Have you ever gotten a free upgrade on an airline?

Day before of day of ask if they have any empty first class seating, if they do they wont charge you for it!! I have done it a few times on almost empty flights!!

Just ask! When you check in or get to the desk, smile and ask if there are any other seats available. It usually helps to have a good reason like you're stuck in the back of the plane or over the wing. If there are extra seats they might move you. Also if you're flexible when the plane fills up if you offer to take the next flight you'll get an upgrade or a free ticket.

I used to manage a contract where one of our subcontractors was one of the American Airlines companies. They used to upgrade me occasionally when there was room on the way back. It was very pleasant.

Unfortunately, you can't just get a free upgrade. You need a reason. Working with them, being a very frequent flyer, being a celebrity of some sort, or being very ill will do it (by very ill I mean if you are flying somewhere for cancer treatment or something.)

Yes. On a BA flight from Heathrow to Hong Kong - we were moved into Club Sleeper Class from "Cattle Class", again because the plane was overbooked. They needed a couple to upgrade and I suppose we were just lucky - we are also elderly (I'm almost 70 and he's 74) so perhaps the check in staff thought we'd be no trouble!

Wrinklies of our age are also more inclined to dress tidily.

Probably the closest thing is when I was on a full plane and they asked if someone would move so that a woman and her child could sit next to each other. I got bumped up and free drinks all flight, they kept asking me did I want more. Usually the best things they offer are if you're willing to take a later flight, but I'm not usually willing to do that.

I was flying from Tampa to Hawaii and we had a layover in Dallas and San Jose. When we were in Dallas the airline came over the loudspeaker asking for three people to give up their seat and we will be comped by doing so. Well there was three of us flying at the time so we asked what we would get. They told us we would get first class from Dallas to San Jose and first class from San Jose to Hawaii and each of us would get a $300 voucher to fly again. The only thing we really did was get to Hawaii six hours later then we planed for. We had like another two hours in Dallas and four hours in San Jose

Ask the airline

The flight I was supposed to be on was overbooked. So the ground crew ask me if I mind being put on another flight. I say yes and wow! they put me onto the business class of their alliance flight. I bought ticket for economy class.

Only once, got business class instead of economy on All Nippon Airlines in Japan. I think it was just because they had room and we were senior citizens.

i got business class instead of economy, they just give it to me before boarding, when they have space for buss class and theres a lot of waitlisted/ standby passenger in economy, they will upgrade some to make space for other pax.

if you know a friend working as a cabincrew or a purser they can upgrade u w/o a cost.

otherwise u'll have to pay for it.