How business class upgrades really work at airline | The Citizen
A ton of social media hacks to score airline business class upgrades can't be wrong? Or can they?www.citizen.co.za
A ton of social media hacks to score airline business class upgrades can't be wrong? Or can they?
It’s not just the lounge, the seat or the cushy service that comes with it. Travelling business class, particularly on an international flight, is something to behold. It is also the most awkward, fake-face, semi-romantic, beg-and-hope dance travellers perform with airline staff in the hope of an upgrade.
Because whether domestic or overseas, an upgrade represents a brief escape into the good life while economy passengers elbow one another for overhead bin space or queue for the ablutions. Flying economy, especially on long-haul or low-cost carriers, is not for sissies.
The upgrade hacks doing the rounds on social media are not for anyone remotely anchored in self-respect. Wear a suit, mention a honeymoon, bring chocolates, slip cash into a passport. Self-proclaimed travel experts insist that confidence, charm and pretending you belong in a lie-flat seat are the keys to success.
Charm no longer wins the seat
The problem is that most of this wisdom worked a few decades ago. These days, you would be lucky to get lucky.Travel insurance company InsureandGo partnered with a cabin crew member from Virgin Atlantic to unpack how upgrades actually work today, and why the urban legends refuse to die despite aviation systems having fundamentally changed.
As one frequent flyer put it online, the dress-smart-and-mention-your-honeymoon advice belongs in the same historical archive as “walking your CV into an office on sturdy paper and expecting a firm handshake to land you a job”. Back then, gate agents had discretion. Today, every seat has a price and a data trail.
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