Photo by J.J. Verhoef

Do you honestly expect to get something for nothing?

Many people adamantly believe it is their god given right to receive a free upgrade when they fly. And guess what, these people get upgraded more often than everyone else. Yes folks, when it comes to flying you can get something for nothing. There are hundreds of factors which come into play to determine who, if anyone, gets the much coveted upgrades. I truly believe this is the most comprehensive free upgrade guide available online. This article will cover the four kinds of upgrades and show you how to get them. It will also address the much discussed “To ask or not to ask?” question.

There are no guarantees, but if you apply everything you read here then you will have the best possible chance of being upgraded. If you would like a guaranteed upgrade then you need a First or Business Class ticket – you can read The Insider First and Business Class Airfare Guide to find out how to get these for next to nothing.

There are four basic types of upgrades: Status based upgrades, Operational Upgrades, In-Flight Upgrades, and Paid for Upgrades. Of these, the only time where “charm” comes into play is in Operational Upgrades. I will discuss these to show you how to maximise your chances of receiving an upgrade. The other types of upgrade opportunities are explained in The Insider First and Business Class Airfare Guide.

Operational upgrade

Operational upgrades are the one time when you have a real chance to influence the potential for an upgrade. An operational upgrade is basically when the airline needs to upgrade you for a specific operational reason. This could be because Economy Class is overbooked. All airlines overbook their flights because statistically a certain percentage of passengers never show up. When everyone does show up, it means that airlines must either offload passengers or upgrade a lucky few to make room for everyone.

Most people reading this article want to know what they have to do to get upgraded on their next flight. Well, you have to understand how the system works before you can start manipulating it. Twenty years ago, flirting with the check in staff or letting everyone know you were on your honeymoon would grant you an upgrade. But things are very different now. It costs the airline money to upgrade you and we all know how much financial difficulty airlines have had in the last decade.

Before you even think about getting an operational upgrade, there are certain circumstances which must exist. First, Economy Class must be overbooked. Second, the next class up must have available seats – this could be Premium Economy or Business Class (First Class on Domestic US flights). You can call up the airlines to find out how many seats are left for a specific flight, or you can check online once you read my bonus guide How to Check if your Flight is Busy.

Flights which are busy one week, are generally busy the next week. You can check the same flight over a period of one month and find out if it is continually full and likely to be overbooked. You can then buy a ticket for this flight many months in advance and except the flight to fill up closer to the departure date.

When searching for flights that will be overbooked, bear in mind that you will be competing with other passengers for the few upgrade spots. Elite frequent flyers are usually, but not always, top of the list for upgrades. Picking a flight to a tourist destination usually means that there will be less frequent flyers onboard. Imagine a Thursday evening flight from New York to London, it will be packed with lots of frequent business travellers who have top tier status on the frequent flyer program. It is more difficult to receive an operational upgrade on these kinds of flight, whereas the New York to Barbados flight is less likely to have many frequent flyers.

Ok, so let’s assume that you are on a flight that is overbooked in Economy and the next class up, Business Class, has plenty of free seats. Remember that this is not an exact science and there are many uncontrollable human factors here which determine exactly who gets the upgrade.

Upgrades will be processed by the airport staff – typically the backroom staff and not the check in staff. At airline hub airports, where one airline has lots of flights departing, the check in staff will have little contact with the backroom staff. At non-hub airports, where the airline maybe only has one flight per day, the check in staff and the backroom staff will be part of a small team and will all know each other very well. They will also be located very close together and will have a lot of interaction. This means that at these outstations, it is a lot easier to secure an upgrade from the check-in staff.

So what factors influence the staff’s decision on who to upgrade. There are two basic segments of information that will determine who gets the upgrade. The first is what I have termed your Passenger Profile and the second is your Personal Profile.

Passenger Profiles includes:

· Frequent Flyer Status

· Number of Passengers in Party

· Ticket Fare Code

· Check-in Status

· Special Meal Requests

· Other PNR information

Personal Profile includes:

· Your Thin Slice

· Your Appearance

· Your Tone of Voice

· The Value you bring to Staff

Passenger Profile

First we will look at your Passenger Profile. It includes all the vital statistics and facts that the airlines keep track of. This excludes completely the human side of things, where personality and charm can and do affect upgrade chances.

Frequent Flyer Status

The most important factor here is frequent flyer status. This is the easiest way for airline staff to decide who to upgrade. They can print out a list of passengers that shows all their frequent flyer statuses. Then, it can be a simple case of going down the list from Platinum, Gold, and Silver. There are some human elements that come into play here so staff can decide who gets the last upgrade if two people have the same status. Some airlines have a more sophisticated ranking system. There may be a hundred different levels of Gold card holder. The passenger who flies the most and spends the most on tickets will be a higher rank. All this information is secret and for the average casual flyer it is completely irrelevant.

Number of Passengers in Party

At larger hub airports, upgrades are more likely to be done purely through Passenger Profiles. The number of passengers in your party will play a big role here. Travelling by yourself means that you have a higher chance of being upgraded. This is because it is easier to move a single traveller than a group of 5. Solo travellers can be placed in single empty seats, whereas groups tend to want to sit together.

Ticket Fare Code

The fare code refers to the specific class of ticked you purchased. It usually has a letter to describe it. Y Class would refer to full fare, fully flexible Economy ticket. If you have a Y Class ticket, you stand a far greater chance of being upgraded than if you have a deep discount Economy ticket. Many airlines actually rank Y Class ticket holders the same as elite frequent flyers when it comes to upgrade priority as well. These tickets are mostly expensive though, but many companies purchase Y Class tickets for their employees because of the flexibility.

Check-In Status

If the airline knows for sure that you are going to show up then statistically you have a higher chance of receiving an upgrade. Always check in online, preferably as early as possible. When you check in, you are given a check in sequence number – often printed on your boarding pass under the heading “SEQ”. It has been reported that some airlines look down this list for potential upgrade candidates in order to sequence number, because that is how the printer produces the list. There is certainly no harm in checking in early and it is always worth taking every potential chance you can when it comes to upgrades.

Special Meal Requests

This is reported on just about every generic “Upgrade Guide” out there. Simply put, don’t order a special meal because the airline won’t serve an Economy special meal in Business Class. They would then have to order a new special meal which realistically won’t happen so you won’t be upgraded. Note that Economy to Premium Economy upgrades is technically possible with a special meal request since Premium Economy cabins serve regular Economy meals. However, it will still count against you have a special meal ordered as it will have to be reallocated to the different cabin.

Other PNR Information

Passenger Name Record, or PNR, is a record in a database which contains itinerary information you passengers or groups of passengers travelling together. PNR records contain a field called Optional Service Instructions, OSI. This can be used to highlight additional information that may be useful for the airline staff to know. If a VIP is travelling, then information will be included in this field.

Passengers can actually have additional information put into this field by asking either their travel agent or the airline in advance. It is a good idea to call your airline prior to you flight and ask to have additional information put in here which may be relevant. Most common things are honeymoons and special occasions. Even if you are very tall, it is worth calling up to put a note on your PNR as this will influence you chance for an upgrade. It may only make a difference in a small number of flights, but it is important to take every advantage that you can.

Personal Profile

Assuming you have no frequent flyer status, there are still ways to secure an upgrade. Your personal profile is a collective term for everything you do when interacting with staff and how you are perceived. Think of it like getting into a trendy nightclub, there are certain things that door staff look for when deciding who to let in and who to keep out.

Your Thin Slice

Imagine a pie lying on the table. If you eat the entire pie, it will take a lot of time but you will eventually be able to conclusively identify which kind of pie it is. If you are pushed for time, you could cut out a thin slice of the pie and just eat that. Based on what flavour the thin slice of the pie is, the rest of the pie must be the same flavour. This is not actually true as the pie could have multiple flavours. This is how the brain works when stereotyping people into specific boxes or criteria. It also plays a key role in identifying who receive an upgrade and who doesn’t.

To a check in agent, they will categorise everyone who comes up to the desk in a specific way. You want to give across a specific stereotype when trying to get an upgrade. This is someone who is confident, but not cocky. It is best to avoid other stereotype such as the pushy executive or the smelly backpacker. Everything that is identifiable about you comes into play here – your appearance, your mannerisms and the way you talk. You need to consider how people perceive you and change this to your advantage. Being confident and having an interesting conversation with the check in agent will improve your chances of an upgrade.

Your Appearance

Old thinking used to be that the smartest dressed passengers would receive an upgrade. When I was just a young kid, my family got upgraded flying from New York to London and the check in agent asked if I had anything smarter that I could wear. Far from being upset, I rushed to get changed. Then again, I was wearing a (fashionable at the time) tracksuit and Nike trainers.

Many airlines want to preserve that upscale air of exclusivity that Business Class has. This does not mean that you should be wearing a suit, but it does mean that you should look like you deserve to be in Business Class. Smart jeans and a casual shit/polo are more than acceptable for this. At the end of the day it will only make a minor difference to your chances, but it will make a difference. You can always bring a change of clothes for the plane ride itself you like. Bottom line, dress relatively smart but there is no need to overdo it.

Your Tone of Voice

Tone of voice is a really important factor in communication. In English, much of what we say has different meaning depending on our tone of voice. Tone also communications feelings and emotions in a strong way. Be aware that what you say is as important as how you say it. This is important when it comes to understanding the value you bring to an interaction. Also, be aware of sounding needy and having an agenda. It is usually very east to tell when someone is talking to you, just because they want something.

The Value you Bring

The brain processes everything in terms of value. It has to do this in order to make rational decisions. Few people would play a game of Russian roulette for a $5 prize, but for a $5 million dollar prize, things start to change. Imagine being a check in agent. Each day you come to work and you process thousands of people checking in for various flights. Some people say very little, others ask about the flight and others ask for an upgrade.

Each person that comes up to the desk will give a certain amount of value to the check in agent. I’m not talking about bribing the agent with cash, but with conversation. Have you ever met someone who just brightens up everybody’s day? This person will be much more likely to receive an upgrade. It is impossible to build a relationship with a check in agent in a few minutes and there is nothing of physical value you can bring them.

What you can bring them is good emotions. This can be accomplished simply by talking to the check in agent as an individual, not a company representative. Talking about things other than work make it seems to the agent like they are not working. This makes them feel good and energized. Even the most introverted of people can talk for a few minutes about something. Trust me when I say that this will make you stand out far ahead of even the highest platinum frequent flyer. The one thing to watch out for is appearing to have an agenda. If you are being nice, just to get the upgrade then this can become very transparent in your tone of voice. If you are a nice, friendly, confident person who asks for an upgrade, this is completely different. It might not sound like it, but your body language and voice rarely betray your inner thoughts and feelings.

To Ask or Not?

Asking for an operational upgrade is a heavily debated topic. There are two schools of thought.

The first view is that if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Most people agree that demanding an upgrade is bad, but asking nicely can pay dividends sometimes. The best way to ask is to take the pressure off your individual international with the check in agent and phrase it “Are they upgrading any people for this flight?”. This means that if the answer is no, then the check in agent won’t feel that it is their fault. As you asked if the airline, and not the agent, was upgrading then this creates value to the check in agent. It also makes you seem less desperate.

Have you ever interviewed a candidate for a job they were really desperate for? It is hard to give a job to such a person, as the desperate nature literally gives you bad emotions. Desperate people actually dissuade us from giving up our time and effort for that person. Being relaxed and appearing non dependant on the outcome actually gives you a higher chance of receiving an upgrade. If you do ask, then you are relying on staff to identify you are suitable for upgrade based primarily on your personal profile.

The second view is that it is better not to ask for an upgrade. Asking in itself can create an uneasy situation for the check in agent and since so many people ask for upgrades, they are likely to think you are just another person trying their luck. If you don’t ask, then you are relying on the staff to identify you as suitable for upgrade based primarily on your passenger profile.

Several surveys have tried to measure those who have asked and those who haven’t asked. The results always show that those who don’t ask are more likely to receive an upgrade. But this does not tell us much, as what we really want to know is: Does asking help or hinder your chances of and upgrade. It is impossible to tell for sure.

Those passengers who do have a high frequent flyer status will be top of the line for upgrades anyway, so asking is not as necessary. If you have no status, then you are very unlikely to receive an upgrade unless you ask. Remember that you must bring value to the interaction, without coming across as fake.

Another situation can arise when the whole flight is overbooked, in all classes. In this case, it is worth offering to go on the next flight, if you can be upgraded. Offering to do this saves the airline a lot of hassle as sometimes they must offload passengers involuntarily. No airline employee likes to do this, so by saving them the time and energy of doing so, you stand a reasonable chance of receiving an upgrade for the next flight.

Summary

It is simply not possible to receive a free upgrade all of the time. However it does happen, more frequently than most people realise. There is a lot of chance elements here, but by following this guide and taking action of each of the points you will put yourself in the best possible position. The greatest chance, for most people, of receiving an upgrade comes from operational upgrades. Remember that the possibility only exists when the conditions are right and Economy is overbooked. Ensure your Passenger Profile is as good as it can be in advance and ensure your present your Personal Profile in a good way. This is often crucial in determining who gets upgraded and who doesn’t.

Finally, most Upgrade guides tell you not to expect an upgrade and you won’t be disappointed. I am telling you to do the opposite – expect one. This greatly increases your chances of receiving an upgrade and your brain will start working overtime trying to achieve this goal. If you don’t receive an upgrade then analyse the situation. Figure out what, if anything, you could have done differently and implement this learning next time you fly. This positive approach will pay dividends when it comes to your Personal Profile and increase your chances of receiving an upgrade.