I have never had an upgrade. EVER. Never on a flight, in a hotel or on a rental car. Where is my upgrade fairy?
I have been traveling around the globe regularly for about five years. When I first found out that I would be living in Japan, I immediately signed-up for some airline rewards programs, ready to accumulate the thousands of miles between little ole’ me in Japan and my home on the east coast of the USofA. People had told me boatloads of stories about how they signed up for mileage perks programs, dressed professionally, flashed their military IDs and pearly whites and somehow, by the grace of God, landed first class tickets on some pretty ridiculous flights {a common one is from Tokyo to Detroit – it’s pretty brutal}. So I did just that with the hopes that I would have the same experience one day.
After a handful of flights back and forth between Japan and America, I was certain that an upgrade was in my future on my final flight from Japan to PA. I used my military ID, my official passport and my mileage perks card and asked if any upgrades were available for the leg from Tokyo to Detroit. The lady tapped away at her computer and said, yes, we have first class tickets available for $3000. SHUT UP! Seriously? My ticket already costs $2000 – how can you tell me after all that an upgrade is another $3000? That’s when my hope of ever randomly being upgraded went out the window.
My fiancé and I have done quite of traveling internationally. We’re very solid travelers, have accrued thousands of miles traveling around the world and always dress professionally when we fly. On our most recent trip to London, we were hoping that the British Airways agent checking us in would offer an upgrade to an obviously stylish and loving couple. Again, that went out the window when the woman was probably the most boring and most uninteresting person I had ever encountered. {She did not appear to be in the business of brightening passengers’ day with a random upgrade to business or first class.} Even after we got engaged, the morning we flew out of London, we were hoping to flash some new sparkly diamonds on my left hand, exclaim how our trip to London was amazing, and accept a complimentary upgrade. That hope immediately went out the window when they told us our seats weren’t confirmed, they weren’t sure if we were getting on the flight and that we would be going stand-by {for tickets we had already paid $1500 for and were confirmed}. I was happy just to be on the flight – coach or not.
Today, however, was different. My flight from Rome to JFK was automatically booked as a premium economy ticket. Now, it wasn’t first or business class, but it was a step up from coach and it was lovely. To have the extra inches on either side and almost be able to fully recline is a perk alone. Then add the extra amenities like nicer headphones, a warm washcloth upon arrival and a nicer cabin area than coach – it was well worth it {thanks DOD for booking it!}. Not that I would ever turn down an upgrade, but I would be completely content with flying the economy plus equivalent that most airlines have these days. But I still can’t bring myself to even fathom paying the extra price. What really aggravates me when it comes to airlines though is when the flights aren’t fully booked and the nice seats go empty {or when I see young children taking up a whole seat in business class – it makes me want to hurl them back to coach and promptly take their roomy and comfy seat. They probably wouldn’t even know the difference}. The airline already lost money on that seat because it’s empty, so why not just open it up as a free for all and let someone fly in comfort for once.
I’m sure there’s a very detailed financial breakdown as to why they can’t do that. It seems like more and more of the industry is going bankrupt, merging and changing business plans. But on the long hauls – like from Tokyo to Detroit or Rome to JFK, I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t appreciate the kind gesture of being upgraded and flying in comfort just once.
I’m fairly certain my streak is over and I’ll be back to flying with the peasants on whatever trip is next. But just this once, it was absolutely glorious to be able to fully extend AND cross my legs without kneeing the person in front of me. But, I will try to remain ever hopeful that maybe one day, I’ll get to fly in business class.
My traveling pet-peeves: The Airline Industry
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