Airlines are very good at estimating the demand for their flights. They know how many seats to oversell their cabins by, in anticipation of cancellations before departure. Sometimes you might get moved up front on a flight when this goes slightly wrong, meaning you just got upgraded for free.
That is the holy grail of flying really, having paid for an economy class seat and sitting in business class. People who have it happen to them go on about and quite rightly as it’s just not that common.
Who Upgraded You For Free?
I’m wondering which airlines give out upgrades on a regular basis. I know that in the United States, frequent flyers with elite status can get on the upgrade list and move up a cabin, but that’s not really what I am talking about here.
In my personal experience, I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been moved to a premium cabin unexpectedly. The first time was in 2008 on a flight from Dublin to Budapest on Malev, which was a wonderful surprise.
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- They even feed you when you’re upgraded! This is what I got on my last upgrade on BA.
The second time was nine years later in 2017 on a British Airways flight from Dublin to London City. After that, it was with American Airlines from Cleveland to Charlotte in October 2022 and the fourth and final time was earlier this month on British Airways again, this time Dublin to London Heathrow.
I’ve averaged 30 flights per year for the past 17 years and I’ve had four upgrades, all of them on short-haul flights. One day I might get upgraded on an international flight and I won’t know what to do with myself!
Overall Thoughts
When an airline has upgraded you for free, it’s a cause for celebration. On my Dublin to London flight last month, the special upgrade offer was €108 and I didn’t take it. Since I was moved up anyway, I literally saved that amount of cash.
What are your experiences with operational upgrades due to oversold flights and whatnot? Have you had many or any of these? What was the best one? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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I’ve had quite a few upgrades on American with status in more recent years, which is great, but the upgrade for which I will always be the most grateful was on Delta in 2005. My mother was in hospital in England, and they called to say she had MRSA in the bloodstream and her condition was dire. I called Delta to see how soon I could get seats for my son and me by redeeming miles and explained the situation. This wonderful agent not only got us reservations from Albuquerque to Birmingham that same weekend but put us in first… Read more »
That’s really wonderful to hear (obviously, you would rather not have been in that situation, I do mean the service you received). I have heard similar stories that when you really need to get somewhere for a situation such as yours, the people at the airline really do their best to get you there as quickly as possible.
4 times this week: AA: LAX-IAH, MSY-ORD, UA: IAH-ORD, ORD-BNA
Best ever: ET: ADD-IAD, economy to lie-flat First on a 777.
I am upgraded domestically each week on UA, AS, AA, and/or AC.
Long-hauls usually require e-upgrades, Plus Points, etc. even if they don’t involve paying extra money.
Pretty decent all round there. The ET one sounds like a total win – what a difference that would have made. I’d like to fly Ethiopian one day, all reports say they are pretty good!
Even in the US, where complimentary upgrades are offered for North America flights, how often you get upgraded varies a lot by status and airline.
I have a friend who is Alaska MVP and has gotten upgraded to “First” (well, business class) even on SFO-JFK, while I rarely clear upgrades as a United 1K in SFO. (Of course, SFO is mostly a United hub which partly explains the disparity.)
Yes, it does vary quite a lot. There never seems to be any reason for it, and I suppose that’s what keeps it interesting! Thanks for that!
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Happened to me 3 times and only on long-haul. First one was FRA-MIA on LH from J to F on the A380 about 7 years ago (no status). Second time was FRA-ORD on UA on Christmas Day maybe 5 years ago from Y to J (had UA Silver back then) and third time was March 2020 from JFK to LHR on BA as a BA Gold when every Brit tried scrambling home because of the Covid outbreak. Was already moved to Premium Eco overnight before the flight, and then while waiting in the lounge and checking the app I was… Read more »
Wow, J to F on a long haul on an A380 is pretty much the holy grail of upgrades! Very nice, that’s awesome! I bet you were delighted 🙂 Y to J is also very good indeed as it’s such a step change in comfort. Thanks for sharing all of that, it’s interesting hearing other people’s experiences.
I’m Asiana Diamond Plus and while I’ve gotten plenty of blocked seats, bulkhead seats, and extra legroom, I’ve never gotten a short or long-term haul upgrade even on when asking. However, I was just speaking to one of my clients who rarely flies (Korean Air), and he mentioned that twice he’s gotten long-haul upgrades to J just by asking. The absolute fury I would have if I was a Korean Air top elite who got nothing (even when asking) while a random person was sometimes upgraded probably could be seen from space.
I’m the same, British Airways Gold and usually nothing. I also hear that they upgrade people without status here and there, to give them a taste of a higher class and therefore entice them to spend more. I see the logic! However, it is nice when loyal flyers get a little bump up. I totally agree with you on knowing about it at the time, it would be very annoying. Thanks for the comment!