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MudCrab
25th Feb 2008, 08:45
Ok...I dont wanna sound like a real knucklehead in asking this question....but...is there a surefire way to get free upgrades these days on long haul flights.....mainly QANTAS......or are they now a thing of the past...

:rolleyes:

darrylj
25th Feb 2008, 09:31
:)

well, i don't know if your a pax, but im BA staff & heard sooo many things such as i could try & board last & ask the dispatcher to fit me into club if there is something still then available. it has been done easily.
some others tell me you need to know dispatchers to get these kinda' upgrades,..others just say don't cause issues and stick to economy-dispatchers will report you :eek::\

i have a friend who's brother in law is a dispatcher & he said there is nothing wrong in asking his brother in law, just that he might not be covering that certain flight i was on, therefore he would need to speak with the other dispatcher to sort it, then it would become favor for a favor which ain't his thing.
i guess i will try my luck though.
dispatchers i have met are pretty cool.
:E

hoping to fly from LGW-GND or LHR-HKG soon.

thanks.

nebpor
25th Feb 2008, 09:44
There is a sure-fire way to get an upgrade - pay for it :ok:

MudCrab
25th Feb 2008, 10:27
Yer of course an upgrade could be paid for....but the operative word was "Free"...Might just have to try my luck on the day...
Thanx for your replies...
:)

roy2711
25th Feb 2008, 13:25
be a gold card holder in the airlines freq flyer scheme is usually the best way if the econ cabin is full, they would be first to be upgraded
You can with a lot of airlines now do "on the day upgrades" which yes they do charge for but it is usually a lot less than paying for the seat at the beginning:)

Eboy
25th Feb 2008, 14:27
Here is one scheme . . .

http://www.forbes.com/fyi/2002/0916/116_2.html

TightSlot
25th Feb 2008, 16:00
...I dont wanna sound like a real knucklehead in asking this question...

Hmmmm...
:hmm:

PAXboy
25th Feb 2008, 16:16
Well ... congratulations MudCrab, you have been the first to ask this knucklehead question in a long time. I can save you the trouble of searching through the archive of PPRuNe to read the umpteen times this has been asked. The answer to your question is:
No. :hmm:

Final 3 Greens
25th Feb 2008, 17:11
Yes there is.

Earn enough miles to upgrade your flights, the only cost is the difference between the economy and business taxes.

BOFH
25th Feb 2008, 20:20
As PAXboy has pointed out, no-one's ever seen that question asked. We are reluctant to give up a secret like this, but here's how to do it:

Die on the flight. They'll drag your corpse up to First. Works every time. Well, once, anyway.

BOFH

manintheback
25th Feb 2008, 21:51
Free Upgrade - very easy, a number of tried and tested methods. Any one of the following

1) Wear a suit
2) Tell them you are a doctor/ on honeymoon / friend of Chairman of said Airline
3) Shout in a loud voice 'Dont you know who I am'
4) Turn up late at check-in
5) Ask politely at the boarding gate
6) Ask for extra leg-room as you want to work
7) Be last to board, take first empty biz class seat and they wont notice

and so on...

Clarence Oveur
25th Feb 2008, 22:06
As Roy says, hold a top tier frequent flyer card and upgrades are not unusual. I would say that on about 10% of the flights where I was booked in economy I ended up being upgraded. Purely by virtue of the FF card.

Eboy
25th Feb 2008, 22:31
Date an airline employee who has a good customer service contact, if he or she is not in customer service.

MidgetBoy
26th Feb 2008, 02:40
It's possible. I got an upgrade to business when I went onboard a flight and was like, can I get an upgrade for a seat, I'm really sad because I didn't get a pilot job with your company. The F/A talked to a pilot and I got a bump..

That forbes post was pretty good =P

Avman
26th Feb 2008, 09:57
MudCrab, those of us who truly know the tricks of the trade don't go and reveal all on these forums! Selfish? Yes, but these days so many pax go asking for free upgrades that those of us in the know have to protect our own chances. :E It has in fact become a lot more difficult in recent years (depending on the airline), no thanks to the naive element mouthing off to the millions on pax forums, but also because of more stringent upgrade policies (and policing of these policies) introduced by the beancounting managers. Nevertheless, it can still be achieved if one plays clever, very clever. But, no, I'm not telling, sorry. :)

HurnPax
26th Feb 2008, 11:12
change your name to Tony Blair :)

PAXboy
26th Feb 2008, 12:11
BOFH I'm really disappointed that you start giving away our prized secrets to anyone who shows up in the cabin. :*

You know that a newbie must wait until 7 blue moons have risen across the Port windows of a Boeing (and don't try to cheat by getting 3 pink moons in the Airbus). I mean to say, where is your solidarity brother? :=

angels
26th Feb 2008, 12:23
Change your first names to David Robert.

They're my father-in-law's first names and he got an upgrade flying out to see us in Honkers on CX.

They thought he was a doctor and upgraded him on the way back as well. He was mightily pleased that there was no medical emergency en routes -- his electrical skills would have limited him to keeping an eye on the defibs....