mainfrog2 - Yup, I have heard of the front desk telling you to ask on the a/c and then being told the opposite.
I
hope that those of us that take an interest in the airline and the staff will have the patience and politeness to wait until invited.
I think that under_exposed's example of 'expecting' an upgrade from an electrical wholesaler, is a very good way to show how pax have a perverted sense of what they have purchased.
My one serious irritation was being offerred an upgrade on a particular ticket (for a long haul sector of what was going to be around the world) and then being told that the class was full and the upgrade would be given on the next sector. When I got to that sector, they looked at the letter (from their own carrier customer service department), and promptly ignored it!
When I got back to London, I told the story and was issued with another letter for another upgrade but, as it turned out, I did not take a trip for which it could have been used, within it's 12 months validity!
<Rings call bell and asks for another brandy>