Your best seat upgrade ever?

I wish! We can barely afford to fly economy. But I'll live vicariously through everyone else's stories.

Believe it or not, I've been upgraded twice to Business, both on Cathay Pacific.

The first time happened when I was only 20. I think I was supposed to fly from Hong Kong to London, but the flight was oversold. They asked if I would mind flying business class from Hong Kong to Frankfurt (I think) and then connect to London. Of course I didn't mind! I had no status at that time and certainly wasn't dressed too well as a 20 year-old student!

The second time was just earlier this year. I was traveling with my husband, and we were flying Hong Kong to LAX on Cathay. I have middle-level elite status with American Airlines, which also gives me status on OneWorld partners.

AGain, the flight was oversold in economy, and the check-in agent asked if I would mind upgrading to Business class. But he regretfully said that he could only upgrade me, but not my husband (he has low level elite status).

Of course I took the upgrade, and DH stayed in economy. We didn't switch seats, but I did bring him a bottle of water which was complimentary in the Business section.

#1 SQ biz to 1st class upgrade NRT to SIN, then SIN to TPE. Both very long flights. Biz class was nice, 1st far better. Nose of 747.

#2 AA ORD to LAX (unfortunately a really long flight to enjoy the perks). Change of equipment meant 777 Coach to 1st upgrade on an international 3 class cabin. Skipped right over biz class.

#3 AA. Not a great upgrade because it was just a short flight, but an example of great customer service/benefit of using Admirals Club. Stuck in DFW with connecting flight canceled. No flights with coach seats avail till 8 hrs later. AC agent got 1st class seats for 4 with just 2hr wait, and gave rest of family 1day passes to AC.

DH had a seizure and the flight crew immediately put us in first class to keep an eye on him. Just before that happened some doofus tried to smoke in the bathroom so bells and whistles were going off everywhere. Man, was that airport lit up for our plane when we finally landed!!

P.S. We don't suggest anyone use his method for an upgrade....

My first trip to Europe many years ago was on KLM, Chicago to Amsterdam. I checked in to find the flight was oversold. The check-in agent bumped me up to first class, which, at the time, KLM called its "Royal Class." I don't think they still use that name. Prior to this, I'd never flown any flight longer than two hours, so to have such ample space and attentive service on an eight-hour flight was a real treat. Flying back home, I was in coach. It was quite a let-down.

A few that stick out:

1) An upgrade from coach to Business Class on Continental's Honolulu to Newark non-stop. 10+ hours passes a lot quicker when you have room. And this was on a $300 fare, too. This was probably the best because, at the time, we flew much less, so the novelty hadn't worn off.

2) A recent upgrade from coach to Business class from Amsterdam to Newark. Nice, since our connecting flight had left at 6 am, and we were only spending a couple of days in Newark, so the sleep helped a lot.

3) I was upgraded from business to first on BA. It was nice, but the incremental improvement is not nearly as much as going from coach to biz. Indeed, I turned down another upgrade from biz to first on BA, as my wife didn't score the upgrade, so I stuck with her.

I sat at the airport in Miami waiting to board a BA flight to London for over 2 hours. When they finally called my row (Row 34), I handed them my ticket and I was told I had been moved to row 63. I said, "Row 63, what's that--the bathroom in the back of the plane?" I was told I was moved to Business Class upstairs.

20 September 2001: With essentially nobody flying, my wife and I were going ATL-CDG-FCO. The Air France 747 that usually occupied a visually prominent space at ATL wasn't seen. They had downsized to an Airbus. At the gate we were given seat assignments and I asked if I still had bulkhead seats (I'm tall). They had already been given out. When asked if we could speak French and occupy exit rows we, truthfully, said no. The GA then secured two new seat assignments, row seven. Nice trip.

1) Brother and I were able to get confirmed upgrades from full fare business class to first class for LAX-SYD-LAX using miles and upgrade certs. The fun part was that those "full fare" biz class fares were mistake fares, under $1600 each for LAX - NZ via SYD. (that's about the cost of an economy ticket and was about one-fifth of the cost of biz class).

2) I flew to Nagoya, Japan, on a free ticket (not miles, but a one-time promotion). On the return I asked at check-in if an upgrade was possible, but answer was no. At the gate, I put my bp in the machine and the machine made some noises that I recognized from a previous, paid, flight: I got an op-up at the gate, this time on a free ticket.

I've had a few but none lately...

Best was probably the operational upgrade from economy to business on a London-Chicago flight--not just for me, but for the whole family (United).

I've also been upgraded from paid business to first on American. That was nice, as I was going straight from the plane to a full day of work.

Also in the "upgrade" category...our return flight from Australia last year was cancelled due to a mechanical. United rebooked us on Qantas in business (an upgrade in airlines)--especially nice, considering mr_go and daughter were flying on saver award tickets and I was flying on an economy ticket that I had upgraded to United business with miles.

CDG to BOS, upgrade from Cattle Class to First Class on AA. Air France had a greve that day, chaos reigned, we stayed calm and polite, virtue was rewarded.

Several upgrades from SFO to BOS from Cattle Class to Business and First. One involved giving up seats on oversold flight. Don't remember the other circumstances.

In the long ago, before the present flight madness, Mrs. Peabody and I were going on our vacation cattle class to Paris. Because of tight scheduling, we both came to the airport directly from work, in suits and trench coats. We were sitting and waiting for boarding when the check-in attendant came and asked for our boarding passes back. A moment later my worries were ended when she brought us new ones for business class. I asked why she chose us. She said that economy was oversold and we looked like business class.

We came home in economy.

The bulk of my upgrades are earned/purchased with miles, but I've had a few surprise upgrades too.

1) Husband and I were boarding a Singapore Air flight from Male to Singapore. The gate agent fed our boarding passes into the machine and new boarding passes popped out. Like magic, we were both upgraded to Business Class. Upon arrival in Singapore we checked in for our connecting flight to Dubai on SIA, and were told our flight was oversold, BUT if we didn't mind making a short stop in Colombo, and if we really hurried, they could put us on an earlier flight in Business Class. No brainer, that one. Twice in one trip, what are the chances?

2) Husband and I'd purchased RTW tickets in Business Class. We were both returning to Kuwait via Munich, but on separate flights a few weeks apart. When he got home he called and told me he'd been put in First Class on the Munich to Kuwait flight. I was jealous, but oddly enough the same thing happened to me a few weeks later. We found out much later that our travel agent had made a ticketing mistake on that particular flight. Oops.

3) Lufthansa used to routinely offer upgrades to Business Class on flights from Kuwait to Munich if there were empty seats at check in for a couple hundred bucks. I was always happy to oblige.

Ah, those were the days...

In and earlier age, when PanAm still existed and I was single, I flew coach from Chicago to Heathrow with a stop in Detroit. The Chicago price was way below market, since the flight was intended to serve Detroit/London and used Chicago's Ohare primarily for overnight parking.

During the half full coach flight over, I enjoyed a prolonged conversation with my, less than busy, FA who was based in London. Comparing calenders, we learned we were scheduled on the same return flight, two weeks later.

When returning, I was boarded to coach but then escorted to first class seating in the upper deck bulge. Thereupon learning, I was to be the ONLY 1st class passenger for the flight.

I've been "op-upped" on a number of occasions - it's great when lightning strikes, isn't it?

But my best upgrade came on an old Lockheed Super Electra (a four-engine turboprop) flown by Reeve Aleutian Airways, with whom I spent a helluva lot of butt-in-seat hours some years ago. I was such a regular passenger that I had standing shtick with the various air crews (RAA wasn't that big and you got to know people pretty well after a time.)

I was going from Cold Bay to Anchorage on the Electra, but after we took off we got diverted (several hundred miles the wrong way) to Adak, which at the time was a large Navy base out in the wetern Aleutians. An earlier flight to ADK had got weathered out, so we were volunteered to go out and pick up the pax and mail that had got missed.

The additional pax we picked up outnumbered the open seats (it was all coach) so instead of bumping someone, I got "op-upped" to the jump seat in the cockpit for the 3+ hour flight to ANC. Far more pleasant than sitting next to some halibut fisherman who hadn't seen a bathtub in a week .

Flight from Chicago O'Hare to CDG Paris, first class on Northwest. They'd overbooked the flight plus a snow storm delayed several people. Myself and one of the people I was traveling with got booted and had already spent a nite at a hotel to find that we still weren't leaving out to Paris. Shortly after, we met these two Scandinavian guys who offered to give up their seats and go to a Bull's game (this was in the days of Michael Jordan!). Funny on our way back to the states we ran into the guys at CDG. Classic!

My greatest update was on a flight from Omaha Nebraska. The flight was full and they were asking for volunteers to give up their seats. The reward was a round trip ticket to anywhere in the US. I volunteered and got my voucher. The ticket agent told me to stay in the area. When all was said and done, I got upgraded to first class and got to keep my voucher. What a deal!

My wife and I were on our way back from California years ago. There was an announcement saying that were going to be over the Grand Canyon soon. I asked a Flight Attendant if I could go into first class to take pictures of the Grand Canyon as it was a pretty full flight. She asked if I would like to change my seating to first class. I thanked her but told her that I was with my wife. She then told me that we could both move to first class. It was a wonderful experience and reinforced my belief in being polite to everyone.

Many years ago on a flight from LAX to Maui, our family of four was seated in what I assume was business class. It was four large comfy seats around a table. There was no reason for the upgrade. We didn't have any preferred status or anything. Nobody even mentioned that we had been upgraded.

During our stay in Maui I had joked that if they thought I was flying home in coach the airline was sadly mistaken. When we checked in to go home the agent said "I think you will like your seats today." We were back in the same lovely seats.

Have been flying all my life, and have only been upgraded once! Imagine my surprise this past May, when boarding our flight home from Heathrow to Baltimore, on British Airways, (booked through vayama.com....dirt cheap!), and realizing we were in their business class seats. I actually checked with the flight attendant to make sure they were the correct seats....which seemed to amuse her greatly! : )

How wonderful! Those transatlantic flights are so long and tiring, and this made such a difference. Oh, to be able to afford to get these seats all the time! Maybe in my next life.... Sigh....

My mother and I checked in at the British Airways desk in Chicago for a flight to London. Without even asking we were upgraded to "business" class which I consider first class. We were able to sleep on the flight overseas with NO problem in our reclining "dental" type chairs and pampered wonderfully with freebies. This was an experience we've never forgotten and always valued!!!

My company had me flying back and forth from Heathrow to Toronto a number of times, one summer. In the middle of this, I suffered a family tragedy. The company was very understanding and as soon as I was able to return to schedule, they booked me on the next available British Airways flight. But they had to buy me a Club class seat as economy was full that day. Whoopee! However, when I got to Heathrow, the girl appologised and said that Club class was full ......... would I mind if they put me in First? Hahahahahahahahah!!! B.A. 1st class Heathrow to Toronto was the best flight I have EVER made!!!

The Concorde!! I was 22, my sister 18 and we were flying to Paris for Christmas. Air France called to say our flight had been cancelled, but that as a "Christmas present" they were putting us on the Concorde instead. I actually told the agent I had to think about it because this would have required us to leave a day earlier and I didn't have hotel reservations for the day we'd land. In his ultra French accent, he said, "Madame, this is a very generous offer. I suggest you take it." Duh!!! Of course we did! Wow! Only bummer was the loooong flight home on the regular old plane in coach class!

WOW BarbMH! That was SOME experience.

My nephew and his fiance were traveling from Boston to Krakow on Lufthansa. They were going to her home town to be married.

At the airport, the flight was overbooked and they were offered something like $600 each plus confirmed business class seats for the next day (might have been a hotel and meal voucher in the deal).

Next day, the flight was overbooked again and they were offered the same deal. She won and they declined the offer.

Only once on a paid ticket, from Heathrow to Dulles on United. The check in lady asked me if I would mind changing my seat, I said no, as long as it was another aisle. Imagine my surprise when I found myself in Economy Plus, not only did I have an aisle seat I had a whole row to myself which was a bigger plus than the slightly larger seats.

Other times were to first class or business class but that is when I worked for the airlines. About the only thing I miss from that job!

Went to Irleand in 2006 i picked out seats on line before going much to my surprise on the flight home i had picked out a first class seat.

Another time i was living in the Bahamas and had to fly home to SC and when i checked in going back in SC the girl at the ticket stand fell in love with my little shih tzu said she had one and i was flying threw Atlanta and her friend there also had one shesaid when i got there he would take care of my flight for me she made a call to him about my dog ,First class again! Not bad when i paid for coach,I leave for Italy next week hope i get lucky again

On the way back from Thailand on Air Singapore, they had oversold the seats. They had to split up two of four of us. Two got to stay in economy in different parts of the plane. We soon fixed that by asking someone to switch with us. Our 10 and 7 year old got to fly first class all the way home to Canada. They played video games, watched movies, and were completely spoiled rotten by the flight attendants. They will never forget it~!

Both of these were many years ago.

On my first trip to Europe, I was among the last to check in and Iberia has overbooked the coach cabin. I was upgraded to First Class! My first trans-Atlantic flight!
(It's been all downhill from there!!)


Flying from Kathmandu to Delhi, long, long time ago, the Indian Airlines plane was sold out. Fortunately, my Dad was able to make a deal with the pilot: He would buy a litre of Johnny Walker Black for him (there were many alcohol restrictions in India back then) and we would get seats on the plane.

I ended up in the co-pilot's seat (great views of the Himalayas' not sure where the co-pilot sat, or if there even was one) and my dad got one of those pull-down seats used for the crew.

We became friendly with this pilot and his family and visited them in India and hosted them in the US several times after that.

Obviously this kind of thing would never happen today!

I have been fortunate to be a part of Operation Smile for many years. On my first mission to Cali, Colombia I checked in to the airport in my hometown, Columbus, Ohio and the counter attendant asked me, "Why in God's name; are you going to Cali, Colombia?". I told her I was going to work on a medical mission for cleft lip and palate patients and I would be working in the recovery room there.
After I checked in, I wandered around the airport waiting for the rest of my team when I heard my name called overhead. I returned to the airline desk, hoping there was no problem with my flight. As I approached the desk, all of the attendants were clapping. I was kind of confused, had I won a lottery or something? I asked why I was called and the nice lady said,
"After you walked away from the desk, we all decided we wanted you to start your difficult journey out with some creature comforts......so we upgraded you to first class!"
WOW! I had never flown first class before and it is ALL that and more.
A girl could get used to it.
It really did start the trip off with a good memory and, even though the trip was difficult, it was very memorable also. So much so that I have gone on several missions since then.
Regards,
S

We used our FF miles to buy me a ticket to Buenos Aires on Delta. The flight down was in coach. After a wonderful two week stay we were overly tired for our flight home and arguing in the airport after check-in. We didn't even notice our seat numbers until we were getting ready to board. Imagine our surprise to see 1A and 1B. I was sure there was some mistake and refused to get comfortable until the flight attendant said, "Mr. and Mrs. have you made your selection from the menu?" At that point I settled in for a great flight! When we arrived in Atlanta our next leg was DH in seat 1A again and me in 34B. We went up to talk to the desk and she said she was sorry, but since my flight had been free there was no way to upgrade me. It felt great to tell her that they just accidentally had!

Wow, the Concorde! i think that trumps all the stories. When I was an Elite (or whatever NW called it then), Continental was a NW partner and would upgrade me to First without my even asking. Ah, it was marvelous! i have never flown business or first overseas though. that is one of my goals in life!!!

I was flying non-rev stand-by on TWA the day before the Air Traffic Controllers strike, trying to return home (18y.o.). We got the last two seats in coach and were relieved, until the Stewardess called our names to come to the front, with any carry-on luggage. As we approached with our heads down in despair, the two business men taking our seats were extremely excited . . . until the stewardess notified us, in front of the paying customers, that we just got upgraded to first-class!

We heard that it was the last flight out of Colorada Springs before the strike. That was the good news. The bad news was that we had to connect out of O'Hare to MCI, where, as stand-by's, we were stranded for 37 hours and finally caught the last flight of our second day in O'Hare.

Oh, I must have forgotten, also got bumped on my honeymoon flight to Florida to 1st, the plane was nearly empty, except us, and three families with three kids each. The oldes kid was 8. Enough said.

Years ago, my husband and our two young sons flew on Pan Am (economy) for vacation in California. I had arranged seating in the four middle seats outbound (at night) so the kids could sleep; return flight I had booked seats by the windows (day time). Return flight was screwed up by wildcat strike in Paris, which was settled before we boarded our return flight from LAX to Dulles. My husband, unawares of my seating arrangements, had rearranged the seats to place us in the middle of the plane on the return, but Pan Am had changed the type of plane, so we were without seats upon boarding. They bumped us up to business class where we were fed unlimited fresh strawberries much to my older son's delight. Both kids were later disappointed when I explained the economics of why we would not be taking every vacation in business or first class.

My best - and only - upgrade was on an Alitalia flight from Milan to NY about 4 years ago. The flight was overbooked and I was one of 8 lucky passengers to get upgraded to business class. It was really wonderful.

The plane was new with beautiful soft gray leather seats and buttons to adjust to every possible position. The seats reclined fully, but there was no way I was going to sleep and miss any of the luxury!

The meals were delicious, and we got unlimited fine wines, liqueurs and snacks available throughout the flight. It was very nice.
I still have my boarding pass.

Many years ago I declined an opportunity to upgrade to first class, also on Alitalia, Rome to NY, b/c it came "with a price".

The flight was delayed and while waiting near the boarding gate an annoying guy was trying to pick me up. At the same time he was lobbying the gate agent to upgrade him to first class, and to put me next to him. The agent finally gave him the upgrade and asked me if I wanted to go along.
I politely declined and the agent smiled knowingly.

It worked outjust fine b/c I had two seats to myself in coach and was very comfortable, and free from annoyance for 8+ hours!

When we went to check in at Virgin Atlantic for our flight to London , the agent asked us if this was our virgin( first time on Virgin) flight? She upgraded us to First Class, flat beds, massage, the works from our economy seats.

Mine is on Delta Airlines from LAX to Orlando (MCO)

I had selected my seat in advance, I think the second row in economy/coach, the "C" aisle seat. I was just barely settling in and a gentleman passenger walks up to me and tells me his family has the seats next to me and would I take his first class row 5, aisle seat. Of course I said YES

Flying back to SFO from Guadalajara on Mexicana about ten years ago: We had been traveling in Mexico for a few weeks with our teen-age daughter and two of her friends. The other two girls' mother had reserved their coach seats and requested special meals for them ahead of time, but my husband and daughter and I had not.

When we got up to the counter, I was joking around with the agent in my barely passable Spanish, and he mentioned that the flight was oversold in coach and asked if all five of us would like to be upgraded to First Class.

Of course we said YES, but as it turned out, because the two girls had made the special meal requests, they had to stay in coach, while our daughter and my husband and I were moved up.

Oh well, a lesson learned. I never make meal requests ahead of time --- it guarantees that you will not have a chance to be upgraded.

Last year I was bringing my 86 year old mother from Tampa to Chgo for a visit. I went to the desk to confirm our seats in coach. The attendant smiled at me and my mother and handed me two first class tickets! Anyone who has traveled with an older person knows how difficult the trip can be and this act of kindness has been retold many times. Thank you American Airlines.

I've been lucky enough to fly business or first several times using miles, but my favorite upgrade occurred pre 9-11 when my husband and I were flying back to California after the holidays. We were on separate AA flights, but we were both going to be in Dallas at approximately the same time. We each were traveling with a dog. When Bella and I arrived in Dallas, I hurried to the gate where Jerry's flight was. It was almost finished boarding, and I asked if by chance they had room for one more passenger. They did. I said "My husband is flying in first class on this flight; would it be possible for me to get an upgrade so we can sit together?"

No problem. I walked on the plane, went to his seat, and said "Excuse me, I think I'm sitting next to you." The look on his face was priceless, and the flight attendants doted on Darcy and Bella throughout the flight.

I was burnt out and had quit my job to move to Vietnam. First I had to fly from Honolulu to Miami for a 3-day medical consult, during which time Continental lost my luggage.

At checkin for my return flight, I saw the name 'Lien' on the agent's badge and asked if he was Vietnamese. He was surprised (I'm not Vietnamese) and asked how I knew. I told him I was learning Vietnamese because I was moving to Vietnam to work with orphanages.

His jaw dropped and he said, 'I grew up in an orphanage in Hue! My dad was a U.S. Marine and he adopted me and my brothers and sisters and brought us to America!'

Then he asked who was paying me to go to Vietnam. Strange question. I said I was going on my own.

He gave me my boarding passes and now my jaw dropped. He said, 'You're paying your own way to go to Vietnam to work with orphanages. I'm upgrading you to first class.'

Thank you, Lien!