Has anybody ever gotten a free seat upgrade on a plane journey?

>>1227746
Yes, traveling from Colombia back to Europe. I arrived at the airport and they said they weren't sure they could put me on the flight because I didn't print my boarding pass and check in online, so I flew the first two legs with a different company. So after two legs I didn't have any boarding pass at all and the transfer person just told me I would get my boarding pass when we board the plane. I was waiting with a group of Peruvian girls at the airport and didn't do anything. Then finally the plane got called and everybody had their boarding passes so I went to the desk and said I didn't have one. Guy started saying that now my seat is gone and I should have come sooner. Told him that I had no idea and that I paid for a seat next to the window and that I won't accept any downgrade and if he downgrades me he should refund me on the spot. Dude smiled at me and told me not to get angry and listen to what he says, he has something better. Gave me an upgrade to first class and it was heaven.

I felt like piece of shit for getting mad at him, but what would you do after almost 16 hours of waiting in airports? So that's my story of how I got a free seat upgrade.

Yeah, I was about to miss my flight after transfer.
I checked in literally last minute, had to run real fast to actually make it to the other plane... I was like 'wtf, not the seat I selected' when I looked at the boarding pass at the gate, but then I looked again, and it was a really low number, so I thought, that ain't that bad. Turned out the system put me in business class, cause there was no other seat available anymore. Champagne, edible food, metal cutlery, it was nice.

got one when i gave up my seat on an overbooked flight. was domestic though so not that good but still better than not having it i guess.

>>1227761
>edible food

I never understood this meme. I have flown almost 40 times now in Europe, Asia and Latin America and always got some good food when the flight time was longer than 3 hours. An even below 3 hours they usually give you some sandwich. Hell even on a regional flight in Bolivia I got a sandwich, a coke and some chips.

>flight from Dubai to London
>Our apologies, sir. It appears that Economy Class has been overbooked.
>Please accept this free upgrade to Business Class.

It was great but in a way i wish i never took it because I'm still too poor for luxuries like that and wish i could fly like that every time.

>>1227763
depends on the airline you fly. the food on virgin and ba for example are miles better than what you would get on an american carrier and light years ahead of a shitty chinese airline.

>>1227763
I flew with China Eastern once. Worst food ever. It was a really long flight and by the second or third meal, the smell of the food alone literally made me gag.

>>1227773
Isn't China Eastern also the worst airline in Asia?

I almost flew with them, but chose not to after all the bad reviews I've read. The extra $200 I paid for JAL & Cathay Pacific was worth it. JAL has god-tier food even in economy class.

>>1227746
got a free upgrade for a train ride, never for planes. that was awesome as hell. TGV. you and the other passengers per wagon have basically a butler, free meal, leg room for days, various magazines to read.
>servant got upset that I put my serving tablet away on my own 'SIR, please, I'll do that'
first time that somebody called me sir.

>>1227746
Much like the others here, I got my upgrade when a flight was overbooked and somebody somewhere was going to get upgraded to make shit work.

I flew with a 75% off discounted economy ticket (AKA ID75) due to doing some after hours work with a travel agent that I didn't technically work for, they just paid me in tickets.

Decided to go to USA and back. The way there, stopped in Fiji and the next leg was massively overbooked, couldn't get on the plane, next few flights were booked out, ended up stranded for two days before I could get on a plane to LAX. I was checking in daily with the counter staff so they got to know me.

On the way back a week later, I get to Fiji again and am told that theres some problem and economy is overbooked again, exact same situation, exact same people, exact same bullshit. The counter staff remember me from last time I got fucked over, so when two people need to be bumped to business to get on the plane, she makes sure that I'm one of them. I literally got the last seat on the plane.

It was a NICE flight though, Air Fiji is pretty sweet in business. They give you a little gift bag of coconut soap and coconut oil shaving cream and stuff. It was an overnight flight and the breakfast was the best french omelet I've ever had. I've spent years trying to reproduce that omelet and never managed. Aside from just being a perfectly cooked rolled omelet, it was filled with this green tomato salsa type thing that was amazing. I've never had anything like before or since.

>>1228306
How the fuck do they even over book planes? It seems like such an easy mistake to avoid.

My GF just flew in from Mexico and they overbooked her plane. She complained and they upgraded her to first class because of it.

>>1228424
They do it on purpose hoping that a couple people decide to change plans or just not show up. I guess it works most of the time.

>>1228424
>>1228429
This, it's a deliberate business practice to sell more seats than they have on pretty much every flight. Don't know how it works on flights where you get to pick a seat tho

The flight got delayed slightly, and they upgraded me so I get off sooner and hopefully make my connecting flight. It didn't work, but hey, 45 minutes in business class.

Like other anons I volunteered to get bumped and got a voucher and an upgrade. Though domestic the next flight was on a plane they use for international flights that they were moving so I got to experience international first class between Chicago and Houston. Pretty nice.

I get them quite frequently. The reason is that when they overbook economy, there is a clear pecking order of who gets the upgrades first. And it goes by frequent flyer status. Since I have StarAlliance Gold and OneWorld Emerald, I'm pretty much the first to get bumped to business class if I'm flying on one of their flights.

Upgrade from economy into first class is easy
Step 1 - board the plane
2 - go to bathroom and piss in waterbottle
3 - pour piss on your seat cushion
4 - complain that your seat is full of piss from the last traveller
5- PROFIT!!!

>>1227746
I had one 'upgrade' to premium economy on an AirAsia flight. Everything was the same except we were at the very front of the plane and got called first to board which was a good experience for once. Still had to fight past a bunch of Chinese people started to line up early on for the airline to call other people to board first.

Why don't airlines try to combat the problem of people lining up early and not going in the correct order: 1. Business 2. back of the plane 3. front of the plane? They never seem to care that a bunch of Chinese people almost always fuck the whole system up.

>>1228540
Step 1 - board the plane
2 - be Chinese
3 - defecate on your seat or get your baby to do it for you
4 - complain that your seat is full of piss and shit from the last traveller
5- PROFIT!!!

>>1228544
Kills two endangered animals with one stone.

>>1228462
They use statistical models to predict the most profitable amount of seats to sell. Taking into account things such as what factors play into the % of people who show up, what are the costs of having to delay passengers to a later flight, and so on.

If there is room in business class and economy is overbooked, it costs next to nothing for the airline to upgrade someone to business class.

>>1228199
China Eastern are garbage. I was very impressed with China Southern the last time I flew through the region. The food was nice and the seats were surprisingly spacious for a Chinese airline.

During a trans-Atlantic crossing during a snowstorm I had 4 flights canceled by Delta, and was rerouted twice. Eventually they apparently decided I was a hopeless cause and passed my booking on to BA once I got to Heathrow. BA immediately upgraded me to business class out of sympathy.
Spent the 11-hour layover in Heathrow in the BA lounge drinking single malt scotch and reading the WSJ. Sat across from Gordon Brown on the flight. And all without a scrap of clean clothes, three days' worth of beard and armpit odor.

Only time that's ever happened to me, unfortunately. But BA always treats you pretty well. I've had them pay for my hotel room when they weren't required to.

>>1228677
I hope you called him a cunt

>>1227746
Once we where very late to the checkin and got upgraded but that was a long time ago. It was a few day after the 1994 world cup final in LA and I was 10 years old.
Got a upgrade from business to first in 1996 flying alone from LAX to ZRH when I was 12. No idea why but it was fun.
Got upgraded all the time flying as UM around europe

Today I get my upgrades from loyalty/frequent flyer status. 99% of my short haul flights end up as free upgrades, long haul I'm on the top spot of the upgrade list if the flight is full so I just gamble on the no fucks given flights or use one of my complimentary upgrade vouchers on the
>can't stand cattle on this one or paid for business but I deserve better
flights

>>1227746
On my flight home from Nepal I was throwing up and in extreme discomfort due to severe a severe food related infection.

I got a whole row to myself to lie down KTM to guangzhou and guangzhou to LA. So I guess pretend to be sick?

Do I have to use the Eurobonus credit card to make a Eurobonus account and save up points? They keep talking about the "Eurobonus card", but really I'd just prefer to make an account on a website and have a reference number.

Isn't that possible?

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People tell me to be very nice to the counter lady.
[spoiler]It never works.[/spoiler]