Am flying round the world next year and would love to get a free upgrade if there are any available. Am flying with Cathay Pacific, Qantas, BA and American Airlines. <BR><BR>Is this impossible if I'm carrying a backpack, even if I am dressed smartly?<BR><BR>Thanks<BR><BR>Sonia

Simple,marry a flight attendant prior to the trip.

S-<BR>Pleeze ignore the 2 previous posters.They do not read,speak and therefore do not understand the English language.Your question is simple.The answer is simple.It probably will not happen.I too would have asked the same question, were I going around the world and had I seen ALL the posts regarding &quot;free&quot; upgrades that other posters alude to.But alas they are probly executives,more worldy that you and I.I hope you hav a nice trip.<BR>Rocky

The simple answer is Yes, free upgrades do happen, but there is no guaranteed way to get one. No magic spell, no secret handshake, no esoteric internet technique. Just keep asking, politely, and you might get lucky.<BR><BR>Of course, if they lose your luggage or screw up somehow, you might be able to parlay that into a segment upgrade. I would certainly try...again, politely.<BR><BR>IMHO it's a lot more difficult these days than it used to be.<BR><BR>PS Friends of mine did the same trip but paid the extra for a business class ticket. It was WELL worth it! Not just while flying, but airline lounges, etc.

I agree that it has become a lot more difficult and the cost of a business or first class ticket would put such an adventure out of reach for many people. Airlines are adopting strict &quot;no favors, no waivers&quot; policies on many aspects of flying including change fees, overweight luggage and upgrades.<BR><BR>One possibility -- and everything is a long shot, when you're talking about FREE upgrades -- is an &quot;operational upgrade&quot;. Simply put, it means coach class is oversold and upper class is undersold. Economic conditions being what they are, it happens and when it does, SOMEBODY is likely to be upgraded. Airlines have different policies on who that might be, including deadheading crews, elites, etc.<BR><BR>To find out if you have a shot at such an upgrade, plug your flights into a search engine that will tell you seat availability by class. You'll be looking for &quot;zeroes&quot; on the coach fare classes. Here's a tool you can use:<BR><BR>http://flyaow.com/classavailability.htm<BR><BR>If coach isn't sold out, your chances of an operational upgrade are slim to none, but there is always the possibility of last minute standbys, bumps from the prior flight, etc.<BR><BR>I've had it happen, but the bottom line is that if you paid for coach, that is where you should expect to sit.<BR><BR>

So I understand from the above that it's possible to try to ask for an upgrade, but when exactly, at what moment can we ask THE quesion? <BR>Thanks!

Jim, went to the website and it seems to toggle you into AmEx's regular reservation site. Is this what you meant (you check seating charts?), or how does one check &quot;class availability&quot; and come up with &quot;all 00's&quot;? Which link do you click on once you're at that htm?

Mar, what I'm suggesting is that you plug in the flights you already have reservations for. Look in the notes on the right-hand side and you will see the letter-designated fare classes from highest to lowest. <BR><BR>That said, I just tried it with a reservation I have for next week and it's not appearing as available through the AMEX site. I happen to know that &quot;B&quot; class is still available, so either the system may not be perfect or perhaps the airline may be holding those remaining seats under its own control at this point. I've generally found it helpful in the past though.

Why do you think you are entitled to a free upgrade?Why not just try for a free ticket while your at it.

Thanks for your patience, Jim. I may be using the site incorrectly, but I went ahead and completed the blanks on the yellow/white box with date, time of departure, and airline as if I were trying to find the cheapest fare or make a reservation. Sure enough, it took me into the AmEx page (has the symbol in upper left corner, graphics mostly in signature blue), but I found my flight among the possible itineraries.<BR><BR>I looked closely at the info for the flight, and there was a list of classes written thus: F5 Y9 B9 M9 H0 Q0 V0 W0 T0 S0 K0 L0 G0 A3 <BR> <BR>Do I interpret this as 5 seats in First Class, 9 for Y, B, and M fares (are those all unrestricted coach, do you know?), no seats for any of the other fare classes, and what is &quot;A&quot; class (3 seats?)?<BR><BR>Thanks for helping out someone not quite as in the know as travel pros.

Mar, you're understanding correctly. One quirk to know is that the tool will never show more than 9 available in a class, so &quot;9&quot; means &quot;at least 9&quot;. Airlines have some variations in the letter designations of fare classes, but F and J are not coach seats. &quot;Y&quot; is unrestricted coach. Conditions, restrictions, etc. will then vary by the other letter designators. (It appears that most or all of the very lowest fares and FF seats are gone on your flight, but these things can change as you get closer to the date, too).<BR><BR>If you want to begin graduate work, you might want to go over to www.flyertalk.com and pose your question there. You'll need to register to post. Then, do a search through past threads using the function because if you don't, that will probably be your first reply: past threads on the subject. <BR><BR>I believe there is an &quot;expert&quot; mode on that tool, but I'm don't use it myself, so I'm not familiar with it. <BR><BR>Flyertalk is a very helpful group with knowledgeable people using it. They'll also keep you tuned in to getting your miles, too. Happy Contrails!

Here's the real truth. My husband has logged thousands and thousands of air miles over his career, and has given the airlines, especially BA, lots of business, and business references. Thus, I am sure that influences who gets it and who doesn't...we have had several complimentaRY upgrades.

A friend was on ebay last nite and he said he saw &quot;Free System Wide Upgrade to First&quot;.These upgrades are offered free to hi milers and supposedly not &quot;transferrable&quot;.Not saleable,blah blah blah and the &quot;member&quot; if caught could be in for &quot;trouble&quot;.But you never know.I'm not suggesting that you do anything at all.I'm just telling you what my buddy told me.