Asking nicely with a logical reason has gotten me free upgrades twice. The first time, I was immensely pregnant--I was thrilled, they fed me the moment I sat down. The second, my husband was booked in business class by his company; we paid for me in premium. On the way home, we asked if they could seat me with him and they agreed.
My best paid upgrade to business was £40 from Tokyo to London on BA about 3 months in advance - I still chuckle at how immensely ridiculous it felt. Like some guy in a bar just leaning over saying “40 quid’ll do it.” Sometimes I wonder if it was actually an error fare as I’ve never seen anything that good since 😅
I got bumped from Premium Economy up to business class in august on my way to America. It was with American Airlines and I had no idea until I was boarding. It can happen! Huge item checked off my bucket list for travel right there.
I've been undercover in some Facebook groups about traveling in business/first class and the general rule of thumb is that if you are upgrading from economy to business, anything between 80-100 USD per hour of travel is a fair price. Anything below you've got a bargain.
So when the screens show the upgrades at the gate, have people asked for upgrades to be placed on that list, or just based on FF mile balances or what? Also, when travelling with partner, does that make upgrade potential for both less likely?
Great & for real video. I’ve been fortunate with British Airways upgrades as I have status with American. Only downside of BA is having to deal with the transit mess at Heathrow.
NEVER ask on board for an upgrade with BA (probably other airlines lol). We don’t do it as a policy. We don’t take payments on board. Stop harassing my staff whilst they’re rushing to get you away on time. It’s above all our pay grades.
I got upgrade on Air Astana at the airport. I had paid for premium economy (where they turn 3 seats in economy into a bed). However, due to the lack of popularity of the service they decieed not to offer it andI was upgraded instead.
Generally check-in and bid upgrades, at least on most Skyteam/*A flights, will give you miles for the cabin originally booked. Upfaring (Paying the difference between your fare and the lowest fare for the cabin you want to be in) always does give you the miles associated to that higher cabin. This may be beneficial if your employer pays for your Y or W ticket; while the price difference to C may just be small. Note that you will have to go through the TA that the flight was originally booked with (Which could be tricky in case of a corporate booking). Check-in upgrades can be done directly with the airline rather than the original TA used.
Another point to note: If you intend to upgrade with miles it is often MUCH cheaper to just book an award ticket straight in the desired cabin. The amount of miles required to upgrade from a lower cabin often is the same, or sometimes even more. By booking an award from the start there is no need to buy that (usually quite expensive) Y/W fare first.
Is getting an upgrade through asking a friend or family member who works the airline still a thing? Used to work quite well back in the day, but imagine it’s less common in 2024!
I'm pretty sure I got downgraded from Business class to Premium economy once due to status. Paid for my business class seat on Finnair from SIN to LHR and I'm pretty sure they bumped me because some "gold member" or whatever it's called showed up and as I was just a first time, zero point on FINAIR flyer, they bumped me down. Definitely didn't feel random. Never flew Finnair after that just as I think they handled it quite poorly.
No airline in their right mind would downgrade a paid fare for an elite upgrade. Most likely there was an aircraft swap to a smaller type, meaning that the cabin got smaller and some people needed to be downgraded. That happens often.
@@xandrios That's possible(as I wasn't really given an explanation) but even so I also don't think it was a coincidence that my partner and I who were first time FINNAIR flyers(0 member points, 0 miles) were the "lucky" ones to be asked to go down to prem-economy. It certainly did not feel random at all.
Play TrainStation 2 today - pixelfederation.onelink.me/Aaa9/xu9klqhs
I’m watching this on a flight from Montreal to Vancouver at this very moment, the irony is palpable.
Ha! Hope it's smooth sailing through calm seas.
Asking nicely with a logical reason has gotten me free upgrades twice. The first time, I was immensely pregnant--I was thrilled, they fed me the moment I sat down. The second, my husband was booked in business class by his company; we paid for me in premium. On the way home, we asked if they could seat me with him and they agreed.
I would hope that of all the people on board, they would upgrade the "immensely pregnant" woman!
Alex with his FA cabin voice whenever there are shots inside of the airplane are why Attaché is my fave.
hahaha I had no idea that was a thing
My best paid upgrade to business was £40 from Tokyo to London on BA about 3 months in advance - I still chuckle at how immensely ridiculous it felt. Like some guy in a bar just leaning over saying “40 quid’ll do it.” Sometimes I wonder if it was actually an error fare as I’ve never seen anything that good since 😅
FORTY?! Yeah man, you got a deal there!
I’ve been upgraded to business class 3 times totally unexpectedly, pretty lucky I’d say!
I would say you're very lucky indeed!
I was going to write exactly this as soon as I saw the title! Thank you for injecting some real-world experience and common sense into this matter.
Haha yes, just trying to temper some expectations out there!
I only had an upgrade once from Amsterdam to Vegas, used miles + €400,- for first class. Never found a deal like that since.
I got bumped from Premium Economy up to business class in august on my way to America. It was with American Airlines and I had no idea until I was boarding. It can happen! Huge item checked off my bucket list for travel right there.
Oh wow, that's awesome! That's the good thing about PE is that it's a small cabin and is often oversold
Doing my first upgrade from Economy to Premium and paid $110 for it so I think the "pay for it" advise makes the most sense.
Yeah that's a pretty good deal for sure
I've been undercover in some Facebook groups about traveling in business/first class and the general rule of thumb is that if you are upgrading from economy to business, anything between 80-100 USD per hour of travel is a fair price. Anything below you've got a bargain.
Thanks, Alex. Interestingly done, yet informative.
Glad you enjoyed, thanks!
So when the screens show the upgrades at the gate, have people asked for upgrades to be placed on that list, or just based on FF mile balances or what? Also, when travelling with partner, does that make upgrade potential for both less likely?
Great & for real video. I’ve been fortunate with British Airways upgrades as I have status with American. Only downside of BA is having to deal with the transit mess at Heathrow.
yeah transiting through LHR is a nightmare
NEVER ask on board for an upgrade with BA (probably other airlines lol). We don’t do it as a policy. We don’t take payments on board. Stop harassing my staff whilst they’re rushing to get you away on time. It’s above all our pay grades.
Oh wow! Awesome to have an FA's perspective!
KLM does do on-board upgrades. Both for a fee, as well using miles. The purser has everyone's mileage balance on their ipad.
@@xandrios Is there a specific time frame after boarding they do this?
I *think* finnair do this too. But maybe it's my imagination.
"Every once in a while, everyone shows up. So what do they do?"
"The Hunger Games."
That's a way better solution.
I got upgrade on Air Astana at the airport. I had paid for premium economy (where they turn 3 seats in economy into a bed). However, due to the lack of popularity of the service they decieed not to offer it andI was upgraded instead.
Air Astana is a GREAT airline
Generally check-in and bid upgrades, at least on most Skyteam/*A flights, will give you miles for the cabin originally booked. Upfaring (Paying the difference between your fare and the lowest fare for the cabin you want to be in) always does give you the miles associated to that higher cabin. This may be beneficial if your employer pays for your Y or W ticket; while the price difference to C may just be small. Note that you will have to go through the TA that the flight was originally booked with (Which could be tricky in case of a corporate booking). Check-in upgrades can be done directly with the airline rather than the original TA used.
Another point to note: If you intend to upgrade with miles it is often MUCH cheaper to just book an award ticket straight in the desired cabin. The amount of miles required to upgrade from a lower cabin often is the same, or sometimes even more. By booking an award from the start there is no need to buy that (usually quite expensive) Y/W fare first.
This is gold, thank you!
Good stuff, thanks.
I play Classic Train Station.
Does that count?
heck yeah! You should try the new version, I'm hooked.
Is getting an upgrade through asking a friend or family member who works the airline still a thing? Used to work quite well back in the day, but imagine it’s less common in 2024!
Yup! But I think you have to go pretty high up these days
Air canada offers paid upgrades via the app during checkin
I'm pretty sure I got downgraded from Business class to Premium economy once due to status. Paid for my business class seat on Finnair from SIN to LHR and I'm pretty sure they bumped me because some "gold member" or whatever it's called showed up and as I was just a first time, zero point on FINAIR flyer, they bumped me down. Definitely didn't feel random. Never flew Finnair after that just as I think they handled it quite poorly.
Downgrades are the worst. Did you get any compensation?
@@attachetravel Yea they gave fare difference in compensation, but it took 4 months to receive.
No airline in their right mind would downgrade a paid fare for an elite upgrade. Most likely there was an aircraft swap to a smaller type, meaning that the cabin got smaller and some people needed to be downgraded. That happens often.
FOUR MONTHS?!
@@xandrios That's possible(as I wasn't really given an explanation) but even so I also don't think it was a coincidence that my partner and I who were first time FINNAIR flyers(0 member points, 0 miles) were the "lucky" ones to be asked to go down to prem-economy. It certainly did not feel random at all.
FIRST!
Yeah, thats a silly post, just to help the algorithm push up your video, my friend!
Boom!
First.
Ha, yup!
Why are we whispering
You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel.