How airlines decide who gets upgraded and what you can do to make it more likely to happen
Airlines say that they follow strict guidelines, choosing only loyal customers to reward, but some seasoned fliers say a big smile and a nice outfit can go a long way towards better food, service and legroom
Have you ever wondered how airlines decide who gets a seat upgrade on flights? Airlines say it’s strictly by the book: loyal customers are rewarded based on their status in frequent flier programmes.
But some fliers insist that once in a while, they get upgraded even when they’ve bought the cheapest seat. AirfareWatchdog.com founder George Hobica suggests that how you dress and act could give you an edge.
Hobica acknowledges that “upgrades mostly go to people with status in the programme. “If you’re silver or gold on British Airways or United Airlines, and they have to upgrade people because they’ve oversold economy class, the first thing they do is go down the list of (who has) status,” he says. But Hobica says he’s also been inexplicably upgraded when he was “wearing a nice suit and tie” and all the other passengers were “looking like [fitness guru] Richard Simmons”.
A number of airlines contacted for comment say it never works that way. “Our staff follow the guidelines and procedures when there is a need to upgrade customers to another cabin class,” says a Singapore Airlines spokesman. While he declined to divulge the guidelines, he adds that customers who hold eligible tickets can upgrade to a higher class using their frequent flier miles. The airline also recently introduced mySQupgrade, where bids can be made within seven days of flying to fly premium economy or business class.
Singapore Airlines plans US$850 million fleet upgrade, despite drop in profits
“The list is the list, and the gate agents work the list,” says American Airlines spokesman Josh Freed, referring to the “list of customers who potentially qualify for upgrades based on elite frequent flier status”. Gate agents, he stresses, are “not out there putting who they like, or who’s best dressed, further up the list. It’s pretty straightforward. If there are three unsold seats in first class, the top three people on that list are going to get them”.