First Class Upgrade
 

Does anyone know of any tricks that can help get first class airline upgrades? Thanks!

It always works for us when we buy first class tickets

is this a trick question? frequent flyer miles?

or maybe showing a little leg?

Don't even embarrass yourself by trying the "honeymoon" trick, either. Airlines couldn't care less these days. The upgrades go to frequent flyers and the few who pay for the tickets. Period.

Upgrades are not easy to score without paying for them or using miles. With so many people having so many miles to use, first class is often more full than coach!

But, in the off chance that coach is over-sold and first class has capacity, they will upgrade passengers to first before bumping people I assume. To be the lucky ones, it's best to arrive at the airport very early, dress nicely, and be friendly. But be prepared to sit in your coach seats as that's the more likely outcome. ;)

They always want to give me a "no class" downgrade. :-<

Kal: And well deserved, I might add....:P Belle

Kal, you're lucky they don't strap you to the wing! :-)

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting in the lounge listening to a jerk try to get his travel agent into getting him upgraded for free. She wasn't helping him so he worked on the desk clerk. I was so happy to see him sitting in the middle seat in a middle row in coach.

If you want to fly Business or First Class be prepared to pay for it.

If they upgrade you out of coach it's because you either have the miles or paid out the wazoo for a refundable coach r/t ticket. If you got a cheapie ticket that is non-refundable--your chances are slim to none.

Hey Kal-They should put you in the cargo hold with all the other party animals. ;-)

....tuff crowd...tuff crowd b(

Ha Ha! Joke right?

The trick to getting into first class is to purchase first class seats.

Unless you are a big time frequent flyer, it's hard to even use miles for an upgrade. The upgraded seats go to the platinum/diamond/super duper flyers then down the next tier, and to the next.

jlm, even if coach is full or oversold, the frequent flyers get upgraded first.

Yeah, that makes sense. But we were lucky enough a few years ago to get upgraded to first class on Virgin Atlantic flying home from London even though we'd never flown with them before. It was such a great flight! :D

Wow! That's cool. Was this before September 11th? Before then, you could actually get in first class without selling your soul.

Cut. Slack.

Joannelyn, the bad news is that US airlines are so downgrading the level of comfort and service in coach (in order to "compete" with the likes of Southwest et al) that getting upgraded is simply a daydream for most non-elite frequent flyer coach pax. It really is a race to the bottom among the carriers, so the motivation to upgrade for those that have the miles, the dollars, or the status, has never been higher. American Airlines, for example, recently announced they are doing away with their "more room throughout coach" program which gave tolerable legroom in the back of the bus, so much so that "elite" AA frequent flyers (myself included) didn't have to panic if we couldn't upgrade. No more, so speaking personally, and on behalf of most frequent/business flyers, I'll bust my tuckus to get up front, because it's so awful in the back (esp. on long flights.) The result is going to be that the old tales about wearing a tie (or a skirt) or chatting up the gate attendents, or the "honeymoon" gig, is going to cut faint slack with airlines that even offer first class, which many are, by the way, not.

Is there good news? A little. Some airlines allow "gate upgrades" for a modest amount of cash (e.g., $25 per 500 miles) if they have, by some miracle, empty seats up front an hour before the flight leaves. Others have "discounted" first-class fares that you can see if you go to the airline websites and use the "advanced features" part of their flight booking screens. And in fact, the gap between first class and coach fares has narrowed quite a lot in some markets, especially where the "legacy" airlines (those that even have FC) are having their lunches eaten by the low-cost types.

There are some compromises, too. One thing to note is that the food and beverage service in most US airlines' FC cabins is fast taking on the appearance of happy hour at Denny's. Don't fly FC for the cuisine - a gloppy cheese pizza is the likely offering on many AA flights, for example. And soy nuts to replace the warm cashews you used to get. All that's left of real value up front is legroom and seat width. The former you can't get in most coach cabins; the latter you can get without spending 4x your coach fare by having 2 passengers split 3 seats (if the plane is 3 x 3 as most are.) For a couple, if a CrumpleCoach(R) seat is $200, two for $400, then the price only goes to $300 each for a 50% increase in butt room, plus you can sit sideways and have legroom too. Poor man's FC - woo hoo. But it works.

I have flown tons and tons of times since Sept 11, and on several occasions I have had a first class upgrade. Most often it was (ironically) when Iw as trying to change my flight at the airport (i.e. to get me on an earlier plane, they just stuck me on a first class seat). Other times it was just because I asked if there was a way to upgrade -- once I had to pay $25 to upgrade; another time they just reassigned my seat to first class, probably because I was very pregnant. They almost always put me on the wait list to SEE if I could upgrade just for asking. Once my husband had an ear infection and we were trying to get on an earlier flight and they put us BOTH in first class.

Not sure what the trick is, but I always ask and many times it works!

BTW--I do have frequent flyer status, so I suppose this helps. However, the interesting this is that my husband does not have the medallion status, but when I ask for him to sit next to my good seat or get upgraded with me, they always include him in my good deal.

never hurts to ask!

Gardyloo wrote:

"No more, so speaking personally, and on behalf of most frequent/business flyers, I'll bust my tuckus to get up front, because it's so awful in the back (esp. on long flights.) The result is going to be that the old tales about wearing a tie (or a skirt) or chatting up the gate attendents, or the "honeymoon" gig, is going to cut faint slack with airlines that even offer first class, which many are, by the way, not."

Amen.

Very well put Gardyloo.

My MIL has been very fortunate to fall into the good graces of BA (and on occassion VA) and receive upgrades to business class on transatlantic flights. No, she doesn't wear a skirt...she's just a nice senior lady who has difficulty walking and if a seat is available they offer it to her (and she usually asks). There is still some kindness among carriers but I am well aware that others would rather leave the seat empty than offer an upgrade.

Gardyloo, how do two people buy three seats? When you check in do you just say "I'm just one person but I bought both seats so don't give it away?" That's a pretty freaking good idea, I may try that for a flight to Hawaii with my mom.

love
roxy

You pay for three online, you put your own name with (or without) a middle initial for one of them, without (or with) for the second. John Q. Public, J. Quincy Public. You'll get three boarding passes. You'll need to explain to the TSA types and the gate agent what you're doing, and make sure they don't regard the (middle, I assume) seat as unbooked for standbys. It's a little more hassle than usual, but on a transcon it's a blessing. BTW people do this for their cellos or crated pets (if otherwise allowed) all the time.

Meant to add, tell the FAs too, and don't expect to get FF miles for the empty seat. Oh, and the "this is Harvey the giant rabbit" carries no weight whatsoever.

I agree all you can do is ask and see what happens. My only experience in getting upgraded happened when my commuter flight was cancelled between Omaha and Kansas City with connections to Dallas/Ft. Worth. They allowed me to make a non-stop flight out of Omaha directly into DFW on a jet flight in FIRST CLASS! Not only did I get a seat upgrade I ended up at my final destination ahead of my regularly scheduled flight because of BAD weather, amazing!!

I agree all you can do is ask and see what happens. My only experience in getting upgraded happened when my commuter flight was cancelled (icing) between Omaha and Kansas City with connections to Dallas/Ft. Worth. They allowed me to make a non-stop flight out of Omaha directly into DFW on a jet flight in FIRST CLASS! Not only did I get a seat upgrade I ended up at my final destination ahead of my regularly scheduled flight because of BAD weather, amazing!!

When we went to Europe last year I asked
the delta ticket lady at the boarding gate, is it true that some passengers get upgraded to first from coach? she told me that its very rare even if the plane is over sold! they will offer an upgrade to first at a discount price
if the plane is over sold for like $700.00 each but a FREE upgrade, No.
That was Delta.

I have flown international first class a few times using FF miles.

The flight attendants know the FF status of everyone on the plane. They know who is a road warrior and who is on free tickets (me)

That being said, free upgrades, if avaialable, usually go to those with the most miles first.

I almost always get upgraded?
Why? Because I am one of those folks that butter the bread of the airlines.
This year I expect to take 25+ trips, all on AA.
I can assure you they could not care less how I am dressed or how nice I am to them... in fact, they seem to prefer people wo are nice but make no conversation. I see loads of people who try to get upgraded using excuses, arguing, flattering, etc...
The best way to get an upgrade is to be a VALUABLE customer to the airline.

I should add...The flight attendants know who has earned miles from flying frequently and who has earned them on CC or other means.

Dick, that's an easy one... you cannot be Gold, Platinum or Exec Plat on credit card miles.
So, they know who is a freq flyer and they know who is flying on 'free' employee passes.
The flight attendants could not care less who bought a ticket with credit card miles and the information is not broken down to that level on the list they get onboard.
The gate agent can see fare basis, etc... BUT they cannot tell how you earned the miles.
For example, I secure a ticket for my son using FF miles.
The class of service on AA is "T"
The gate agt only knows that he is flying on an AAdvantage tkt. It would take much research to determine how the miles used were secured.
If he was AAdvantage Platinum, an assumption could be made that miles were earned traveling but it would just be an assumption.

That would explain why i got treated so well when flying international first class on reward tix.

If you are NOT treated well flying Internation FIRSTCLASS there is a SERIOUS problem.
On AA, to be in first class you have to buy it (money or miles) or upgrade from a business class ticket (money, miles or VIP upgrade).
No matter how you get there, anything LESS than wonderful service would be unacceptable.
I have always found International First Class on AA to be awesome!

Your chances dropped this morning with Continental. They announced a reduction in the number of seats in first class, taking an increase in coach seats.

I've had good luck with Continental in the past, but it has been expensive: mucho miles plus cash to upgrade. On the other hand, three years ago they partnered with Quantas to honor our Continental miles and we went to Australia and back (including Continental from LAX to IAH both ways) in royal style.

It's only going to get harder. We're changing strategy and using miles to get tickets. Period. We'll ride in the back.

Jim

I have only had free upgrades twice in my traveling life. Here's what happened:

1. Nov. 2000--I flew BA from DFW to LGW. There was a misprint on my return ticket. I did not know this until I went to the check-in counter and they handed me a business class boarding pass. I never complained about this error.

2. August 2004--I was on a plane from IAH to LGW that caught fire on take-off. Needless to say, there was an emergency landing and evacuation using the slides. They rebooked me on a later plane with an upgrade, which was given to everyone who had been on this ill-fated flight. That is, everyone who decided not to cancel their trip altogether.

Reason #1 was a very nice surprise, but I do not recommend getting an upgrade for reason #2.

Buying 2-3 economy seats for 1 traveler is a very risky proposition. Seat assignments are NOT GUARANTEED and the airline has the right to re-assign seating as they please. I don't care who you are, <b>it's always possible</b> that the 2-3 tickets could be seated in different rows, especially if it's a full flight. I do not recommend it.

Your miles may vary!

Thank you all for such a lively response! I believe I will just take the bus...just kidding!!! Looks like I will make due with what I have and hope something miraculous happens. Joanne

SO has serious long term (45+ years) friends in the industry. Works great.
M

It pays to be very large. My father, who is 6'4&quot; and 250 lbs, has been upgraded three times in the past 3 years. Twice while traveling with my equally large uncle when they were seated 3 across with another big man. They simply could not all fit at the shoulders. Once while traveling with my very petite mom when again they were seated with a large man. I think they took pity on my mother who basically disappeared between the two of them.

AAFF - I suggested 3 seats for 2 pax, not 2 for 1 pax. I've done it on AA on several occasions and have never had any issues with the GAs, FAs, or anyone else. While I know they can scramble seats around, they haven't. Of course maybe &quot;plat&quot; on the BPs helps ;)

shaz60,
I mentioned the same last year and was &quot;crucified&quot; for suggesting large folks got priority: I'm 1.75M / 64 kg.
M

Mike - Glad to hear they also upgrade those who are metrically large.