Eight ways to get a free airline upgrade
Nabbing a free upgrade is rare but it does happen. A previous poll of more than 3,000 Telegraph Travel readers found that 60 per cent had been given a free upgrade before. And there are numerous ways you can boost your chances. Here are some tips for how to get a free airline upgrade.
1. Choose your route carefully
Most upgrades will be offered for “operational reasons”, such as when the economy class cabin is full or oversold, but the premium cabins are not. Therefore travelling on a busy route, where this is more likely to occur, will help. Flights to beach resorts during the school holidays, when the majority of fellow passengers will be families, are a good bet. Monday morning flights to Frankfurt – not so much.
2. Be loyal, and pay more for your ticket
Regular customers will normally be given priority when an upgrade is available.
“It is sometimes necessary to upgrade customers,” said a BA spokesman. “This is rare and will normally apply to frequent flyers who are members of our loyalty programme first.”
A spokesman for Lufthansa said: “Passengers who paid more for their tickets are more likely to be upgraded than passengers who bought a discounted ticket. The frequent flier program status is also taken into account.”
Recent research by Expedia found that airlines often sort out their upgrades the day before the flight, looking for regular fliers, businessmen or women and celebrities, who may fly with them again if given an upgrade.
3. Travel alone
If there are just one or two seats available up front, they will probably be offered to single travellers first.
4. Just ask
Four per cent of those questioned in a MoneySavingExpert.com poll said they had received a free upgrade by simply asking for one at the check-in desk.
However, Expedia said that free upgrades are rarely given at the check-in desk or when boarding as they will have already been sorted some 24 hours earlier.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said it does not give upgrades to anyone who requests one. Still, that doesn't mean it's not worth mentioning that you might fancy a first class seat if there was one knocking about. The lucky few who have received an upgrade after requesting one were polite, and probably smartly dressed.
5. But have a good reason
If you’ve got a more genuine reason than those listed above, such as being exceptionally tall, pregnant, or even celebrating a honeymoon, birthday, or anniversary, it will go in your favour. A Lufthansa spokesman said “it never hurts to ask”, and offering a reason such as these “would certainly improve your chances”.
6. And be nice
It goes without saying that the lucky few who have received an upgrade after requesting one were polite, and probably smartly dressed. They didn’t demand one.
7. Be unlucky
If you’ve got a faulty entertainment system, or a chair that won’t recline, you’ve got good reason to complain, particularly if you're on a long-haul flight. You may simply be moved to another economy class seat, but if none are free... Equally, if you’ve got a legitimate grievance against another passenger – harassment, for example – you could ask to be relocated.
8. Be a VIP or know someone at the airline
The Virgin spokesman added that: “There is an upgrade list at check in (this could be journalists, travel industry VIPs, etc) and all these upgrades are agreed in advance and signed off at head office.” So if you have a good friend who works for an airline, it can’t hurt to ask, but get in touch as soon as you know the details of your flight.
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