How to get a flight upgrade - according to the BBC

Because airlines will bump you down or even off if overbooked.

 

I flew SAA to Jo'burg and then on to Luanda and the 2nd flight
confirmed my long held opinion that SAA treat the London to Jo'burg
route differently to others. Overall though I'd still use them without
any fears of pikey service.

Things have obviously moved on a lot but SAA jumbos always had more
legroom than BA ones due to their rubbish Pratt & Whitney engines not
being able to lift as big a payload as BA ones using Rolls Royce
engines.

I've think I've told you before that SAA flight bitches get a bit
stressed if you refer to Jo'burg airport as Jan Smuts airport. I
forgot the war was over last time I went down there

 

They're sure not perfect.
lol

mk5000

"And I look to good to be loving you
You know I look way to good to stuck with you
I'm conceited I got a reason
See I look to good to be gettin with"--remy ma

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, BGN

Again, odd.

BA were £20 more on these flights.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - There are few things in life more sinister than a
public toilet with the lid closed.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

Ben wrote

Oh we do, don't worry about it and we complain bitterly to the airline
about chavs being allowed up front breathing our air.

 

Not something I've ever experienced in about 15 years of business
travel.

It's something I've *heard* about but not seen. I've taken economy
seats on a business ticket when there's been bad weather and my flight's
been cancelled but others haven't; that's the only time I've experienced
this. I'm sure it happens but I doubt it happens very often.

I also doubt *most* people could pull off the stunt you suggest. I
certainly wouldn't try it.

 

Doesn't make it right. I'm all for getting a good deal, but if you
really want a 1st class seat then that's what you should book.

 

heh, you sound like me Dad. He's just paid a small fortune for
business class tickets to New Zealand for him, Mum and Sis and he's
already stated that he'll be quite annoyed if they're sat next to
someone who's only paid for pikey class.

 

It has happened to me a few times especially when travelling within the US
to conferences etc. I was once bumped from first to baggage because several
flights were cancelled due to riots in LA.

gwan, gwan.

 

Thanks to you @ burnt for that info; I'll give myself the usual 3
hours door-to-flight then. I wonder what difference the preprinted
boarding pass will make?

--
Ivan Reid, Electronic & Computer Engineering, ___ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

The surprise ones are wonderful, aren't they! I've been upgraded a few
times by Lufthansa desk-droids, simply because I speak to them in [passable]
German. This is an irregular occurrence, so it clearly doesn't come down
from Herr Gross-Kaese at Luftwaffe Central. Just human-beings on the
front-line, delighted that an Englishman bothers to speak to them in their
own language.

 

Well they are wonderful after you get past the shock of your boarding
card being torn up (first upgrade) or the check in person tapping away
for far too long (most recent upgrade) to see if you are on the flight.
I was left almost speechless when they upgraded me at Christmas time -
all I could say was "thank you" and then "Merry Christmas".

I'd like to be able to claim that I speak to Cathay ground crew in
Cantonese or Mandarin but I'd be lying.

 

How do you get banned from entering the EU?

 

Try to give it one up the arse.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a
I demand nothing of you except that you amuse me.

Folding@Home Team UKRM
http://vspx27.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=47957

 

A few years ago all French carriers were banned by Euro Control from
getting within 500 klicks of the French border unless one of the pilots
spoke good English. This followed an emergency where an AF flight had to
land with a fire onboard at a German airport where they only spoke
German or English.

 

I've found them OK on long haul to French Guyana for free upgrades if
the space is available and you flash your Kourou Space Base pass ;-)

This has also got myself and two German guys from the base private use
of the first class upper deck on a 747 for the whole flight.

Flown it often and the only time I've sent food back as inedible. After
I did about half of the business class did the same.

AF has also provided me with some of the best food too.

 

Mark Olson wrote

I think you will find that to your average Frenchman understanding
English is one thing, using it is another altogether different matter.

 

The French believe this does not apply to them for internal flights or
at international French Airports for that matter. I believe all the
other EU countries insist on one flight deck English speaker on all
passenger flights.

At Charles de Gaul all the ground movements are done in French and only
if a foreign carrier insists on English will they switch language. This
means if you don't speak French you don't know what the other aircraft
on the ground around you are doing.

 

Last time I tried speaking to a Lufthansa desk droid in Krautese, I
discovered he was a cheap Czeck import