Just curious what would some tips be on how to get a free upgrade for an overseas flight or for any flight basically? I want to try my luck and see if I can get an upgrade with my flight to Paris in a few weeks time. I am a F/Flyer member & flying out on a Tuesday at 1700, many business people I imagine wouldnt be on that flight, but what else could help my chances of getting successful upgrade in seating?
Dress smartly, and ask nicely. Option B - pay for upgrade. Many airlines refer to option B unless cattle class is pretty full.
Bribes. Basically, something special like some good chocolates and a quiet thank you to the staff as you board.
really, you are probably shit out of luck, all the old ways are way too well known these days. unless you are a high ranking frequent flier, there is an overbook or you pay for it, you are going in cattle class
i am going to surprise visit my girlfriend over in Paris, I will be travelling alone I do know some staff that work there, I might have to chat to them before hand. I was thinking of just dressing nice in a collared shirt, leather shoes, nice jeans and arriving super early to be first in line at check in
Book into the middle of the first row of the economy cabin, if you're a high level FF they will push you up a class if they need to seat a family there.
Won't happen Pepsi, unless you're killing it in the FF department. Your best bet is to buy an upgrade to the pointy end.
upgrades get offered to platinum then gold then silver FFers first. in reality, no one passes an upgrade up, so they rarely get past the platinums Best chance to get an upgrade 'free' is to use points. but you have to get in early, the airlines would rather someone pay for an upgrade than use points or try and mooch one at the gate.
Even as a platinum one FF w/ Qantas the upgrades are getting rarer. I'd say maybe 1/4-1/5? And that's normally from Premium to business, not cattle up. And that's with doing 30-35k kms a fortnight in business! It's a 'reasonably' cheap option to use points as an upgrade (I think 35k points?). But you can't be flying the cheapest fare class.
I asked a co-worker this exact same question and he said her partner flies a lot and all she does is simply ask. Apparently on 3 out of 4 flights she is successful and gets upgraded to business....both local and international flights. However she is a very frequent flyer so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.
tried this on our actual honeymoon. What they said was "we can't upgrade the both of you but we CAN upgrade your luggage?" - basically our luggage came out first out of the carousel
I read an article recently and the girl went through her entire process of being upgraded on an Emirates flight. She basically pestered the hell out of the checkin/gate staff/ business class gate staff right up until boarding, multiple times. She did it in a nice way of course but she basically consonantly asked about being upgraded at every opportunity and during boarding they bumped her up. Its a very slim chance you get done, you basically need to be a part of the FF program and other than that be nice, dress professionally and you might get lucky.
Unless that works better than 50% of the time, that's just a story of luck, not a 'how to get upgraded' instructional.
even using points isn't a sure fire bet . Your approach of dressing nicely will achieve sweet fuck all tbh . Best way is to pay for a PE ticket and then use points to put in a request if you have that many points lying around . Or pay for a business ticket . Don't think once you are in the air and you see empty business seats that they will let you sit in it . Most flights have a code share arrangement with another airline and the other airline buys those business seats so if they don't sell they don't get used .
Paying and upgrading with points is such a waste of points. Especially when 140k miles gets you RTW F.
Also depends on who you are flying with OP. If you're flying with SQ (Singapore Air), forget it. Period. The PPS members would go ballistic if they found "Rif Raf" had been allowed up the pointy end without paying for it. Most airlines will require you to have some level of elite status (Gold at absolute minimum), and even then, chances are low. What can work, is volunteering to take a later flight when the cabin is oversold and everyone turns up. The trick is to volunteer at the point where the agent doesn't realise they have enough volunteers already until after she starts the process. Then they apologise for not telling you they they no longer need volunteers, and offer you either a credit towards another flight with the airline... Or. the option to be bumped to business. Seriously though, your chances are buckleys to non. Pay for it, or enjoy the flight in coach. Z...
Pretty much this I do enjoy buying a Business seat with my SIA points and dressing like riff-raff as well, their coffee service is a little crappy however
