There’s a lot of misinformation and very bad advice on the internet, so I suppose this should hardly be singled out. But it’s travel specific, and since Travel + Leisure can’t help itself, I guess I can’t help myself either.
Continue reading: No, Dressing Up Won’t Score You A Flight Upgrade
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I have a ton of friends who work for airlines (pilots and flight attendants), and without naming names or airlines, let's just say that it's a complete myth that they don't get put into business and first before status passengers are upgraded. The gate agents definitely look out for their own and get their colleagues in business/first, even if status passengers are on the list. I'd be incredibly mad if I were one of those passengers, but the average passenger doesn't know who is an employee and who isn't, so they aren't going to know they got screwed out of an upgrade, but the employees should probably stop bragging about it so much on social media because they're going to give away the game to everyone.
As a flight attendant, *Thank-you* for writing this, and for being so well-informed. I get asked these questions all of the time. You are correct, that a while back, we had much more discretion and agency. But the company now fully tracks who sits where, and there are extreme penalties for breaking policy.
While I have sometimes enjoyed the perks of my job, flying business class overseas; all of my most awesome inflight experiences (Singapore suites etc,) have come from Credit Card points rewards. That's the way to go.
I have gotten upgraded several times at the gate thanks to my well-behaved younger kids (no sarcasm, they are 9 and 6 and fly very well). After there were no additional upgrades and no military on the flight, the gate attendant asked whose kids were over in an empty area throwing a ball. I sheepishly raised my hand thinking I was about to get chastised, instead she motioned me up and gave me 4 new tickets up front. Oh, and the well-dressed person? He was volunteering himself for an upgrade, but the designer jeans didn't seem to hold any sway.
RCB: I dont know who you non-rev for but I do so with a Star Alliance airline and I absolutely guarantee you that we only get bumped to business after every revenue pax had a change to bid for an upgrade or is being upgraded via status. Maybe its different in the US, but here its not at the discretion of the gate agent (at least im not aware of such a case).
It's definitely different on some international airlines (on Delta, American, United, what you wear is irrelevant) where there is still some discretion on who gets upgrades and what you wear may play a part (though it'll never trump status). That said, credit cards are the way to go.
I swear this is a reblog, right? I know you referenced the 2018 story but didn't you publish this exact blog a few years ago? Apparently no one listened!
When i started working for airlines 25 years ago to use staff travel you had to wear a shirt and tie, even for economy. There was a much more disorganised way to upgrade people if a flight was oversold in economy in those days, as we checked people in we used to comment people as SFU (suitable for upgrade) if they seemed nice and at flight close out the supervisor would bring the list of those people and upgrade them at random. Anyone that used to come up to the counter and ask straight out for an upgrade would be commented NSFU (NOT suitable) just for being entitled. Ah the good old days
“ Personally I think a much better business model would be to post affiliate links to credit cards that can actually score you first & business class seats, but to each their own.”
Touché!
I guess it would depend on the airline. My airline does not do automatic upgrades for status, space available. So if an employee uses one of their upgrade passes (we are granted a couple per year) and there is space available, we will be upgraded before status who have not used any of their upgrade bookings.
If there is an operational upgrade, then yes, we might get upgraded, but only if status options are exhausted.
It used to be different. Even 10 years ago, I was often upgraded in the manner
of 'taking care of our own'... But that changed significantly, and as Ben said, it is now fully monetized. We rarely get upgrades, even when we use our upgrade available passes, because everyone who is entitled to an upgrade goes before us. That even includes when we are traveling on company business and dead-heading (where we are fully entitled to fully business).
That is mostly industry-wide in North America. I suppose there are some exceptions, and people who skirt the rules and risk the (rather extreme) consequences, but this is very, very rare in the last 7 or 8 years. There are many examples of some US carriers with employees being fired for posting stuff on socials, even in the past few weeks. If I get an upgrade, it's always because I was the proper person in line entitled to it. I will always publicly praise my colleagues for taking good care of me and spoiling me, but my seat is always assigned in order.
When I travel, I'm usually dressed in my Walmart "rustic" fashion. If someone wants to dress up, fine. If someone wants to dress casually, fine. But, when someone dresses like a slob and needs to bathe, I think it bums out others on the flight -- in particular, if you're the one sitting next to that person. In which case, you hope that you are the one who gets the surprise upgrade.
In Euroland, the CC perks aren't so sweet, and status upgrades are only for the most exclusive tier, and even then aren't common. But I have had base M&M TATL opups with LX, and even got a PE to J opup on my last AF long haul out of CDG (FB Plat), so it happens.
Does dressing up help? Hey look, what do you mean by "dressing up"? I recently saw a FA invite a KL passenger across the curtain. He was almost certainly FB Plat. Ult. or Hippo or something, but the tailored suit certainly didn't hurt the case. If that dude were in a bloodstained tracksuit, I suspect he'd would have not gotten his falafel box and instant coffee.
So don't dress like a slob. Remember, it's not not about the opups, but about every interaction you have in transit. Be the customer the airline employees want to have, the foreign national the border control people recognize immediately as no threat... Or play a role that works for you and will give you predictable results.
Besides, we could use more travelers dressing decently and behaving politely.
If you're asking which credit cards I have used, primarily Sapphire Reserve. But if you are asking which company I work for, that I don't post on fully public forums... Honestly, the culture of reprimands for dishing on the airlines has bitten too many employees in the rear. It's a great job, with amazing benefits, but also significant discretion.
There is no more free upgrade to well dressed people, honeymooners, etc. Between paid first class seats, award miles, and some kind of upgrade instrument an empy first class seat has become as rare as a pre departure beverage in first class on American. Not to mention if there is an open seat airlines like AA will give it to any active service member.
Just another person trying to get a travel blog off the ground by spreading nonsense.
The T+L article looks like it was written the 80's (before loyalty programs and status were as dominant as now). Back then, you could indeed score an upgrade if FC was relatively empty and you were alone and well dressed. This actually happened to me somewhat later than that (1995) on a US Airways flight between BWI and LGA. I was returning from a job interview in New York and had flown there only for a few hours to attend. Naturally, I was wearing my best suit and looked as good as I ever had. The gate agent must have seen that on my itinerary and treated me like royalty, though I never asked. It was quite an experience.
Today: forget it. Airlines have far more prescribed methods for who gets upgraded to what. You could be wearing sandals, shorts and a wife beater that says "Tucson" on it and you'll still be at the top of the upgrade list if you have top tier status.
@Ben/Lucky
Please remove this article! People are dressing more and more like hobos when flying, even in Business and First Class! The illusion of an upgrade for the better dressed could counter that trend.
MAGA - Make Airtransport Great Again!
People should dress up to show how special the occasion is just like in the past.
Ross Mathews and Michelle Visage called my outfit "crafty" so I didn't get an upgrade.
Was on the way to the airport in full white tie. Guess I should go home and change then.
After spending almost $20k in a year to reach my status and still booking revenue fares in Biz, you can’t tell me what I can wear or what I can’t, nor can you decide what dictates an illusion of grandeur for me or anyone.
If you have to be so posh about it, just ramp up the price of the tickets and make it available for only the upper class, even then I am certain a lot of upper class people will wear “hobo” clothes. I mean I do occasionally wear loungewear whenever I do long hauls
People who work for tech companies get better deep discounts on services and hardware, people who work in banking get better mortgage rates, heck...even your local barista gets free coffee. Almost every job has perks, and no airline employee should have to feel guilty or apologize for using their perks. Free or reduced travel benefits have always been a part of the industry, from cruise ships, to Amtrak, to the airlines. Someone who didn't actually pay for their FC or BC seat are not more entitled than an employee who worked hard for that seat.
I don’t know about dressing up but putting on a knee brace and walking with crutches scored a few upgrades many years back
You say, "sometimes there is a co-pay" on an upgrade. You make it sound like a small admin fee. Please note that sometimes these are major payments of many hundreds of dollars. It varies wildly by airlines, But BEWARE!
A friend of mine was a purser with Air Canada. He told me one time on a Hong Kong to Vancouver flight, a guy in Economy said it was his honeymoon and asked to be upgraded to Business. The purser responded that he was poorly dressed in shorts and tee-shirt, but as his wife was nicely dressed he would upgrade her. The guy declined that offer.
You clearly didn't get the point. I'm not against comfortable clothing, I'm talking about sweaty, stained, dirty, low-class clothing that exposes body parts no one wants to see (at least with the average obese American, with a slim healthy person from other parts of the world it would be different).
That actually worked for me a few weeks ago. Paid for the upgrade for the injured one, and the gate agent upgraded the other two of us for free.
@Bubba
"...we could use more travelers dressing decently and behaving politely."
Well said, sir. Well said. On my trips, especially long hauls, I make the effort to dress respectably: a dress shirt paired with pressed trousers and a sports jacket/blazer. I don't expect upgrades because I pay or use points for business class. But the number of other perks at airports and on the plane that I get freely offered (without even asking!) is surprising and nice, and altogether too numerous to list them all. So I'll just give you the three most recent examples: being the only pax diverted from a crowded security queue for economy and business pax over to the near empty first class queue by a roving airline customer service manager. Being discreetly offered the first class menu, while flying business. Being directed to the first class lounge, while trying to access the normal business class lounge. I was not a high 'status' pax on these airlines. The ONLY thing that I could see differentiating myself is that I dressed differently/better.
I think the converse actually is more true: NOT dressing up is likely to preclude you from getting upgraded. Fortunately or unfortunately, society- and the upgrade Gods- do judge people on how they look.
My favorite pet peeve about travel and leisure. They must run this idiotic article every 6-8 weeks. Some non or seldom fliers actually believe it.
Some 20 years ago we were flying to Antigua in Business, my husband had a T shirt on with a pair of Jean shorts with frayed hems. On checking in we were Upgraded to First. Definitely nothing to do with dressing, asking or paying.
Typical arrogant American Karen.
20k paid by your company is far from impressive… out of your pocket is little bit more but still : it’s not what airlines calls big spender.
Being dressed in an appropriate way is not being posh it’s being respectful for the other people, staff and place.
I’m not interested in seeing your toes, legs or other part of your body. I’m not interested neither in seing you dressed like if you were home in your sofa.
They are people arround : you are not alone and instead of being arrogant and selfish you should be more respectful.
Hope one day airlines will ban flip flops / shorts and all those clothes exposing body parts. Dress code is a good thing. And NO : it’s not because you pay that you can act like if you were alone. They are private jet for that. But it’s not 20k per year 😉
Years ago Travel & Leisure was published by American Express and was a fine magazine. But wow it’s just utter crap now.
“But nope, believe it or not, the gate agent doesn’t send RuPaul into the gate area to see who is serving the best looks.”
Lol! Ben this made my day!
Living outside the USA means that there are basically ZERO credit cards that offer status with airlines and zillions of points. My favourite wish list includes the Aspire card that I Aspire to but can never receive without a TPIN
So it does bother me that everything posted is assuming that everyone has access to the perky cards.
Before I jump on my soapbox it does raise the question:
"What percentage of OMAT readers live outside the USA? Is it a large enough percentage that postings might be sensitive to the non-USA issues like difficulty in collecting points from cards?"
Man, this theory has been floating around forever and thanks to Tik Tok will not die.
How about a post on how calling or saying
revenue management will get you an upgrade? Til Tok has resurrected that one too!
Uh, this post is about dressing up Azamaraal.
You want the office on level 13.
Riding those overstuffed tin cans in the sky stopped being special years ago.....
That's awesome Brands! My nephews are so well behaved sometimes I think they are pod people. After 25 years I'm still waiting for a faaa paws. Nope! My sister and her husband paid attention and listened to them.....
Flip side of the coin is that you might get downgraded/denied boarding should you turn up straight off the beach in beachwear, or a protest rally in slogan-laden attire.
Yeah, I unsubscribed from it a year or so ago after getting tired of stories like this and other rubbish. Total waste of time!
Please do. White tie is only appropriate for 1st class on flights departing after 6PM. Before that use morning dress. For J, the dress-code is black-tie optional these days, but you'll still get some nasty glances if your flight leaves after 6PM and you're not in a midnight blue tux. During the day, you can probably get away with even a light grey or brown suit as long as you're not on an exceptionally formal route. In that case, yeah stick to black lounge suits.
I donned a tight top and switched on the headlights. I was indeed upgraded to business class and got into the lounge.
The times I've been upgraded to first I've been notified by email a few days before the flight, so I could have worn my PJs or ripped shorts.
From 2006 to 2019, I was an Emirates gold card holder and used to fly Economy from Europe to Asia and back , about 8 times a year . I always looked smart and was frequently upgraded to business class . Dressing down will not help getting an upgrade , so why not dress smartly ?
OMAAT is a commercial US-blog. The readers outside the US are not the target group and contribute only insignificantly to revenue. No one cares about them. America First!
Deal with it!
Wrong, the correct dress code is a flashy Gucci/Versace tracksuit with gold chains. Amateurs!
@Jorge Paez
No one cares about the plebs back in greyhound-like 'Basic Economy' sardine cans.
But please keep these deplorables away from Business & First.
Concur with posters that it doesn't hurt to at least not dress like a slob.
A likely bigger help would just be understanding of the gate agents difficulties, and treat them like a human being. That gets you more in all areas of life.
I think the article is about upgrades at the gate, which is no cost. You are talking about a third path to upgrades, paying for the. Lucky mention the credit card perks method, so now we have three. 😉
Tucson rocks, you douche!
I'd make a significant wager that you've never been there.
LOL!
I live in Mexico and I enjoy reading this post every day.
Its very useful and I learn a lot.
Of course the market of CC in Mexico its very different than USA.
I am fan of earning miles and applying different strategies for flying in Business Class & First.
The best product we have in Mexico its the Banorte Visa United Infinite United CC. You get 3 miles for every dollar and some benefits similar to the Chase CC.
@Jorge Paez
In the US yes, thanks to peasants like you.
But try flying a real airline like Qatar, Singapore, Etihad, Cathay, ANA, JAL or Aeroflot and you will see that glamorous premium flying is well alive.
Too funny since the algorithm doesn't care how I am dressed regardless of what my uncle told me in the 1970's 🙂
AA Buenos Aires gate agents will upgrade friends and downgrade elites. Happened to us 2016. Hopefully that’s gone.
I don't think it non-US readers are a small group and the advertisements are targeted to them (I just saw an ad from a local restaurant). So I guess in terms of advertisements revenue I don't think it matters where the reader lives. Obviously, there may be commissions paid directly for writing about one or the other credit card and they might only be paying for US-readers.
Operational upgrades have become very infrequent. Apart from better selling the premium seats (through miles, upgrade certificates, auctions etc.), the airlines have also reduced the size of the premium cabin in many cases. E.g. the AA A319 only has two rows (8 seats) of First, less than the MDs they replaced. Also internationally, ten years ago, the entire cabin between door 1 and 2 was occupied with F and J, with J going further back. Nowadays, often only part of this section is occupied with J (and F is only offered on a few handpicked routes).
Hmmm really don't like this throw travel and leisure under the bus. What are this writer's credentials?