Any chance of success in asking for a free upgrade?

[anat0l]

I am not asking because I am looking for one—I have never thought about asking for nor ever expected a free upgrade—but after speaking to the parents of a friend who don't fly often and reading Top 10 worst excuses for free upgrades, I am interested in other stories AFF members have heard.

His parents recently flew QF5 to meet us and after their arrival there was the obligatory discussion about the flight during which they complained that when they asked if they could score a free upgrade, were told, "no, sorry the flight is very full." Now, whether this was true or not is irrelevant, but what struck me was what came after. The mother said (to us; thankfully not to the check-in agent) "and I thought, 'yeah, bull****.'" I have this feeling that it isn't uncommon among those that don't fly often to have this mentality. But why is this the case and why is it even at all expected? I expect to get the class of service that I pay for. And if there were op-up opportunities available, I expect it to go to status pax over non-status pax.

Have any AFFers or anyone they know actually tried the tactic of simply asking or making an excuse to score a free upgrade? It would be interesting to know the statistics as it doesn't seem that uncommon which seems to suggest that it does actually work sometimes, otherwise, this mentality or pattern of behaviour would not be as common as it is.

To answer this part, I think it might've been a small holdover from the golden ages of flying, where people used to chat up the CSAs or airline staff to finagle an upgrade that way.

In the modern day context, I would also lay quite a bit of blame on the USA. FF elites in the USA are often entitled to upgrades where space is available. However, this kind of ethos has filtered into the rest of the travelling public. In the USA, it's considered not-too-unusual to ask for an upgrade just to try your chances. (They are very heavily on the side of, "If you don't ask, you don't get"). This is especially true if you are any kind of FF elite. Newspapers and journals publish articles like, "How to increase your chances of an upgrade," with little to no shame (and only one - if any - of those suggestions are actually true). I'll refrain from further criticism of US travelling etiquette and attitude or lack thereof, but that's adding a factor.

The rise of more classes and class system along with the notion of upgrades (i.e. it can be done with instruments or entitlements now, whereas in the old days you really had to pay the next class up to sit in it) has also made a big contribution to people just trying their luck for an upgrade.

The other common arguments of those who are disgruntled after being refused an upgrade are:

• "It's another bl**dy seat, so why can't I just sit in it?"
• "No one's gonna sit there, why can't I?"
• "Why not fill up the cabin rather than let it go empty? That's money you're throwing away."
• "It's not like I'm asking for the world, or a First Class seat."
• "I fly x amount of times on this airline. I must be one of your best customers*. Surely an upgrade would not be too much to ask for?" *(yeah, right)

All of them are flawed IMO and all have good rebuttals which might be worth a separate topic instead.

I am not of the opinion of "if you do not ask you will not receive". The advice is fine by itself but in this context it is flawed. An upgrade is strictly a privilege, not a right. Knowing this, how can you be so shameful as to ask for an upgrade for free if you know that you cannot possibly be automatically entitled to one. If someone asked you for a reason why you should be upgraded for free, I would bet there wouldn't be a good one at all. So I wouldn't waste your time and dignity asking for something you clearly are not entitled to. If you want to be entitled to one, you follow the relevant channels to get one in earnest. Journalists or bloggers who suggest that anyone should ask for an upgrade and not be ashamed to do so are deceiving at best, and frankly I don't want to qualify the worst.

Operational upgrades, I believe, are purely at the whim of the airline. We would like to believe that they are supposed to go to elites first, but this is only true in an ideal world. In reality, operational upgrades would like to be based on status but are primarily fitted according to convenience. Even a UA gate agent regales about op-ups when he worked for the airline (and the US airlines have a fairly strict regimen of fitting elites for operational upgrades, which ends up being more common than not due to overbooking), and a lot of it does come down to slotting for convenience, but these cases should be rare. (If the Swiss cheese holes line up for you today, you just might miss out.) In that light, I treat operational upgrades also as a privilege or a bonus, not a right or a set entitlement. I don't say, "I'm a Platinum and I only got 1 operational upgrade last year therefore so-and-so airline are a bunch of crooks who don't look after their elites," or, "I'm a Platinum and here I am sitting in Economy whilst that bl**dy Silver is sitting in Business got my operational upgrade". It's a simple case of if you get one, you got one, and that's a bonus. If you so happen to have a record of 12 operational upgrades last year, or a rare double-class operational upgrade, then Lady Luck was shining on you. Be grateful; don't think you're more loved.

In conclusion, if you want an upgrade, help yourself to get one. Don't think you can simply finagle one for free. And I'd be disgusted at the attitude of your friend's mother, but I suppose we must cut her some slack because she's simply not aware, especially if she doesn't fly often. (It still embodies a general attitude problem rather than a specific flying etiquette one.)

On a totally unrelated side note: this couple are over 60 and, nothing against them personally, but if they were on my flight seated in an exit row, I would strenuously object. The husband wears a hearing aid, the wife not so mobile and neither of them would satisfy the exit row requirement of being able to lift and throw out an emergency door. They even commented on it themselves (after reading the requirements before paying for the seats) saying that if there actually was an emergency and they needed to open the door, everyone would be screwed. Surely QF should police this more?

Material probably for another thread, but in short since exit rows were commoditised in the view that they are extra leg room seats, I'm hard pressed to find an airline that will actually enforce the real safety rules of emergency exits and reseat people who are not "fit" for sitting there. It doesn't help that the "fitness" of a passenger is not assessed at the time that the seats are selected / purchased (yes there might be a warning - a bit like the Dangerous Goods warning - which doesn't stop anyone).

The FAs might also be in a rock and hard place once passengers board. Unless they overheard the couple admit that they were not "fit", how do you judge someone accurately that they would not be fit for assisting in an emergency landing? (Testing if someone can speak English is easy and one factor, but if they pass that then what else.) How do you do this without "demeaning" the passenger? (This is really big in the US where people who are not quite "fit to fly" have thrown up massive lawsuits or tantrums that make the media.) How do you answer a passenger that says back at you, "Well, are we going to have an emergency today? No? The plane is safe? So what's the big deal in me sitting here? You said we're not going to have an emergency? What do you mean there's a risk? Are you telling me the airline is unsafe?" (and so on and so on...)

On the other side of the fence for airlines, there's nothing too unethical that can't be done to extract more dollars from a passenger, right?

 

[ricee007]

Never asked (except, of course, on stand-by tickets (...)).

Though, last international trip (to Bangkok with Jet*) I asked at the checkin how much $$$ to upgrade to business.

I, of course, hoped that they would say free / really cheap.... but it was $300 or $400 each there and something like $700 each on the way back. The on the way there was worth considering.... but, I figure Jet* Business can't be that good, and having already flown QF Business to London and LAX (and mostly return) I was afraid I might be disappointed. Besides, the flight isn't *that* long to BKK.

In fact, I think this is the approach I'll take in future, ask how much $$$ it is to upgrade, if it's cheap, do so... if not, then no problems. I've heard that BA offer really cheap business upgrades at the checkin counter, sometimes.... but, of course, this is a 'heard from a friend of a friend'.

Do you guys think this approach is 'ethical'?

 

[Lawlass]

In conclusion, if you want an upgrade, help yourself to get one.

Or simply help yourself TO one...

 

[straitman]

Or simply help yourself TO one...

I assume your book on how to snare upgrades will be published in the near future.

 

[oz_mark]

I assume your book on how to snare upgrades will be published in the near future.

I took a JQi flight recently and a couple tried that self upgrade trick. They were sprung!

 

[dfcatch]

I took a JQi flight recently and a couple tried that self upgrade trick. They were sprung!

I was on a JQi flight a cpl of weekends ago and someone tried it on too....

Didn't end well for them

 

[boylero]

I flew around the world melb-la-pittsburgh-ny-paris-lyon-helsinki-seoul-hk-melb in 2010 and was upgraded on the first leg without asking. I proceded to ask for upgrades for the rest of my journey and got squat. I was a Gold Flyer with not enough points for upgrade on the first leg, I reckon that has something to do with it i.e. how many FF points you have.

On the other hand a veteran colleague of mine gets upgraded everytime he flys [almost] reckon its his age and hes a big fella

 

[doobynuts]

Damn I've been on 203 flights - most of them international in my time and still waiting for that first upgrade. So sad now.

 

[fairhsa]

Being previously a Platinum FF with Qantas and currently living in Hong Kong Diamond with Cathay - it's pretty common to get upgraded. I used to get to know the staff in the Melbourne lounge when I was flying to Adelaide every week and they would upgrade me once or twice a month when the plane was full. But I NEVER "ask". I often approach this as "How full is the flight? Can I get an empty seat next to me? Or a bulkhead seat so that I can open my laptop and work"?" Which at least has the benefit of getting a decent economy seat if there are no upgrades available! It just politely highlights interest.

With Cathay, they have a policy of upgrading Diamonds if they are full, so it's actually pretty common just to ask "Are you full on this flight? Are you upgrading?" if they say "yes" - then I ask; if they say "no, flight is not full" then I just try and get a decent seat in Economy and hope for a bump on boarding (which can happen). Mind you, Cathay bumps up it;s Diamonds MUCH more often that Qantas. I'd say I'm running at approx 30-40% average probability of getting an upgrade, which is pretty good. Gaining Diamond, however, is very tough (much harder then QF Platinum, and no, they don't upgrade the OW equivalents as often).

 

[dsotm]

My family of four all got upgraded to PE on QF93 to LA last year. I was friendly but I didn't say a word about upgrades at checkin. Nice.

Flew home on QF94 zoo-class at the back.

 

[Jillybean]

Is this what we're talking about..... [h=3]frequent liar program n.[/h]Travelers who will say anything to receive upgrades on flights or hotel rooms, free meals, etc


For many years I worked on the 'other' side of these requests/demands/pleads.
Most of us were taught as a child if you ask you won't get..... that is pretty much what it's all about at check-in as well. There is the odd occasion where that is not the case and that's when the controllers are looking for 'x' amount of people to upgrade due to circumstances on that particular flight.
The check-in staff will then choose who to upgrade, and believe me it's not the ones that ask, it's not the ones in thongs, it's not the ones in stubbies and a singlet.

I upgraded two Nuns once, why......just because I thought I would, and no other reason. They were most grateful and wouldn't have ever asked in the million years for an upgrade, and it was lovely to see the looks on their faces as they sat down in Business Class....and I bet to this day they've remembered that flight.

It's more rewarding to upgrade someone who has never experienced it before because they might just take up Business Class as their preferred way to travel rather than someone who just wants it everytime they fly, every week or month.....and all for nothing.

 

[RobJ]

Last time I was last Qantas Gold I scored a few upgrades, even at boarding After a year slumming in Silver I'm back and hoping for repeats, but given the lack of success of many platinum contributors, looks like you've got to be really lucky. When Cathay rerouted me ADL-HKG, they up graded me and two friends travelling with me, and the next day repeated the upgrades on Dragonair to Beijing.

 

[prozac]

I have flown Y most of my life, occasionally in J if for work. Never been offered an upgrade. Now that I can afford J on my own account the last thing I would want if I have a spare seat adjoining is to have it filled by some pushy Y upgrade type who has tried it on and succeeded. Know your place is at the back of the plane and be satisfied you can still fly today for the same price as 30 years ago. What a bargain.

 

[brucek]

In the 80s and 90s I used to receive upgrades somewhat more frequently than today. The best one of all was in 1994. It was my daughter's first birthday. We won two Ansett mystery flight tickets at a Royal Womens Hospital fund raiser. Flew MEL-BNE early that day. On the return BNE-MEL leg early evenning. It had been a long day, we probably looked a little tired, and the airport was quiet. The Ansett check in staff became aware of our circumstances and my daughter's birthday. They upgraded us to a row of three business class seats (row two) and the cabin crew could not have been nicer. I don't ever expect anything like that to occur to me again.

Ansett was a truely great airline and I still lament the day the smug Sir Selwyn Cushing, then chairman of Air New Zealand, announced at a televised media conference that ANZ and purchased News Corps 50% of Ansett. It was a case of David taking over Golliath, and as they say, the rest is history. SIA should have been allowed to purchase News' 50% because if they had, history would most certainly have been different.

Back to topic, about a year ago I scored a three seat upgarde MEL-SIN with Emirates. It was wonderful.

Airline managers and industry insiders however tell me the above days are largely gone, and airlines are more strategic about how and to whom they upgrade.

 

[doobynuts]

So next time I fly I will ditch the thongs and singlet and goto check-in dressed as a priest - can only boost my free upgrade chances


But seriously how do you know if the person has "never experienced it before" - does it say on the system that Joe Bloggs has never had a free upgrade before? The nuns might have flown business 100 times before and decided to fly economy this time - the look on their face might have been surprise that they are flying business yet again.

 

[Dawn1004]

Is there a protocol for asking for the availability to upgrade and pay the additional cost at the check-in counter? Not even sure if money/cards can be taken at the checkout area? I enquired with my TA to see if my 2 legs booked as Economy Perth to NZ and then return if I could pay for the three of us to be upgraded to business (no prem econ on the flight apparently), but they advised that they could only upgrade us,at a cost, if we upgraded the whole flight, i.e even the prem econ legs NZ to LAX.
So we didn't upgrade as it was rather high, and had already paid a pretty penny for the prem econ flights.
TA mentioned asking at the counter at Perth, and then at NZ returning.
I will ask, I'm not concerned with having to pay the additional cost, per the 2 legs Per/NZ legs (not the legs to USA though), I know we wouldn't get a freebie, as there are 3 of us travelling, and we're not of the type that look well-to-do, i.e we all like to travel casually (not slobby slobby) but casual.

 

[herbie]

i travel internationally about 15 times a year. with Qantas, by my experience, they go by status first and then by linked flyers, even if alower ststus. in other words if you are gold and they upgrade a platinum they will upgrade their travelling companion before you. however linking can also work against you as sometimes they DON'T upgrade you if you are linked to a lesser status traveller. other airlines seem to be more liberal. i would say Qantas are certianly the least likely to give you a free upgrade. although i must say i got 7 out of 10 upgrades in one stretch from prem economy (the easiest in my opinion) to business during the GFF!

 

[Limewood]

I said to the lass at CX checkin "we went business class last time that was nice", we both were upgraded at gate, another time on CX I was in J wife was in Y she got upgraded to J. Was at Q counter checking said to guy "looking forward to this trip in business class", at gate entry FA said MR... would you like to join us in 1st, I sure did, lucky I guess.

 

[Lucky_man]

I don't think the problem is ever asking but what happens when the answer is no. I asked for an unallowed luggage interlining the other day. She made a quick call and it was allowed (to check in agents surprise). I'll ask for upgrades and the answer is normally no and that is OK. I don't push the issue. I can tell you some things I think do help. And I have rated them as well. Based on experience of 1 person is is statistically invalid.

1) "It is our honeymoon." Self and wife WP. Upgrade even when Y not full - also on return flight.
2) My wife and I are in J but I am with my GM is in Y so I am a bit embarassed. Extra guest in F Lounge and GM upgraded. Plane possibley full in Y.
3) Convince F entry attendent you are knackered - she asks you to leave boarding pass with her. Very high on list for op-up.

I also ask (without shame) for blocked seats when in Y. I don't complain if the answer is no. Surprisingly contracted PVG checkin is most proactive at doing this.

My last op up was mid flight. Some one's entertainment system died so the cabin crew wanted my seat for them. I still have not worked out how much compo to ask for for being asked to move mid flight from 24J to 1J

 

[Musongman]

I've only ever had one upgrade ever, quite unsolicited flying CX from BKK to SIN. Upon check-in I was told that they would like to move me to Business to assist an Economy shortfall! It was my birthday and I loved it! Coming back I asked was there any chance as I had enjoyed the forward journey, alas, negative, but Y was light and I had plenty of room.