Airline seat upgrades.....any secrets? | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Airline seat upgrades.....any secrets?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by carguy, Feb 11, 2004.

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  1. Hubert888

    Hubert888 F1 Veteran
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    May 14, 2003
    5,441
    Manhattan & LA
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    Hubert

    Thanks Viper! My life time of success is only 28 years :) I've worked hard and made it on my own.
     
  2. tvrfreak

    tvrfreak F1 Rookie
    BANNED

    Mar 31, 2003
    3,879
    Arkansas
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    F K
    If Business Class is too expensive, here's how to travel comfortably in Economy class. Show up early, and ask for the emergency exit row seats. You will have tons of leg-room and you won't have to disturb the person sitting next to you every time you get up. Depending on what kind of plane it is, you may have jump seats ahead of you, which make an excellent footrest if they are not being used by a crew member. Just put a magazine or newspaper on it and remove your shoes. On some smaller planes, emergency exit row seats do not recline, and the arm-rests cannot be raised up. I don't think this is a worry on long-haul flights.

    You can also ask for bulkhead. But there's two caveats. They are close to bathrooms and the area can be smelly. This area is also designed so that bassinets can be placed against the bulkhead--which means crying babies.

    These seats are generally assigned when you check in for the flight, but make sure you call ahead and have your name put down for them if you can do so.

    Finally, if it's a fairly empty flight, stake out an empty row and jump on it early, ie. after the doors are closed but before the aircraft starts rolling. On long flights, having a "bed" all to yourself is heaven, even if it's only three seats.

    Remember to show up early, as bulkhead and emergency row seats go fast.

    The agents generally don't have the power to upgrade you for free, but their supervisor does. So, asking at the gate won't work unless you know someone or are affiliated with the airline. If they move too many people around, it also affects the balance of the aircraft and they have to recalculate and recheck their figures for takeoff distance (V2), and they may have to move the luggage around to keep the aircraft "balanced." This causes delay, and if there's one thing they hate, it's delay! Also, the meals for each section are different so it complicates things to move people around at the last second. They do carry a couple of extras so there is no hard and fast rule, but in general your chances are very slim.

    Have you seen the movie, Catch Me If You Can (Tom Hanks)? It really used to be like that, but things have changed drastically since then. Airline crew members, however, still do get a lot of professional courtesy and breaks...not that I am telling you how to dress or act or anything! :)
     
  3. Entelechy

    Entelechy Formula Junior

    May 19, 2001
    712
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Chris Cummings
    I've heard that Spielberg has the black card...also met a Russian woman a few years ago who had one and she used it to instantly gain access to an exclusive club. Quite the card! I missed the earlier thread, but rumor has it there is no spending limit!? I'll look for the other thread, but Hubert - congrats ;)
     
  4. PeterS

    PeterS Four Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 24, 2003
    47,933
    Goodyear, AZ
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    PeterS
    For Coach, TVRFREAK nailed it. Show up 2.5 hours early and get an exit row. If you are on a 319 Airbus, get seats 12 A or 12 F. These are exit row seats with no seat in front of you. I take this seat over business class hands down. If you are flying United, go to www.ualmiles.com and buy miles for an upgrade. If you are not enrolled in a mileage program, do it ASAP.
     
  5. judge4re

    judge4re F1 World Champ

    Apr 26, 2003
    13,477
    Never home
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    Dr. Dumb Ass
    Just a warning, flights in and out of Narita usually fill up quickly in business class (even for guys willing to shell out the full fare). Only real way to get upgraded is to fly your ass off every year. Do I get upgraded a lot on Delta, you bet. What did it cost? 212k miles since 2002.

    BTW, the black card is marketing hype. Almost all of the benefits are easily obtainable if you really do travel without having to shell out the $2500/year.

    The platinum card, exclusive or not, does come in handy and is worth the $395.
     
  6. Gilles27

    Gilles27 F1 World Champ

    Mar 16, 2002
    13,337
    Ex-Urbia
    Full Name:
    Jack
    This came up at my buddy's wedding (flight upgrades, not the Black Card) because his wife and all her friends are flight attendants/gate agents. Everyone these days it seems qualifies for an upgrade, so who decides? They do. The consensus was that, as dumb as it sounds, bring a little something for the ticket agent, like cookies or something. Sweet-talk them, but honestly, not insultingly. You know how frustrating their job can get and you appreciate their consideration. Yeah, there are passengers who paid $1000 for their ticket and have 200K miles on account, but they're only eligible for an upgrade when they're told so.

    I was returning from Vegas, dragging my tail from exhaustion, and something interesting happened at the airport. During check-in, the agent accidentally dropped my driver's license and it fell into the counter. They had to call maintenance to open up the counter panels, all the while apologizing for the delay. I just laughed it off with them, helped where possible, and avoided making her feel any more embarrassed. When I got to the gate they called my name, tore up my boarding pass and handed me a first class ticket. A gift from the ticket agents! The skies are littered with self-deserving A-Holes-- it's amazing what simple courtesy and respect towards others might get you from time to time.
     
  7. Kds

    Kds F1 World Champ

    Gilles27......

    I wholeheartedly agree that a little empathy towards airline employees helps a lot. You were lucky the flight was not oversold in that case.

    I was once upgraded from LAX-YVR and LAX-YYC over 2 times each way because the girl who worked the lounge in LAX and I sort of hit it off when I offered to give another pax my last remaining "partner access pass" to the lounge so he and his wife could rest for 3 hours before the flight.

    3-4 of these things are given to status members of airline FF programs per year and they like the proverbial gold key to people "without" status and lounge access........and she thanked me by bumping me up as my upgrade did not clear the normal way ( I won't explain how as the flight was oversold x20 pax, but she used a "legal" way to kink the airline's system) why I do no know......and the rest of the story.......well, I found out why later........I got "bumped" more ways then one on the return trips.......it'd make a great "letters to the editor" in Playboy and I'll leave it at that.

    Sorry....it's one of those life experiences that I have been holding onto for 3 years and I had to brag !!

    However....the upgrades that are done at the gate are the last minute ones when they discover that they have no shows and/or an oversold flight.

    They usually have to follow the rules because the computer system (in the case of 2 airlines that I know) doesn't let them circumvent certain preset values in certain situations....such as waitlist status and FF status. Everything they do is audited extensively for potential revenue loss and rules violations.

    Airline employees can get terminated or sanctioned for cheating the system, especially if a status flyer catches on to something that they see and hear which seems fishy and then they complain. And believe me....we watch like hawks.

    People who have status like me and Judge4re who are waitlisted/confirmed get our upgraded boarding passes when we check in, unless it is seriously oversold and we get bumped down the list. The chances of getting an UG at the gate without status is 98% against in my 100K a year of flying experience on both UAL and AC.
     
  8. PeterS

    PeterS Four Time F1 World Champ
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    Jan 24, 2003
    47,933
    Goodyear, AZ
    Full Name:
    PeterS
    Last week in Chicago, coming back from London, UAL screwed up my last leg to San Jose that I used my miles for a first class bump. UAL's 'system' lost my data for the upgrade and told me I would only have a seat in Coach. I presented my confirmation to the gal at the counter and she told me that I had lost my seat (probably due to a 1K member that took it!). I got cranky and she tried to send me to a supervisor at another terminal. By this time I was mad! A friend that was with me was even madder. He pulled out his UAL 1K card, stuck it in the lady's face and said 'FIX THIS NOW'. Talk about some butt-kissing I got from that point forward. I got my upgrade confirmed and a pass to the Red Carpet lounge. This just shows what pee-on's the average flyer is!
     
  9. Kds

    Kds F1 World Champ

    Peters....

    "This just shows what pee-on's the average flyer is !"

    Which is why I do a mileage run or two to ensure I get over the 50K mark each year with UAL and AC......I can't imagine what it would be like travelling without status once you have tasted it.

    I am a recreational flyer so it is a nice perk....but for "road warriors" having status is a must.
     

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