No seriously, I mean it because luck is probably the best
way to describe so called airline selection policy as it applies to that all
important upgrade. A huge shame really as, with the arrival of single class
competitors, the incentive of potential upgrades is a definite plus when
deciding who to fly with. Sad that airlines do not recognise the power and
competitive edge upgrades give them.
I read a long running blog the other day on the subject of
‘How to get an upgrade’. It started with someone’s opinion and grew enormously
as others (including me at the time) regaled other readers with their tips,
experiences and failures. The only thing that seemed clear is that almost
everybody wanted upgrades and very few actually got them. The only successes
seemed to with people that made no particular effort but got them as a pleasant
surprise.
On looking closer at these and other people one thing began
to become evident. It did not seem to matter much on what you looked like, how
many in your group or how important you are to that airline. It seemed purely
down to numbers an seemed triggered by how full the cabin was you were booked
in. Obviously the vast majority of seats are in economy class and also economy passengers
are more likely not to show up. As a result airlines overbook this cabin in the
hope it ends up going out full. If there are seats available in higher classes
then these are used for any surplus economy numbers via upgrades. The same
approach applies right up to First Class. Very often when someone gets upgraded
from economy they will create a chain reaction of upgrade through Premium
economy and Club class right up to the front cabin. Either that or, to save
hassle the economy passenger finds themselves placed directly into seat 1A.
Meals also impact the need to upgrade. If the particular
cabin is short of meals they will often upgrade or sometimes if a forward cabin
is almost empty but fully catered for they will again upgrade. There is also
the airline staff upgrade where travelling airline folk hold upgrade tickets or
possibly are friends of the crew. And if there are plenty of meals and not many
staff? Then you might just get lucky.
Now I always used to think that if I looked smart my chances
of upgrade were better. I had hoped that someone in the ground staff were
wandering around thinking “now let me find a smart, deserving individual I can
bestow this super upgrade on” I am afraid I do not believe this happens any
more (it used to). Now some machine randomly selects you or a tired, bored
departure desk operative gets told to offer upgrades to whoever is in front of
them. I am afraid the truly discretionary upgrade has all but gone out of the
window. I suppose the computer could be programmed to select that airline’s
frequent flyer members but I have not seen this happening either.
Looking deeper there is only one true way of getting an
upgrade and even that is risky and impossible for most people and that is
before check-in. If you can persuade the right airline person at the right
level to mark your booking ‘upgrade space available’ it might just happen. A
lot depends on the relationship between reservations and airport staff and if
the latter remembers to do something about it. For example I tried to help a
friend who had just lost his wife and needed to get to Sydney. I phoned the
airline reservations number and explained the situation and got nowhere until I
got my call escalated to a supervisor. After a lot of persuasion on my part she
agreed to try and help and ultimately he got upgraded. Not easy but possible if
you persevere
So that is that really. Computerisation, apathy and, in my
opinion, short sightedness by airlines means upgrades are hard to get and
mainly coincidental. Just think what a valuable selling tool they could be.
They would buy loyalty, give recognition and fill seats productively instead of
dishing them out indiscriminately to those not expecting them.
So. You want an upgrade? You WILL BE LUCKY!
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