I'm taking my first trip on British Airways to London in a few weeks. Do I have any chance up upgrading my coach ticket to something a little more attractive without coughing up thousands of dollars? Any hints?

You might call BA reservations and ask the cost of upgrading to World Traveller Plus. It's an upgraded coach seat with quite a bit more legroom.

One can often buy up to WT+ for $300 one way at the ticket counter.

On most routes booking into WT+ is 60% or more over basic economy. From the east coast I don't personally think it's worth it, but opinions vary.

It depends on the class of your ticket. You can call BA and ask them. We were unable to upgrade because our class, purchased as a cruise package, was NOT upgradable. You can go to FlyerTalk web site and get more info.

If you are not a 'Premier' flyer, it's very difficult to get an upgrade without forking over cash.

If they are overbooked in coach, they will seek out the Premier flyers and upgrade them first.

Fortunately, I am with AA. A few years ago I was upgraded from CDG to DFG to their newly redesigned first class. Very nice. I was recently upgraded to Business from LHR to LAX. As I've said, they look for Premier first. For me it helps that I've logged over 1 million miles with them.

And, as the summer tourist season approaches, those upgradeable seats will have been booked well in advance. For someone flying the first time on a particular airline, I'd say the chance is practically nil. But, good luck.

Unless you can get all the way up to business class, I don't see the "Plus" seats as significantly enough different to warrant the extra money.