THIS IS HOW YOU GET A (FREE) UPGRADE TO BUSINESS CLASS

Paying for a business class ticket isn't an option for now, but a free upgrade can just happen. Last week I flew from Lima to Amsterdam in a flat seat, Josselin zoomed a few months ago from Singapore to Schiphol in a similarly flat seat and May decided to treat herself to an upgrade when she flew to New York. But now the question: how do you achieve that too?

Come late
For someone with quite a bit of travel anxiety like me (I already told you about it here) coming late is not an option, but actually, that works best. First of all, you run the chance that all economy seats are already overbooked and they have to bump you up. Secondly, they now have a better view of who has and hasn't shown up, so suppose a seat is left over and you ask nicely, you might just get to sit there.

Arrange it at the gate
Getting an upgrade at check-in is possible, but generally more difficult. The people there do nothing but check people in all day and during the check-in period, they don't have a good view of the aircraft's occupancy. At the gate, they do. The cabin crew is there and they are often much easier to negotiate with than the people behind a check-in counter. So be at your very best when you're at the gate trying to charm them and ask as nicely as possible if they happen to have a spot up front.

Travel alone
It speaks for itself, but one upgrade is always easier than two.

Tell (make up) a story
Who can talk like Brugman makes up a wonderful story about how you and your partner are on your honeymoon and how it would be soooo nice to end the beautiful trip with a seat in business class. Or that you had a “difficult journey” (leave completely open what that means) and want to comfort yourself with an extra large seat. Anyway, being friendly with the flight attendants and being patient is always key.

Save points
Even if you don't have tens of thousands of points with your Frequent Flyer Card, it always helps to at least be registered so you can show that you've spent a lot of money on the airline in question over the past years.

Think about your clothing
If you arrive in your ragged dress and with stinky backpack hair, you will never get an upgrade. Make sure you look a bit decent.