Any Dopers work for airline companies with a good tip for upgrading from economy? I can wear a suit and look presentable, but any insights would be greatly appreciated.
You have to do more than wear a suit and look presentable. You also have to pay extra money and/or cash in frequent flier miles.
Try being a plain-clothes fed on a flight to DC.
I’ve been upgraded for free a few times. Once because I took a bump from my flight - they gave me first class on the next flight, and a free ticket for later.
Once I was a bit late to the gate and the flight was already boarding. I was wearing a suit and probably looked like the harried professional that I was at the time. I smiled at the man checking me in and he upgraded me - I guess I looked like I could use it. (OK - they’d probably already given away my coach seat.)
Another time I just asked and they said OK - the flight wasn’t crowded at all.
I’ve found that getting upgraded in other venues is usually as easy as asking nicely. At hotels, I’ll sometimes ask if they have any suites available - I’ve been upgraded for free several times. On occasion I’ve been upgraded without even asking.
I took a bump and switched from Continental to (I forget who their sister company is) and got a $200 voucher and bumped to first class. It kicked ass big time. I suggest trying that- when you check in, tell them you have a flexible flight schedule and they’ll call you first if they need to bump someone.
A lot of it has to do with how much you fly. With Northwest Airlines, they have silver, gold, and platinum elite status for their frequent fliers. These people will be given the available first-class seats. If you’re not an “elite” passenger, I can’t think of anything that will get you a free first-class upgrade that doesn’t involve mile-high club activities.
I’ve lucked out a few times getting bumped into 1st class. Honestly, I don’t care where I sit - just get me from point “A” to point “B” in one piece, and I’m cool with it. I also must have one of the most trusted faces, because they usually seat me in the row with the door - the flight attendants brief me on what to do in case of an emergency to assist in getting the other passengers out.
The last time I got bumped into 1st class was during a crowded flight. The flight attendants asked if anyone would give up their assigned seat so that a family could be seated together - no one offered, but I said, “Sure!”. I fully expected to be seated in a closet, or at the least in the back row. Then I was escorted to 1st class.
There’s a moral to every story, eh?
Recently Delta was offering gate upgrades for about 50 a pop. Not too bad if it’s a long flight and you drink, otherwise might not be worth it. I got an upgrade for a transatlantic flight last year when I brought chocolate chip cookies for the gate crew. That was great, cost about $3.00 (homemade). Plus I was nice. I guess it can’t hurt to ask about the possibility. Of course a lot of airlines have coupons or points for their frequent fliers to get upgrades, but these can be tricky to use. If you have those let me know and I can give some tips.
With all the terrorism alerts and whatnot, I would be surprised if they accepted homemade cookies now…who knows what people could put in them?
Well, see, my strategy was… clerverly choose the seat in which an airsick child will have sat on the last flight. Clerverly choose a flight which is not overly full. And cleverly choose a flight which is running late. Because they won’t have had time to really clean up the mess thoroughly, they’ll move you up to the front while your poor brother gets stuck sitting in the back right where he would have been. Works every time.
Yeah, I like some of those suggestions. I would just ask the person at the counter if I could go up to first class. Sometimes they do it & sometimes not. Looking nice & being nice works well.
Good advice from everyone so far. I work for a mAAjor airline, and from talking to gate agents over the years I can tell you that being nice is the way to get upgraded. They deal with passengers all day who can make unreasonable demands on them - or sometimes its just 100 demands, all reasonable, but still too many.
Look nice (no matter how nice you are you’re not getting in first class in cut-off blue jeans and a tank top unless you paid for that ticket) and be nice. SouthernSky had it right - by simply moving to another seat you’ve made the gate agent’s life a WHOLE lot easier. The family is happy, the gate agent is happy, and you find yourself in first class - also happy!
That being said, the actual rules for upgrading passengers varies widely between airlines. Becoming an elite flyer on an airline will surely help, but that takes a lot of flying. If you are just looking for an upgrade on your once-a-year trip to Grandma’s house, the best chance you have is to be nice!
Sometimes you can get a dirt cheap upgrade by asking nicely at the check-in desk. One of my friends asks every time he flies, and often ends up sitting pretty in first class for as little as UKP £50-75 extra.
Last time I travelled to the US with Virgin Atlantic, I arrived at London Gatwick and enquired if there were any upgrades on offer. The clerk moved me from Premium Economy to Upper Class free of charge, because there was a spare seat and I was the first person to ask. Nice way to start the trip :).