications or cancellations of such Offer).

D. Payment and rules on upgraded flights

  1. If an Offer is accepted by Cathay, the total amount of money payable for the upgrade, including all applicable taxes, surcharges and fees (if any), will be deducted from the credit card used to make payment automatically. Payment will only be deducted if the Offer is successful. The amount of money payable in relation to an Offer for upgrade is separate from and additional to the amount paid for the original ticket purchased.
  2. Upgraded sectors are non-endorsable, non-reroutable, non-refundable, non-transferable and are valid only on the flight and date for which the Offer is accepted. If passenger(s) changes the flight, the upgraded sector will be forfeited, and no refund will be issued for the upgrade nor any other ancillary products or services purchased in the original booking. No shows will also result in forfeiture of the relevant sector and no refund will be issued.
  3. No further upgrade, whether by cash, loyalty reward or otherwise will be entertained after an Offer has been accepted in Upgrade Bid. For example, if a passenger successfully upgrades a flight sector from Economy to Premium Economy class cabin using Upgrade Bid, a further upgrade to Business class cabin for such flight sector will not be allowed, whether using Upgrade Bid or otherwise.
  4. There will be no refunds, credits, or exchanges once an Offer and payments relating to it have been accepted by Cathay, except in the following circumstances:
    1. the flight for which an Offer was accepted is cancelled and passenger(s) entitled to an upgrade therefore are re-accommodated onto another flight, without an upgrade, in the cabin class of the tickets originally purchased, provided no alternative compensation has been accepted; or
    2. passenger(s) receive an upgrade for the flight which an Offer was accepted, but is not able to be seated in the upgraded cabin class for reasons attributable to Cathay, excluding any reasons attributable to the passenger(s) actions or decisions (such as passenger’s decision to change flights, no show, etc.), provided no alternative compensation or other re-accommodation has been accepted
    in which case the amount paid for the upgrade, excluding all bank-related charges (such as foreign exchange conversion, transaction fees, etc.), will be refunded to the credit card that was used to make the payment.
  5. All requests for refunds must be accompanied by the passenger’s original boarding pass for the flight in question. Cathay is under no obligation to process any refund if the original boarding pass is not provided. If approved, refunds will be processed in the currency in which the upgrade was charged, and Cathay will have no further liability to the passenger(s).
  6. No refund will be issued in the event of a change in aircraft where an upgraded cabin class is still made available to the passenger.
  7. Cathay will reasonably endeavour, but is unable to guarantee, to provide upgraded passengers with services typically available to other passengers of the cabin class to which the Offer has been accepted e.g. priority check-in, priority baggage, priority boarding, onboard meals, etc. Passengers may select seats in the cabin they have been upgraded to, depending on the seat availability at the time of seat selection. However, Cathay does not guarantee that passengers will be able to select any particular seat and/or sit together with their companion(s) after upgrade..
  8. If you have previously purchased a Regular or an Extra legroom seat reservation (Reserve your seat), and your Upgrade Bid is successful, you will be entitled to claim for a refund for your purchased seat reservation. To process a Reserve your seat refund, please contact Customer Care. Reserve your seat refunds can also be requested online via our form.
  9. Please note that there are specific rules and regulations which may entitle you to enhanced refund rights and compensation due to cancellation, delay and denied boarding in certain jurisdictions to and from which we fly. For further information, please refer to our General Conditions of Carriage, Conditions of Contract and Customer rights and regulations.

E. Other Terms and Conditions

    Changes to Terms and Conditions
  1. To the extent permitted by applicable law, Cathay reserves the right to cancel Upgrade Bid and /or to amend these Terms and Conditions from time to time. Updated Terms and Conditions will be posted on the Website.
  2. In the event of any dispute regarding these Terms and Conditions, conduct, results, and all other matters relating to the Upgrade Bid promotion, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the decision of Cathay shall be final and no complaints shall be entertained and no correspondence or discussions shall be entered into.
  3. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall confer any third party rights or benefits.

    4. Warranties
  4. Each participating passenger hereby warrants and represents that:
    1. He/she fulfils all the requirements to submit, change and/or participate in Offer and Upgrade Bid as set out in these Terms and Conditions.
    2. All personal data and information provided for purposes of participating in Upgrade Bid are true and accurate.
    3. He/she will comply with all applicable laws and regulations in participating in Upgrade Bid.

    5. Disclaimer
  5. Without limitation, each participating passenger acknowledges and agrees that Cathay shall not be liable to him/her or any third parties for any loss or damage whatsoever, including without limitation, any direct, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, or damages for lost profits or savings or loss of contracts, in connection with or resulting from such participating passenger’s participation in Upgrade Bid or due to any breach of contract or any tortuous act including negligence.
  6. Certain legislation may imply warranties or conditions or impose obligations which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified or can only be done so to a limited extent. These Terms and Conditions must be read subject to any such statutory provisions. In particular the disclaimer language in these Terms and Conditions shall not in any way exclude or limit liability for personal injury or death arising from negligence, wilful misconduct or fraud or in respect of any matter that by law cannot be excluded.
  7. Cathay does not warrant or guarantee continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to its website and the operation of such Website may be interfered with by factors outside Cathay’s control. The website is provided on an “as is” basis and excludes any liability due to a passenger being unable to access the website, to submit or complete an Offer.

    8. Personal Data Protection
  8. For purposes of Upgrade Bid, Cathay may need to collect personal data from the passenger and any other passengers included in the booking. Failure to provide personal data as requested will result in Cathay being unable to process or accept an Offer. In this respect, each passenger confirms that he/she has read and fully understands the Organizer’s Data Privacy and Security Policy (www.cathaypacific.com) and consents and as applicable, confirms that he/she has obtained a consent from all other passengers of the same booking to consent, to Cathay’s use of such passenger(s)’ personal data for purposes of the promotion and in accordance with such Data Privacy and Security Policy and the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance in Hong Kong.

    9. Contract of Carriage
  9. For the avoidance of doubt, these Terms and Conditions apply to Offers for Upgrades. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions is, or shall be construed in any way as a contract of carriage. Any tickets issued pursuant to arrangements in these Terms and Conditions will result in a contract of carriage between the travelling passenger and the relevant carrier. These tickets upon which such passenger travels will be subject to Cathay’s conditions of carriage and except as otherwise provided herein, all rules applicable to the general public for the class or category of fare selected, including also any charges for changes in travel arrangements that may be applicable to the class or category of fare selected.

    10. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
  10. To the extent permitted by applicable law, Upgrade Bid and these Terms and Conditions shall be governed in all respects by the laws of Hong Kong.
  11. To the extent permitted by applicable law, any dispute that cannot be resolved between the parties will be submitted to the jurisdiction of the courts of Hong Kong.

    12. Language
  12. In case of any discrepancy between the English version and any translated version of these Terms and Conditions, the English version shall prevail.