In-Flight Upgrades

I think that all the required technology is already in place to support in-flight upgrades. Here are some examples of what I mean:

Air Travel

You board an airplane. Three minutes before the plane pushes away from the gate, a computerized announcement airs: “There are four unsold seats in first class. Bidding for these seats is now open. Please use the touch screen in the seatback in front of you, along with your credit or debit card, to place a bid.” 90 seconds later: “Bidding has now completed. The passengers in seats 7D, 14A, 3C, and 12A may take their seats in first class.”

The computerized bidding system would simply choose the highest bidder(s).

Shipping

You purchase something that is shipped to you. Initially, you choose the slow-boat shipping. A day or two later, your eagerness to have this item increases. So, you go to the shipper’s tracking site, enter the tracking number, and click Upgrade Delivery Time. After keying in your credit card digits, your package is expedited so that it arrives faster.

I don’t know much about the inner workings of shipping companies, but it seems to me that packages get handled at least every 24 hours during transit. If that is true, there should be ample opportunity to upgrade an in-transit package to a faster delivery service.

I bet shipping companies could get away with charging a premium for these kind of upgrades.

Other Applications?

Well, that’s all I’ve come up with for now, but I bet this principle of in-flight upgrades could be applied elsewhere. It seems to me like an untapped revenue source for companies that deliver a service that takes a while to complete.