Although some airlines give away fewer free seats in business and first class than in the past, passengers with higher status in frequent-flyer programs do get upgraded for free at times, and those folks also have higher priority on waiting lists for mileage upgrades.
Oh, and one other way: be nice, dress well.
Time and time again, I’ve heard from friends and readers that they have been upgraded to business or first class simply because they made some effort to dress decently. It only happens occasionally, but what do you have to lose?
A British Airways employee whose job it is to escort VIP passengers confessed to me that, “Yes, we do take note of a passenger’s behavior and whether they’re presentable. When I was a check-in agent we would place a note in the comments section of the reservation: this person was very nice, consider available upgrade, or this person was very nasty.”
People are also reading…
And several people I know have gotten Best Dressed Upgrades, most recently Susan Andrews, a real estate agent in L.A., on a flight to London on British Airways, an airline on which she had zero status. It’s just human nature. Airline employees are required to dress smart when flying nonrevenue and they disdain passengers who dress like slobs.
