Do you know if someone's been upgraded? Do you....

[trevorinns]

...treat them any differently from those that have paid?

Just wondered.

[Bluehair]

Nope absolutely not...

(however I have noticed that you can frequently tell the upgrades/freebies by the sheer amount of finger-clicking etc... i.e. theres an *inverse* relationship between how much they paid vs. how demanding they are!)

Though I must admit I will (discreetly) look after staff first and foremost....

[flyblue]

Yes, we know who the upgrades are, from the Pax Information List who is issued at the end of the check in and handed to the Cabin Chief.
All pax in the same "cabin" (we don't use the word "class") are to be treated the same way.
My company (like most) upgrades prioritarily the members of the frequent flyers scheme.

[AA SLF]

Bluehair - please notice the "heart" msg icon I have used. Cabin crew are close to my heart. :) This SLF is "top elite" FF on AA and One World alliance. Get lots of upgrades. Fly lots (100k + per year). Your experience mirrors Pareto's Law that says 80/20. That is 80% of your pax will be nice and the other 20% will be flaming aresholes. For FFs it is probably closer to 70/30. I apologize to you for the 20-30% as their attitude besmirches the other 70-80% of us.

Next time this happens, go over to this pax and ring the "call button"; leave it on while you explain loudly that this is the "attendant call button for those who don't fly very much"; then turn it off and ask how you can help (NOT "serve") this pax. Might embarrass them enough that they will at least mind their manners for the rest of your flight. If not, then "spill" something hot on them!! I despise those arseholes as much as they offend you. They shouldn't be allowed in an airplane. No excuse for bad manners ever!!

dAAvid -

[Bluehair]

Haha good one...

Many thanks for your comments and yes thankfully it is a smaller percentage that believe they are royalty once they board an aircraft.

It dosn't bother me I have to admit , water off a ducks back at this stage. Everytime I see someone ignorant, rude, smartarse I feel pity for them since I really believe it must be a ***** way to go through life....

(funnily enough being visably *not* bothered by the attitudes usually means they lose interest quite rapidly)

[deepvainpain]

Oh Blue hair,
I SO agree with you. You normally dont even have to look at the pax list to find the upgrades. They are the ones with the call light constantly on and they are surrounded with as manys drinks and freebies that they can squeeze out of you. Unfortunatly at the moment they also seem to be outnumbering full fare pax.

[Aerienne]

I have a mixed attitude to u/g's. Some of my colleagues seem to think pax who have used their airmiles to fly J are somehow not proper commercial J ticket holders. The fact is they have had to fly(ergo spend) a hell of a lot with my company in order to do so.
The ones who are involuntary u/g's (love that term! Mental mage of arm-twisting cramp class punters to sit in the big seats!) can take the **** sometimes and that really ticks me off. They don't seem to realise that the airline didn't have to accept them just because there were available seats in a higher class. Read the small print in you ticket carefully, although arguably the Warsaw Convention unfairly favours airlines.
I always remind an arsey u/g of their good fortune in haveing a much better seat than they payed for. All in the most subtly pleasant way of course!

[Bluehair]

Seeing as we're talking about upgrades I just have to share a story one of fellow crew told me a few weeks back that happened to her last year.

Flight to New York, still on stand, packed to the gills and the last few are putting their stuff away when a rather 'posh' looking lady in her 50s calls over my friend (we'll call her Mary ;) ).

Mary asks if there is anything she can help with whereupon the lady starts pointing at her seat and saying 'it's entirely unsuitable for a lady of my stature'. There's absolutely nothing actually wrong and Mary finds it impossible to get a reason from the pax other than 'seat me somewhere befitting my class!' (I kid you not!).

After a few minutes the lady finally turns to the gent who was sitting beside her and exclaims 'Frankly I refuse to sit beside that' pointing to the gent (who happened to be of african descent). When asked to elaborate on the problem everything from 'the smell' to 'unable to speak the language' was thrown at Mary all the while the lady was going on 'Do I have to spell it out for you? I should be upgraded!'. The poor guy was visably mortified :(

Mary finally says she'll consult the senior on board, and returns a moment later. Now you really have to picture the next bit to get the full effect.

Mary to Lady: "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting madam and I apologise for the seating difficulty you are experiencing and of course we have arranged something that should address all your concerns. Now under normal circumstances we don't upgrade but (short pause then turns to the gentleman) Sir would you mind following me up to First Class!" :D :D :D

The lady was gobsmacked and there was even a short round of applause from surrounding pax who had heard it all happening! :) She didn't say a word the entire flight :)

[qfcabin]

One of the GREAT old aviation yarns blue ... nice to see it happen again, about thirty years after I first heard of it.

[Aerienne]

One of the GREAT aviation urban myths! Does anyone know if it ever actually took place. The version I heard was on a flight to/from South Africa on BA many moons ago (first heard it 8 years ago) ;)

[chippy63]

Loved the one about the gent of african descent being upgraded. Did you here the one about the BOAC era. Imperious wife of senior civil servant, lording it over cabin staff. Asks all kinds of damn-fool questions about their new posting. Finally asks, "and what is the domestic servant situation there?"
To which the cabin attendant replies " I'm sure Madam won't have any problem finding a suitable job."

[Bluehair]

Har Har another good one, Have to admit I wondered if 'Mary' was pulling my leg but I hadn't heard it before and it's a great story :)

[PAXboy]

Here is a real story from 'J' on SAA. Not an upgrade story but in a close vein to the above!

January 1988 and I was returning from a holiday in South Africa and was settling into my 'A' J-seat next to the window (see sig). The 'B' was empty and we were pushing back, so I was looking forward to a very comfortable night, by lifting the arm rest out and having the double seat.

Hear f/a voice behind me, "This is your seat, Sir." My mood sagged, I turned to greet my travelling companion ...

He was big. I mean BIG, he was so big that when he flopped into the seat, he spread up the side and overlapped the arm rest :(

A moment later - the smell hit me. I have to say that the smell was just about the worst I have ever encountered. It was gross. It does not matter what the colour of his skin was, he smelt foul DESPITE being dressed in an expensive suit!

At this stage, I have to say that I had treated myself and had paid for the seat out of my own money.

We were taxying when he tried to put his seat belt on. I was expecting it not to fit around him and that they would have to bring an extension belt. However, he gave it hefty tug to try and stretch it round his belly and ... it came away in his hand, broken.

Knowing that they could not depart with an unsecured pax, I range the call bell fast as the eye can blink ;)

In the mid section of the cabin, there were two seats adjacent that were empty and they moved him over there. I turned up the nozzle of the air jet!

Later in the flight, when he was eating, I saw that his belly was so large that the tray from the arm rest, could not be used as it was obstructed by flesh. He had his meal tray on the table of the adjacent empty seat!

The final ending was that, when I inspected his seat belt, I discovered that it was not broken ... the catch was not properly secured and all it took was a simple 'click' and it was working again! I am sure that he was happier sitting on his own. I certainly was!

[glider insider]

the one time I have been upgraded was on a staff journey and the staff knew and came over and had a chat. I was amazed at the treatment that i received, no diff from a full fare pap and i have vowed to myself that i will never ring that bell no matter if I am in Y or J. I know how I would feel if I was expected to come to someone when they ring a bell.

working in reservations, the number of people who think that they should get an upgrade is amazing, they seem quite put out that as a low cost airline the only place to upgrade them to is the flight deck and that those seats are generally full. besides, when only paying £20 for a ticket, what do they expect..

[PAXboy]

Tagging on to the point about not ringing the bell. I can honestly not recall how many years it is since I had to do that. If I would like something, I normally wait until a member of c/c is passing down the aisle, unless they look very busy or are obviously engaged in something else.

If I am in the aisle seat, then I might wander to the galley and ask for it there. I get exercise and they have one less boing of the bell.

[sirwa69]

Have to agree with PAXboy, never have any problem getting drinks, etc and have never rung a call bell. Mind you with an ex flight Senior as a girlfriend I was very quickly taught the correct way to go about it.
Catch the eye or head for the galley and ask ever so politely, "No hurry just whenever you can" Works every time.

[T_richard]

Sirwa69 I agree 100%, I'm not a frequent flyer, but I havenever used the cal button when I fly. Either I go to the galley or catch their eye and say loud enough but with some warmth "when you have a minute" never fails, actually I prefer to go to the galley,it gives me a chance to flirt with the female FA's. One of my first teenage crushes was on a FA, never really got over her. My preference is for the AA FA's

[ 28 November 2001: Message edited by: T_richard ]

[PAXboy]

Also, when you have been in the galley in the small hours of the night, don't forget to LEAVE. However pleasant their company, they are resting before doing breakfast and the landing. So make it, "Well, thanks for the chat and the good service, see you later." and go back to your seat.

[flex won]

I have been very lucky to have been upgraded a few times in the last couple of years by a number of airlines mainly BA and BD. The best was when my girlfriend and I flew back from NY this Feb. The check-in lady noticed my girlfriend's diamond ring and complimented her. My girlfriend went on to explain that it was new as I had proposed over the weekend. The lady then said 'wait' and tapped away on the keyboard and handed over some business class boarding cards with a huge smile that was matched by my now beaming girlfriend. I'm always very grateful to the groundstaff for things like that and as small token of appreciation I always rush off to buy the biggest tube of Toblerone in the shop for them.

It's a real shame that these days pax are so demanding and ignorant of the FAs. I think they do a great job given the number and diversity of tasks they are expected to perform. I often travel with my girlfriend so we take it in turns to go to the galley to fetch drinks but most of the time we carry a bottle of water anyway.

Anyway, to all cabin crew; nice job and always well done! Look out for my girlfriend and me - we always have a competition over who can hand back the tidiest tray, it always makes the people sitting next us laugh.

[pilotwolf]

Guess we must have flown with the wrong airline on our honeymoon...

Ordered Champagne to be delivered to my new wife during the flight, as a surprise, but alas...

1. They got her name wrong on the tannoy, despite it being written on the gift tag correctly so didn't get it til I asked for it. (Had to use the call bell as seatbelt sign for on for the majority of the flight despite on of the smoothest transalantic rides I ve ever had)

2. Then told by very miserable fa that we weren't allowed to open it until we landed and would have to declare it to Canadian customs and pay any duty due!

Compared with Virgin a few years earlier who provided complementary champagne, with a smile and a visit from the captain for us simply due to it being my partners birthday!

Know where my loyalty lies! :rolleyes:

[AMEX]

Not sure about Volunteer for Upgrade (Check in days are few begin to date a bit now)as mentioned above but this is not to be mistaken with VFO (Volunteer For Offload).
When it is anticipated to have an excess number of Pax, it is quite common to ask for VFOs. Basically gate staffs will look for volunteers to go on the next flight. In most cases and to reward those who volunteered, the airline (BD does that very well) will offer a cash reward and an upgrade, although the upgrade is certainly not guaranteedand remains a privilege.

[ohitsmonday]

Similar story to a previous one..My first job in aviation was as a dispatcher for a well known handling agent. One day just about to close the door of an aircraft ready for departure, when the purser asks for some help with a 'problem' pax. Reluctantly follow her down the aisle to find a man showing extreme displeasure at being sat next to a young lady and infant. Poor women was so embarrassed and was obviously having a difficult time with her baby. Man was adamant he wanted to be moved, but 'y' was full. He didn't actually use the word upgarde, but I'm sure thats what he was after. Anyway after several minutes of trying (in vain) to pacify said man, i turned to the lady with baby and apologised for the inconvenience, but would she like to change seat to one in business class. Lady very happy, purser very happy, miserable b*****d seriously p****d off.
Result

[Crepello]

It's nice to see a loudmouth get their comeuppance, but I must say that if I was sitting in Business Class, I'd probably be planning a productive flight or a good night's sleep. I'd be pretty miffed if an accompanied minor joined the cabin.

This isn't snobbism - I rarely travel 'J' and have never asked for an upgrade, nor used the call button!

I heard that JAL have a novel approach:
- "Excuse me, would there be any chance of an upgrade?"
- "Certainly sir/madam, how would you like to pay?"
Usually cuts the conversation short...

[PsychoDad]

Years ago I was travelling with BA to BKK. Was seated way down in the back, and in the middle, of a full 744. But I was happy none the less, as I had paid next to nothing for the flight. Anyway, somewhere over the middle east I am bored, very bored. Decide to take a walk and ends up in a galley and have a chat with the FA's. It's soon obvious that I'm ID, so a kind FA asks whether I'd be interested in a cockpit visit. Anything to break the monotony, so I happily took the offer. Up front two very nice chaps offers a fresh PPL with stories of the 744 and all the FA's they get to dunk down route. Anyway, captain asks how I find the seat, and I honestly reply "cramped". He then pulls some paperwork, and subsequently raises an FA over the phone. Minutes later I'm seated in J on the upperdeck "and anytime you feel like it, ask the FA if you can pop in for a visit".

Jolly nice chaps the lot of them. Received excellent service throughout, and did have a distinct feeling the FA was seeing just how much alcohol a Scandihoovian could absorb. Never have I left an aircraft quite so p1ssed, and hitting the 40C and 110% humidity of BKK did not help at all !

[radeng]

About 20 years ago, on a flight from CDG to LHR, in y, the FA whipped past throught the curtain. The edge of the curtain caught this woman sitting across the aisle in the eye, whipped her glasses off, and left her with a cut across her eye and blood streaming down her face. So I pushed the call button - several times, in view of the urgency - and the FA seemed quite put off by the fact that I'd done so, and was relatively unhelpful about either first aid or finding the passengers glasses. Eventually the purser came and that was different - down to wheelchair, ambulance, the whole lot at LHR. But that's the only time I've used the callbutton, and the FA response made me feel quite guilty about it.

[pilotwolf]

Again I can recount an experience with Virgin that was completely different regarding sick pax.

My day job is as a paramedic - (I know everyone things it wonderful but really it is crap - but still it paid for my cpl!) About 3 hrs out from LAX the call went out for a doctor/nurse - no response so I offered my services.... obviously can't go into details about the pax but she needed to lay down so pax and me were moved to 1st class :)

Spent rest of flight being fawned over and generally spoilt! Captain requested my company when it was convient for me (!) and I could have had / done anything I wanted on that flight, unfortunately had to remain with sick pax!

On disembarking in LAX I was presented with a magnum of Champagne as "A Thanks for your help from us", and on returning to the UK found a thank you letter and large hamper of food, etc. awaiting me as a thank you from the company.


:D

[Julian]

I agree that there is absolutely no need to be rude to FAs, in fact just chatting to them seems to keep the drink coming and get looked after very well if you make the effort with them. never had to ring the bell but.....

What is all this on this thread about dont go asking them for anything? I have a couple of friends who are FAs generally flying to either Florida, LA or cancun and once they get there they get several days R&R, not bad for a 12-14 hours work on the way over. I met one friendly Fa on the flight over to LAX and a week later she was just returning, so we ended up chatting again. 18 hours aren't uncommon in what I do and still have to go in next day, its what we are allpaid for at the end of the day. If you have to ring the bell, ring it - its what it is there for if there is no-one around or there is an urgent situation as someone said earlier.

As for rude PAX, well all power to the FAs - they should boot them out the read of the plane in mid-flight!

[englishal]

There's no excuse for rudeness to FA's at all, but then again, what I really hate are the FA who's attitude is that they couldn't give a s**t about the passengers (I might add, I have normally found this with US airlines...). As an FA you're there to do a job, which is primarily concerned with the safety of the aircraft, and the comfort and well being of the passengers. If you don't like it, go and do something else !!!

By the way, in my opinion Virgin have the best (and cutest) FA's around...always helpful....

[Vee2]

Used to drive the Scotland - LHR and North England - LHR flights for a well known UK carrier and if I saw cabin crew in uniform getting on I would always ask my No 1 to upgrade them if space was available. Most staff dont give a monkeysabout the C class meal but dont enjoy the wise cardks from the the Y pax. Once you ahave heard it once etc.

Equally, if I saw astaff member I knew travelling in civvies I would always make a point of going back in to cabin to speak to them and their family / partners before depature and offering flt deck seat / visit and apologising if we couldnt upgrade them. We all play to the same hymn sheet, so why not be pleasant to each other ?

[Bramble]

"if I saw cabin crew in uniform getting on I would always ask my No 1 to upgrade them if space was available. Most staff dont give a monkeysabout the C class meal
We all play to the same hymn sheet, so why not be pleasant to each other ? "

I have to agree here.I was recently promoted to senior/purser and what I have(luckily) been able to do is upgrade all staff I have seen in unifom.(We get a lot of VS and BA staff commuting)It doesn't hurt me or the company to do it(often no meals and/or free seating at aft of exec cabin) and it promotes a bit of comradeship amongst 'rival' airlines.We all do the same job and hopefully they will do the same in turn for others of our fraternity.

[allianceair]

Delta airlines were introducing their new routes from JFK to Tokyo so the fare was $399us roundtrip. I jumped at the opportunity and went on the trip. Coming back I was suprisingly upgraded to Business Elite. I did not know why but I guess it was because the flight was full in economy and I was a frequent flyer with Delta. The service was the best I have ever experienced in my life. They treated me very special and called me by my name. I could never afford to fly business nor first class, but it was a memorable experience of a life time. I felt undeserving to be there so I just remained quiet and made no waves whatsoever. I did not even mess with any of the gadgets in the chair. It is always good to see how the upper half lives.

Recently I was also upgraded from BKK to Seoul on Korean Air from Economy to Morning Calm Class. That was also a welcome suprise, I was told I was being upgraded because I was a Silver Medallion frequent flyer with Sky Team. I had initially told the ticket agent that I wanted a seat all the way in the back, seat 62A on the 747 where it turns from 3 rows to 2 rows. I like the extra room by the window created by the curvature of the aircraft. He told me that I was going to get a bigger seat in Morning Calm, I made no agrument whatsoever. :) It is always great to go in with low expectations and get things that brighten your day.

[DX Wombat]

The cabin crew on the last flight when I was upgraded certainly knew that I had and also the reason why. It was a BA flight from PER to LHR (when they still had BA11 & 12) and was on the SIN-LHR sector. I know they knew because I was taken down and introduced to them as "This is the lady you have been hearing about" They were brilliant. I couldn't have been better looked after and YES, I did write a letter of appreciation. :D

[Phixer]

Paxboy,
If you're travelling from the US to Irl on Shamrock, Don't even THINK of pressing the call button!
Due to "We're selling Duty-free so Bar service is suspended" they usually manage to avoid any service and hide in the galleys for most of the flight while the junior slowly plods slong the cabin!
"If you're unhappy, Sir, complain"!!!

Sorry for going off the subject a bit!!

[ 18 December 2001: Message edited by: Phixer for spelling, naturally!!]

[ 18 December 2001: Message edited by: Phixer ]