To sort of hope for upgrade on plane???

[startingtolooklikemother]

Hi MN
Very good friends of ours DH works for a big airline as cabin general manager/director. I've booked our flights to our holiday (7 hour flight ) and am hoping he might be able to help us get better seats, ok, an upgrade. He definitely won't be on the flight as he is currently ground based but am I wrong to secretly get my hopes up? I've asked his advice on what flights to get and told him the flight numbers etc but I'm not brazen enough to come out and ask him to "sort it out"!! I could of flown with another airline a bit cheaper but I am hoping he will be able to do something for us, how do these things work and AIBU for sort of expecting an upgrade?

I'm not sure why you would be hoping for an upgrade really.

You could pay for one if you want one.

He may be able to.put a request note on the booking system but these will.only be given if there are any free seats and also if there aren't a lot of frequent fliers who may be offered first. Dh is often offered an upgrade with BA as he uses them at least twice a month but moreso if he has a future flight already booked. Furthermore you will only be offered one grade up, so premium economy if youbhave booked economy seats.

But all of that depends on his request - I imagine he gets sick and tired of people hinting tbh

Don't get your hopes up. First refusal will be given to frequent flyers. You have given him the flight numbers? Yes I think YABU to expect him to do anything. I work somewhere where freebies/upgrades are sometimes on offer. Firstly, they would go to my family in the first instance; and certainly not to anyone dropping hints like lead balloons. Think you are going to be very disappointed....

I would love an upgrade, who wouldn't!!! I don't know how easy it would be for him to do or how passengers airlines want to upgrade are identified? Surely someone must go into the passenger list and do something to identify them? No idea, but I can hope can't I?

They won't aim to upgrade everyone that they possibly can though, only if it has a purpose eg to encourage brand loyalty

I doubt he'd have any influence unless he was on board to move you tbh., and even if he was he might not be inclined?
I work in the travel industry and people I barely know are always asking and hinting at freebies, room upgrades etc. Honestly it becomes a pain - I've had to be blunt with an old friend this week who's been bugging me for stuff.

Ask on check in, or on board but don't bug your friend

I doubt youll getvan upgrade if ypu have kids with you unless you pay for it.

If youre not close enough to your friend to just blatently ask then i doubt hell just think to pull strings to get you one.

In your situation if i was clise enough to the friend i woyld have asked "if i book with xxx airlines is there any chance you could get us an upgrade or anything". Id only be that blatent with v clise friends though.

If you're alone it's more likely. They won't really know until the day of departure, don't hold your breath.

Upgrades are usually automated now, so it's the most frequent flyer down to the person who paid most for their ticket, they are normally only given for operational reasons, i.e. One cabin full, so the frequent flyer is moved up. It's seldom discretionary I'm sorry. Airlines stopped that a long time ago.

I work for a subsidiary of a major airlines. We use the upgrade request system for very important suppliers and it's extremely difficult to get an upgrade. Our suppliers all get listed as "if overbooked", which means they only get considered if economy has been overbooked and there is space in the next category. This was changed a couple of years ago because the system was subject to abuse. Imagine how many staff work for a major airline, how many friends of staff fancy an upgrade.

Rare to get an upgrade simply because there is space in the cabin. Priority usually given to gold card members as there is a benefit to the airline in keeping them sweet.

Ask him but you may find even as CSD that he's not able to do anything.

Everyone gets marked SFU or Not at check in. (Suitable For Upgrade). Dress well. Be polite. Look the part. And I would ask your friend casually if there's any chance and his advice. My father worked for BA. I usually only got upgrades when he was flying and if there was space, but if he knew the captain or cabin service director well he'd put in a word.

I always used to fly with the assumption I wouldn't get an upgrade so if I ever did it was nice surprise.

(I also spent very long flights sitting on jump seats so it was swings and roundabouts)

As pp said, it's usually to solve a logistical seating problem of some sort. My sis is upgraded loads but she flies alone.

You can but hope OP. My niece got an upgrade on a flight once, because she went to school with one of the check in girls and she booked her in, do it does happen. Good luck!

Are you a member of their frequent flyer scheme? I get regular upgrades but am a scheme member with loads of air miles and fly most weeks.

I would love an upgrade, who wouldn't!!!

Then pay for one?

I doubt very much that your friend has done anything to try and get you an upgrade. Why would he? You are just freinds of his, he isn't going to ask for something like that. Really weird that you would expect him to. If he worked in McDonald's would you expect him to ask his employer off he could give you a Big Mac when you paid for a cheeseburger

Bottom line is if you want to sit 'upfront' then pay for it. Don't think he will put himself in a grabby position for someone else.

YABU, As others have said, upgrades tend to go to frequent flyers or those who have paid mega bucks for their tickets..

Poor guy must get sick of people expecting him to arrange upgrades for them. Don't ask him, it's too embarrassing.

What route are you flying? Some routes are so busy there is hardly any chance.. If he were working the flight you'd have more chance. He may have put a word in for you, but it depends whether the other director on the day knows him, has space, and will take the risk that you'll be ok!

You've done all you can to hint, he hasn't come back and said he's actually done anything, so just dress smart casual, be nice on the day, and hope. Cross fingers but don't hold your breath. Either way you're going away and will have a nice time - keep focused on that..

Employees can put in requests for friends and family upgrades but as advised it will really depend how must the flight is.

My hairdressers partner is cabin crew for BA and put a request in for us when we flew to the states last year but unfortunately the flight was jam packed so we didn't have any luck

Dh travels a lot with work. He is a BA gold member and we get to use the lounge. We have travelled a lot together over the years and did not get upgraded.

Then, in October we went to New York and as it was out anniversary he bought premium economy seats. We got upgraded to Business on the flight there, we found out the morning of the flight as he had a text to say that our seats had changed. On the way back we only found out our seats had changed when we went to board and we had been upgraded again. I think it is all computerised now.

How must? How busy!

Oh, it's not that unlikely. A friend of MIL's is operations manager for a big airline at the airport in our city and has upgraded us to business/first class two or three times. She's had a longstanding arrangement with MIL that MIL lets her know when any of the family are flying with her airline and she'll arrange it if at all possible. It's bloody brilliant.

It depends on your friend's seniority, I suppose, and whether he actually thinks to do it. If you gave him your flight numbers and he didn't respond with "Huh? Why are you telling me this?" then I presume he knows what you want. Fingers crossed.

I got an upgrade to first class back from New York.
Sat down glass of champagne, took off, slept on bed until we landed at Heathrow.
How you ask?
My sisters and Mum were spoiling for a fight so my eldest sister and I checked in on another queue and told check in unless they wanted fisticuffs on the flight they had better change our seats away from Mother and other two sisters.
It worked.
And wound them up to, so much so they are still NC with me lol

You wouldn't believe some of the daft reasons people get upgraded for. One guy next to me was upgraded "because he had long legs and looked uncomfortable, sir" never mind that I had a broken arm at the time that kept slipping off the bastard armrest. I sometimes think it's just men who flight assistants take a fancy to!