To ask if you've ever been upgraded on a flight?

[VladmirsPoutine]

Read an article about a man that rented some sort of very expensive watch and basically went from being ignored to being revered - I presume a lot of hyperbole was used the article.

But that said I used to fly quite a lot for work and always looked professional and well presented. Nothing out of the ordinary trouser suit sort of thing but I've never been upgraded or offered free champagne in a hotel bar.

Has everyone else basically been flying first class because they had swishy hair?

I've been upgraded travelling with a very small baby. No idea why. We were so shocked we had to check about 5 times! Was only a very short flight but still nice

Yes, once, to business class. I think it was because I was a lone traveller flying on an odd day (New Year's Eve). I found out the night before while doing online checkin, so it didn't have anything to do with the swishiness of my hair

It was long haul to the West Coast of the USA so it was FAB - although the bit I enjoyed most was using the lounge and eating there before departure.

Yes on a number of occasions as a frequent flyer. As a solo traveller you might get an upgrade as it's easier to move one person. It also works the other way if overbooked though as the airlines don't want to bump couples or groups because they won't want to be split up so the airline would have to compensate more than one person. Some airlines are better than others when they do this, Emirates asked if I minded and provided hotel, meals, limo transfer and a free flight for the future, BA asked me to wait, without saying why, then pointed to a bus and announced it would take me to a hotel for the night, no food, checkout at 10 am leaving me to hang around the hotel all day in my UK winter clothes with my suitcase, in a hot country.

1998 on a flight to Vienna. Not really worth it on a European short flight. Never happened since

About 1 in every 4 times I fly, as long as the flight is with the airline with which I have platinum status. Other airlines - never.

I have asked before and was told that (on Emirates at least) if the flight is overbooked, they will allocate any spare seats in business to passengers with highest number of miles first. So it also depends how many frequent flyers are on the flight. (I wasn't lucky on that occasion!)

On BA long haul in 2012. Dh asked at check in because we were on honeymoon. We were not dressed smartly nor were we frequent fliers.
It was "only" from economy to premium economy though and the TV screen at my new chair didn't work so I spent 9hrs twiddling my thumbs.

I was upgraded from Cattle Class to First once, London to Cairo, due to overbooking.

Definitely only because I was a Frequent-Flyer...I looked like a backpacker.

DP was left back in Economy as we were on different tickets - mine return, his one-way ;-)

Yes! Me, ExP and DS1 (6) were sat in our seats, buckled in on the tarmac. DS1 got called for over the tannoy (he's 6, same surname as me but different from ExP, ie Mr Booots). ExP went up and the tannoy was to say that DS1's whole party had been upgraded to business!

After that we all shuffle to business. Then the plane wings freeze and we get stuck on the Tarmac at Chicago for 6 hours. Result. Leg room and free unlimited champers.

Once.

30 minutes into a flight to Australia when a child turned round in his seat and vomited into my lap no clean clothes as they were all in the hold.

It was not worth it. The smell is still with me.

I must be really lucky as I've been upgraded a few times.

The first time was with Virgin flying home from LA when we were allocated the same seats as another couple. The other couple demanded that we move out of 'their' seats so the steward told us he was taking us through to upper class - fantastic!

The next time was flying to Washington with United Airlines and we were upgraded to business class.

Then we flew to Florida with the kids and we were all upgraded to premium economy when we checked in. Then we couldn't believe our luck when we got upgraded on the way home too!

We don't actually fly very often either!

We got upgraded once with Air New Zealand.

We were 24 year old scruffy backpackers at the time - so totally didn't fit the dress smartly/be a frequent flyer demographic.

Air New Zealand economy is superior to almost every airline - so their Business Premier was sublime.

Once, back in the olden days when you had to go to the transfer desk if you caught a connecting flight (no such thing as boarding passes issued all the way through to your final destination).

I was travelling with my sister and lucky for us our mum had always drummed it in that one should be smartly dressed for travel, even if we were backpackers. Our awful flight was an awful airline had arrived late. At the transfer desk the desk clerk was muttering about our next flight being 'very full'. I thought he was going to try to kick us off the flight. He then conferred with a supervisor, leaned over the desk and very obviously looked us up and down, before deciding we were worthy on an upgrade to business. It was awesome - our only complaint was that the flight wasn't long enough.

Years later, same airline, obviously still overbooking, DH got upgraded (high status and points) and DC and I did not. I was very unimpressed, particularly given that the person who sat next to me in DH's original seat was very drunk and very talkative.

I have heard good things about Emirates - if you have any status with them they are very free with upgrades. If you travel regularly on any of their routes it's worth joining.

I fly a lot, and have noticed that upgrades tend to go to people who look 'expensive' as opposed to people wearing expensive things. I fly a lot in Business Class but have never been upgraded to 1st because I like wearing flats, no make up, and leggings on my flights.

Twice.

Once I was asked to switch seats because a woman hadn't paid for her kids to sit with her and she needed my seat. I had paid for my seat and said I'd move if they gave me a similar or better seat. Bumped to business.

Second time dh and I were flying to NZ with Cathay Pacific. Get to check in and I'm on the 8pm flight and he's on the 10pm flight. Despite our tickets saying we were both on the 8pm flight.

I am a nervous flyer. Very nervous. So I cried. At check in. And between sobs asked them how they were going to fix this (their problem/mistake not mine). They bumped us to business.

Yes, twice - on the outward and return flights when DD was a baby. We had booked bulkhead seats and a skycot for her, then arrived really, really, really early for check-in and each time our bulkhead seats had been allocated to someone else. Staff most apologetic, sorted us out with an upgrade both ways. It was lovely.

My DH used to get upgraded all the time because he worked in the airline industry.

Then we got upgraded with kids because they had messed up our booking and the only seats left on the flight were premium.

All the time. Sometimes because of FF status, sometimes (on other airlines where I have no FF status) because I've asked nicely or just been lucky at the gate. I've also been upgraded with tiny baby DD when they forgot all the bassinets for a long hall.

There was a time when I had more free upgraded flights than flights where I travelled the class I paid for.

A few months ago I received an upgrade on a flight from Washington DC to London. I was travelling solo which may have had something to do with it.

Once because I knew people from the embassy there and they had connections at the airport and once because a man on the flight had told me to shut my fucking baby up (who was only crying because the idiot had been holding the flight up for ages whilst he argued about his seat).

I was upgraded flying internally from Heathrow to Manchester. They had been given a bigger plane, so bumped some of us up. I had been one of the first to check in. I hadn't showered in a week (doing charity work abroad), and had all my disgusting things crammed into my handluggage rucksack. I think they took pity on the other passengers who would have been sitting very close to me in economy, rather than being impressed by me .

I fly first so I can't get upgraded

That last post might not be true

DH used to get upgraded a lot when he flew a lot (had a BA gold card) with business. He got upgraded from business to first/economy to business a fair few times.
He wouldn't have looked smart because that just isn't him - he would fly in jeans and a cheap polo shirt, maybe a reasonably expensive watch, and definitely not a smart hair cut. He only wears business dress when he absolutely has to so wouldn't wear it to fly in.
He doesn't fly anywhere near as much now (and BA gold card is long gone) so hasn't been upgraded for a long time either.

DH was just upgraded to First. He didn't know anything about it until the staff tore up his boarding pass at the gate. He was just starting to freak out when they handed him his new one

He's a frequent business class traveller, was wearing jeans and a relatively nice watch.

We got upgraded this summer ( family of four, two under 4 kids) after they had cancelled our original flight. DS celebrated by throwing up everywhere Thankfully I was saying across the aisle with DD drinking champagne and pretending I had never seen DS or DH before in my life