 Ask anyone: the day of flight upgrades are over. Nobody gets bumped up anymore. Not only this, it’s impossible to get into airline lounges unless you’re flying business class, to get your hotel room upgraded to the executive floor… and those speed-lanes at immigration are for rock-stars only, right?
Wrong! Says cross-continental habitué, Samantha Honey. The bump-ups are still possible, and when they happen, they’re better than ever before. Read on to learn extraordinary ways to enjoy the silver lining of otherwise dismally grey elements of travel…
Before you begin
Know thy enemy
You can maximise your chances of an upgrade simply by using your head about when, and where, to fly. Peak times of day, season and routes, when services are pushed to their limit and airports are packed, aren’t usually the flights on which you’ll be offered a complimentary upgrade. Instead, consider flying out of peak times, when the aircraft is less likely to be full and tensions aren’t running so high.
Be prepared to pay
The economy passenger who holds a class of ticket that’s more flexible- usually because it was more expensive to begin with- can be upgraded, whilst some tickets which were bought at a super-bargain price simply can’t be. Confirm with your booking agent if your class of ticket has the flexibility to be upgraded. And, if you’re not offered it for free, enquire upon check-in about the price difference between your booked seat in economy and an upgrade. Per sector to move from a booked seat in economy to business class can sometimes cost as little as $100.00.
For a flight upgrade
Come early, or come late
Timing, as they say, is everything. I’ve been at the end of the check-in queue for a Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur and been handed my boarding card back with the magic silver lining around it- a business-class upgrade, and, on another occasion, this time with Delta airlines from New York, booked a domestic flight the day before to be told, “Sorry, we have no economy seats left, I’ll have to put you in business for the same price. Is this alright with you?” If you’re willing to place an each-way bet on either getting an upgrade or getting the worst seat on the plane, waiting to the last minute may work for you.
But when attempting to upgrade using your frequent flyer miles, it’s imperative to be early. “I’ve got to be the first one on the business-class waitlist for that flight,” Roberto, who holds gold frequent-flyer status with a number of airlines, confirms. When checking in the standard hour-and-a-half before flight departure, he’s unsuccessfully tried to use his miles to upgrade on a number of popular domestic routes, only to be left hanging at the gate with the rest of economy passengers waiting to board. “So now as soon as check-in opens, I’m there.”
Travel alone
Forget the honeymoon excuse. The most it will ever get you in the air these days is a tepid glass of bubbly. To be invited forward, instead, look professional yet relaxed, and travel alone. When you think about it, it’s common sense. Most airlines prefer to leave seats next to their premium-class passengers travelling alone empty; so on a flight that’s not full, business class passengers will be as spaced out as possible, making it less likely there will be two premium seats next to each other. Plus, do you think the airline wants you two giggling and whispering about how lovely the free upgrade is, just behind the stressed out, full-fare paying CFO?
Be there to help
Although I don’t always get the upgrade, I do regularly get a seat with extra legroom. How does this happen, you may ask, to a five-seven, slim-build woman who clearly doesn’t need it? Quite simple- I volunteer to take the exit row.
“It’s airline policy to seat able-bodied and minded passengers in the exit row seats who can assist the crew in case of an emergency,” my friend Kate, a seasoned flight attendant, has told me many times. You’ll have to go through the inconvenience of face-to-face check-in, though, as these seats can’t be selected online with many airlines. In addition, some attendants on board will ask you personally to look at the emergency instructions, and the crew may refuse to serve you alcohol if you’re deemed to be getting a bit tipsy. These factors can make a difference to one’s travel experience, so it’s only if my favourite window seat at the very front of economy (in airline lingo, called the “bulkhead”) isn’t available, that I concede, “Well, then, I’m willing to take the exit row.” If you fancy extra space and don’t mind the worst-case scenario, you may like to say the same.
If you’ve got it, flaunt it
One of the coolest upgrade moves was recently shown to me by my husband on board a flight to Gatwick from the Caribbean. Upon entering the aircraft, in his very suave way he said to the attendants at the front doors, “You girls are going to look after us, aren’t you?”, gave a big grin, and flashed his International Airline Pilots Association ID . We were sitting in the front cabin sipping gin and tonics before having the chance to say, “Make mine a double”. Granted this wouldn’t have worked for someone out of the industry, but if you do have a reason to believe you’re entitled to special privileges on board, speak up. If you’ve had a rough few hours and transit and need quality snooze on the flight, by all means ask if there’s a spare seat up front. You may well be the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.
For special priviledges
When there’s trouble, boycott the angst
On a recent United Airlines flight from New York to San Francisco, business-owner Nancy Vaughn sat with fellow passengers in the plane ready to depart for 50 minutes before the flight crew announced the necessitation of everyone to disembark and change planes- but at what time the new plane would arrive, the crew didn’t know. “I was livid,” recalls Nancy, “ and I stayed in my seat until almost everyone else had disembarked, determined to give the crew a piece of my mind,” But as she was about to, something changed her mind. “I began to think about what a tough decision it must have been, to call the flight off after such a delay; how expensive it must have been for the airline, and how it was a decision made in favour of my own safety, after all.” As she walked past the galley, she saw a flight attendant drinking a glass of orange juice and joked, “I hope that’s a Mimosa <buck’s fizz>- I sure need one!”
“The flight attendant must have been so happy to have received at least one joke, instead of all the complaints he’d had, that on the spot he pulled out a bottle of champagne, twisted it open, gave me two plastic glasses and a paper bag, saying, thanks for your patience,” recalls Nancy. Sounds like a fantasy? I witnessed it happen!
For lounge access
Put your money on the table
“We lined up next to the gate for half an hour to talk to the airline staff when we saw our flight was delayed, and when we asked if there was any compensation being offered for the inconvenience, including passes into the lounge, we were told a flat out no” says Cherry, a frequent flyer, who still wanted somewhere quiet so she and her husband could rearrange their plans. So figuring they’d bite the bullet and pay anyway, they went up to the club. ”We walked in defeated, and my husband pulled out his credit card whilst we stated the facts, that our plane had been delayed again, and we needed somewhere quiet to make some calls to family,” recalls Cherry, “the representative tapped a few letters on her keyboard, looked up and just said, You two can go right ahead. I really think it was because we weren’t trying to get something for nothing.”
 “I don’t speak that currency”
With most short-haul flights now requiring passengers to pay for their own meal and beverage choices, it’s unlikely that passengers don’t carry cash. But if you’re lucky enough not to be, as I was in Miami International airport recently, without an ATM machine inside the departures lounge, and with the club lounge’s credit card machine not working, you may just be waved in. “This also works in places like the Caribbean, where there’s 3 or 4 different currencies operating in a really small area, and no-one can be bothered calculating the exchange rate,” confirms a canny Scottish friend. Be advised though: Travelling in these locations and paying US dollars are a great way to pay to avoid whopping fees on top of many airport prices- should the credit card machine have been working in Miami, I would have been charged $26.60 as opposed to $20 for paying cash.
Don’t mention the open bar
When you’re in serious need of zen, the time tested adage, “Ask and you shall receive” is a steadfast standby. Teresa, an airline lounge receptionist, confirms this. “Ask nicely if you can just enter to sit somewhere quietly and meditate for ten minutes, or to use the restroom to freshen up, and it isn’t usually a problem for me to allow access to the lounge. But if I say no, it’s only because I’ve said yes before, to find the passenger gulping down whiskeys as soon as they’re inside!”
For hotel benefits
Double dip, triple-dip
Sure, there will always be someone with more miles than you on whatever loyalty scheme you belong to. But hotel industry mileage programs have become so competitive in the past 3 years, you may be eligible for more privileges than you think, with linked partners now including airlines, credit cards, restaurants and department stores. A room upgrade, a percentage off dining in the hotel’s restaurants, free breakfast or welcome drink are all worth asking about when you check in, even if you don’t belong to the hotel’s loyalty scheme yet. They may be offering an incentive for joining. Speaking from experience from the other side of the reception desk, if an arriving guest asked me about complimentary breakfast or if they were eligible for a welcome drink, I’d check the system and see what I could offer to make their stay more enjoyable. Again, it pays off to ask!
Ask for a disabled room, if it’s free
So you swipe into your hotel room in New York City and it’s as big as a shoe box. Or, worse, in London, and it’s as big as a child’s shoe box. Or worse still, in Hong Kong, and you have to climb over the bed to get to the bathroom. If you’re not willing to hand over more moula but seek something a little more… liveable; ask if the hotel has a vacant disabled room. Benefits, which include a wider hallway, more bathroom space and usually more bedroom space, can far outweigh the minimal differences of a lower sink and a handrail in the bathtub. Plus, if you’re the type of person that hates wandering the corridor in search of the door with your magic number on it, you’ll find these rooms usually located near the main elevator.
Do unto others…
It’s the same rule as at airline check-in: first impressions count. The nicer you are to the bellboy, the receptionist and the check-in counter person, the nicer you’ll be treated by their colleagues the whole way through your stay or flight. “We do pass on information about guests,” confirms an old colleague of mine in Guest Relations with a five star hotel chain. But if the idea of tipping on top of the hefty sum you’re already paying just to be treated well makes you want to gag, don’t despair. Hotel staff can be just as happy to help a guest who is pleasant in return. “If I’ve enjoyed a nice experience with a guest, I’ll go out of my way to make their stay extra special. Ditto if it’s a special occasion for them,” says another Guest relations employee. Still, leave out the honeymoon excuse, because, “You would have alerted us in advance!” hotel employees agree. Instead, why not try “We’ve just got engaged!”- and await the delivery fresh choc-dipped strawberries.
Strategies that backfire
The complainer.
“Some passengers simply list all the things that have gone wrong from the moment they got out of bed that morning, and expect us to move them into first class,” flight attendant, Kate, says. “We can’t help it if the airline wouldn’t accept the weight of their bag, or they had trouble clearing immigration!” If your complaint is a genuine grievance that is the direct responsibility of the airline staff, you’re more likely to be met with sympathy. But common complainers win few friends in life, and in the air, it’s just the same. “So what if you’re tall or fat?” another flight attendant says, “You should have booked a seat with extra leg-room or in premium class in the first place. I won’t be moving someone forward for complaining about that.”
 The seat sneak.
The seat sneak comes in two variations. The first, less common these days, is the individual whose boarding card says seat 63E who plonks themselves down in 2A with an air of nonchalance. Remember Roberto, the gold-status frequent flyer? Back in university days, he tried this once or twice, “I’d just sit down, pull out a novel and read it, hoping the seat was free and I’d be able to stay”. Seat-sneaks are rarely so bold now, and usually are content to switch their middle seat for the window/aisle, pretending not to speak the language when questioned, which they inevitably are.
The second variation of seat sneak is the cross-class seat-sneak. This upgrade strategy is employed by two or more passengers travelling together. The lead party has their seat booked in, say, first class, whilst the other party is booked in business. Then, as soon as they’re seated, the party in the higher class makes noises about how much they need the other person needs to join them. This kind of seat-sneak irritates cabin crew no end, “Yes, we want to keep our passengers in the premium classes happy,” says Kate, “But we have a responsibility to our other paying passengers as well.” From personal experience of being booked in business class whilst my travelling companion was in first class, I can tell you it’s no fun to be upgraded this way. Although I was seated next to her in first class for most of the journey, I was required to return to business class for meals. In addition, the premium offerings of first class, such as in-flight massage, were off-limits. It makes for a less-than enjoyable journey, and it’s not a strategy I’d recommend at all.
Lastly and inevitably, it will come to the time when you disembark the aircraft and await the bus or trek to the immigration queue. Any chance of a fast-track stamp on your boarding card so you’re entitled to join the short queue? “Not at this stage,” Kate laughs, “It’s usually out of our hands by the time passengers are disembarking.” Instead, request at the check-in counter for a fast-track pass through immigration at the other end, and have a good reason ready. Your last chance will come when the immigration cards are handed out when the aircraft is about to land- sometimes the fast-track passes are being handed out in the premier classes and your attendant may just be able to bring you one, too.
If you’re not a fractional-jet owner yet and flying commercial’s still a necessary evil, take heart that the strategies above have all worked in the past six months. The days of flying in comfort are not yet over! Dare to prepare yourself to experience the best, no matter what cabin you’re flying in, and you’ll soon be one of the travellers that always gets the upgrade. |
