Getting bumped up

[ecavey]

Hello!

I am new to this forum and was hopeing to ask if anyone had any ideas/tips on how to get upgraded to business or first class?

My fiance are flying to England next april for our wedding and it would be amazing if we had the chance to experience this!

We will both be taking our wedding outfits on with us as extra hand luggage as we don't want to put the wedding dress in the hold!!!! and I'm making fiance dress up smart so we stand more of a chance.

Where can I ask? when we check in or as we're boarding the train? I see it on TV all the time but my fiance is telling me to be realistic...

Any adivce would be greatly appreciated thank you!

Em

 

[mannej]

All I can say is good luck!

And congratulations on getting married.

 

[TiredOldFlyer]

Hi Escavey : UPgrades are very difficult - generally saved for frequent flyers with status. However you have nothing to loose
by asking.
Regarding the wedding outfits if you ask the cabin attendant they may take pity on you and hang them in a cupboard.

Congratulations and enjoy !

 

[jamesatfish]

Re the wedding dress as carry-on, you won't have any problems getting that upgraded to Business or First. On a number of occasions I've seen flight attendants bring wedding/coughtail/formal dresses up into First to be hung in the cupboards where there is enough space to stop them being damaged. Indeed my sister and husband flew out from the UK to Australia for their wedding a few years ago (in Economy) and the flight attendants offered to safely stow her dress for each of the flights they took.

In regards to getting an upgrade for yourselves, the chances of it happening are fairly slim - I certainly wouldn't expect it at all.

Others may discourage the 'we're getting / have just been married' line at check-in, but it can certainly work in your favour even if not to receive an upgrade. My wife and I showed up stupidly late for our first honeymoon flight (as in hours after the flight actually left) and were given a chiding by the check-in attendant until somehow the fact we were on our honeymoon came up and magically she became super-sweet, we were given boarding passes for the next flight and sent on our way.

Congratulations on the wedding by the way and welcome to AFF.

 

[stomplad]

Congratulations on your impending wedding. Have you thought of upgrading with points to improve your chances? You will each need 60,000 points. Good value if you have the points. If not no harm in asking, check in early.

 

[QF029]

Where can I ask? when we check in or as we're boarding the train? I see it on TV all the time but my fiance is telling me to be realistic...

+1 with your fiance!

 

[trooper]

I tend to belong to the "Would you ask anywhere else for a freebie worth thousands of $?" crowd... (Example: did you ask the reception venue to do it for free?) but I suppose in reality there is actually little harm in asking.

Just remember that virtually all upgrades are either "supported" by hard earned miles/points/certificates OR result from an operational need for the airline to free up seats in a lower cabin by bumping folks up... folks who almost invariably are high level members of that airlines FF program or that of one of its partners.

The best advice is always to be totally prepared to travel in the booked cabin....any other expectations will likely (almost certainly?) lead to disappointment.

Sorry to say, but your wedding does not hold the same importance to others as it does to you. I imagine hundreds of folks fly each day on their way to events of similar importance on a personal level... and I suspect very, very few get freebie upgrades as a result.

Congratulations, and good luck anyway!!!

 

[jdandcoke]

Often, when my wife and I are at check in - she will do all the talking if the assistant is a younger female member but then apparently I can charm the older women and indeed the men!

It may be worth choosing your plan of attack depending on who serves you at check in. We have often been marked as SFUG (suitable for upgrade) however have only been successful on a few occasions as flights have genuinely been full

 

[SeatBackForward]

Boarding the Train?

 

[dsotm]

I'm Qantas Gold and in March, myself and family of four got upgraded from discount economy to premium on QF93 from Melbourne to LA. I didn't even ask. But we were super nice to the check-in girl and she could see we were a bit stressed. On the way back from LA we were in zoo

I tend to belong to the "Would you ask anywhere else for a freebie worth thousands of $?" crowd... (Example: did you ask the reception venue to do it for free?) but I suppose in reality there is actually little harm in asking.

Just remember that virtually all upgrades are either "supported" by hard earned miles/points/certificates OR result from an operational need for the airline to free up seats in a lower cabin by bumping folks up... folks who almost invariably are high level members of that airlines FF program or that of one of its partners.

The best advice is always to be totally prepared to travel in the booked cabin....any other expectations will likely (almost certainly?) lead to disappointment.

Sorry to say, but your wedding does not hold the same importance to others as it does to you. I imagine hundreds of folks fly each day on their way to events of similar importance on a personal level... and I suspect very, very few get freebie upgrades as a result.

Congratulations, and good luck anyway!!!