Tips For An Uprade
February 21st, 2008 @ 5:31 pm by Mrs. Penguin
Mr. Penguin booked our honeymoon earlier this week, and while choosing our flights, asked if it was okay that we fly coach instead of first class, to save a bundle of money. I think I would have been more bummed about flying coach if we were booking our honeymoon six months ago, but when I stare, mouth agape, at all the recent wedding purchases I’ve made lately, I realized that penny pinching is probably a better idea!
I’ve never flown first class, save for once when I got bumped up for no apparent reason, but that was only a 45 minute connection flight, and I was flying alone, so I really didn’t get “the whole experience” … just a bigger seat and first dibs on drinks, and a larger snack packet. Whoooopie.
Yeah, I could do this. Image Credit: Senserly.com
Growing up, I always anticipated that my honemoon was probably one of the only opportunities I would have to bump elbows with the Flossy Flossy up in First Class . So, just because we didn’t technically book first-class tickets, doesn’t mean we still can’t try to get bumped! It seems like the general consensus is that it’s very hard, if not impossible, to just get upgraded for no apparent reason, no matter if it’s your honeymoon, or how charming, smartly dressed, or deserving you are. BUT, flights are often oversold, and in these cases, sometimes it’s necessary for ground crew to upgrade individuals… so there is a shred of hope! There are really great articles floating around on the web that suggest ways that may give you a better chance of being bumped to first-class. Among tips for honeymooners include:
1. Buy a full fare economy ticket. If your goal is to ultimately be among the candidates to get bumped, the counter staff is usually more likely to bump those who paid for the full-fare coach tickets, over those who bought discounted tickets.
2. Show up to the airport dressed like you belong in first class. For men, this means a jacket and tie, for women, a dress. This may be crazy attire to wear on your flight to your honeymoon, but try to dress as smartly as possible.
3. Be kind to the flight crew and those around you while checking in.
4. Arrive early. Chances of scoring a first-class seat diminish closer to takeoff time.
5. Don’t insist that because you’re on your honeymoon, you DESERVE a bump, but if you’re honeymooning, definitely tell the agent that you are. Because so many people are starting to lie and SAY they’re going on their honeymoon now, agents are quick to assume that you may be lying (yeah, thanks for ruining it for us, you liars.) My solution would be to have some sort of “casual proof” that you’re indeed just married.
6. Don’t all out ASK for a bump to first class. Politely ask if perhaps any exit row seats might still be available, for the extra legroom. Sometimes simply asking for a change of seats, combined with the fact that you’re on your honeymoon and dressed smartly, may perhaps get you the bump.
7. If all else fails, it can’t hurt to simply ask what the cost of a standby upgrade is while you’re checking in. Sometimes the fees are astoundingly low. Remember that at that point, it’s likely that the’ve sold all the seats that they can sell in that plane, so if any first class seats remain, they’d often rather sell them for a few extra bucks than bump people for free.
To me it seems like the best combination would be this: Dress smartly. Show up and be polite, and say you’re on your honeymoon and you’d like to know the fee to upgrade to first class. When/if there is a fee at all, look at your fiance lovingly and say, “Maybe not this time honey. Maybe we’ll fly first class for our 5th aniversary” or something equally sweet, but undesperate. If you don’t get bumped for free at this point… I think you’re out of luck, but it was worth a shot, right?
Check out some of these articles if you’re looking to try to score a free upgrade!
MSNBC.com - “10 Ways to get an Upgrade”
USATODAY.com - “Top five ways to fly first class for less”
TravelTerminal.com FAQ’s
The Travel Insider - “Free First Class Upgrades - Fantasy or Fact?”
Do you have any hot insider tips on how to increase your chances of being bumped to first-class?
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18 Responses to “Tips For An Uprade”
Not an upgrade tip, but I’m a big fan of being nice to everyone you meet…no matter what position they’re in. You can have some of the best experiences just from simply being nice. Plus, you feel really good about it too.
My 2 cents…it annoys the crap out of me when short people ask for the exit row seats. My fiance is 6′5 and literally does not fit in a standard seat. When I see him in pain being cramped in a regular seat then see tiny people all curled up in exit row seats it makes my blood boil 
Love the “Maybe not this time, honey” line. I’m gonna have to practice it at home a few times first though, so I don’t screw up by giggling half way through. 
As a short person, I am not annoyed by how tall people can reach higher shelves in the grocery store, and I have to seek help all the time. I guess I am more annoyed at the grocery store than tall people. But thats just me.
My mother is a short woman but has to ask for exit row seats because she has extremely poor circulation and it is painful for her to sit for long without keeping her legs as stretched out as possible. When she is unable to get an exit row seat, she resorts to making frequent trips up and down the aisle, often to the chagrin of other passengers. I hope you don’t ever see my short mom in an exit row seat and then she’s just being wasteful of the extra space!
I’ve fly standby all the time because my aunt works for an airline. Twice, when I’ve gone to Europe, I’ve been bumped up to first class. (btw, it rocks!) It seems that there is a better chance to get upgraded on long, international flights because a lot of airlines have frequent flyer programs that make it pretty easy for domestic business travelers to upgrade with their travel miles on shorter flights. You need A LOT of miles to upgrade to first class on an international flight. In other words, you should have less competition on an international flight than a domestic one.
You may want to contact different airlines in advance to find out how much it typically costs to upgrade to first on the day of the flight. Their prices may vary. You may also want to figure out what flights are less crowded because this might help your chances.
Miss Penguin, you can ask someone to help you reach the item in the store. My Fiance can’t do anything when he ends up with bruised knees from the seat in front of him…
granted some people have legitimate reasons for exit rows ala Mrs. Spider.
I have a fun upgrade story. We fly back and forth to England as that is where our families live. On one recent trip, about 3 hours into the trip I reclined my seat. The meal had been served and cleaned up, the lights were dimmed, and everyone else was reclined. The couple behind me shook my seat and asked me to not recline it. They said they were not ready to sleep yet. We tried to negotiate with them and talk reason but they insisted. They then began to shake our seats and kick them! I was in tears 
This was in Upgraded Economy(World Traveler Plus) so they sould have had no complaints about room. When the flight attendant could not get them to see reason she said to us “come with me” and took me and my fiance up into first class. It was heaven! A duvet, full flat bed, full english breakfast, and so quiet!
It was probably the first and last time I will ever get to fly first class on a long haul flight but boy did I enjoy it
First class makes a HUGE difference on an international flight, and I think its totally worth the extra money. I would consider cutting back somewhere else and putting the money into first class or at least business class tickets if you can.
My (unhelpful) upgrade tip is that it helps to have a million frequent flyer miles. I get upgraded all the time. Of course, I suffered for every one of those miles!
You might do some shopping around airline-wise. Often business class on British Airways (their equivalent of first class) is only about twice the regular cabin full fare price. Another good thing about first class, or even just full fare, is that there generally is not a charge to change your flight - first class tickets are often completely refundable even if you cancel your trip.
Genius. It’s so true about dressing smartly, and laying on the “honey”. I love the idea of taking on the role of the super sweet and humble honeymooners to beguile the attendants into turning over the good seats. Great post.
I think that these days it’s hard to get bumped unless you are a frequent traveler AND are lucky enough that the flights are oversold.
(My husband and I are million miler + 1K on United and we still only get bumped when the stars are aligned.)
If you really want to travel premier class (first of business), I think the best way is to purchase miles and use miles for the ticket.
Another option is, if you know someone with upgrade certificates, you can perhaps persuade them to give/sell them to you. (This option will probably be the cheapest but subject to availability and there is a possibility the upgrade won’t go through).
Cheapest way to pay for an upgrade with miles: Fly on a 2-class airline. You pay the same amount of miles but only pay for 1-class upgrade! We upgraded to 1st coming back from x-mas… and we got food/drink/leg room on all 3 flights as well as admission to the lovely executive lounge.
Otherwise, the only way I’ve gotten free upgrades has been when I’ve negotiated going standby on a flight… and making sure I get a first class flight when I get bumped.
If you do buy a full-fare ticket, definitely check with the agent when you check in-lots of airlines will run special upgrade fares for as little as 150 pp extra for 1st class. It’s worth checking.
I got upgraded when flying Rio to Paris once and it was amazing! So, it does happen
We were upgraded to first class on our honeymoon trip back from the Bahamas… we were also leaving early to escape the impending hurricane… but that’s another story!
Mrs. Penguin, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 26, Video & TV Producer/Director/Editor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Doctor of Physical Therapy
Engagement Date: January 29, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: September 14, 2007
Venue: Winery in the Gold Country
About Me: I'm a silly mess of a girl who, above all else in this world, LOVES the Spice Girls. I eat sushi at least 3 times a week, and feel guilty about how much it costs the other 4 days a week. I love designer jeans and cheap accessories. I don't like sweets, but I love the UCLA Bruins!
My tip is just tell the airline you are friends of Mrs Butterscotch. That should get you a seat in first class!