My top 9 travel tips and how to get a free upgrade.
Ishan on a plane drinking champagne. He's sort of smiling. He can't really smile. That's just not what his face can do when a camera is pointed at him
Over the last three years, I have spent a considerable proportion of my time on a a plane. I’m fairly sure that if asked to describe the accoutrements most oft associated with me, people would list trainers, a can of Diet Coke and a boarding pass. My travel is split in two. Work travel is in Economy and my personal travel thanks to the delight of airmiles is mainly not. So whether you are a budget conscious traveller looking for your next getaway, or looking to splurge on something more luxurious, here are my top ten travel tips.
How do I get a free upgrade? Should I wear a tie and smile nicely? Does it help to say I’m celebrating a special occasion?
Let’s deal with this at the start. If everyone who claimed to get a free upgrade really did, there’d be two people in every business class seat. The problem with upgrade tales are twofold: first, there is no way to verify them. “Show me your original ticket and your new upgraded boarding pass please” is likely to render strange looks and will see you ejected from parties, unless the room is filled with points nerds. The second is that correlation is not causation. If you were upgraded when wearing a tie, it wasn’t the tie that did it, even if you think it did.
They look for any way they can to monetise premium seats. Increasingly, you can bid for an upgrade online and if they have a spare seat and like your bid then the further up the plane you go. They make premium seats available to upgrade with miles and vouchers. If none of these yield takers, then they upgrade if they need to, ie because the cabin you are in is overbooked.
Airlines are driven by loyalty and customer value (more on this below) and don’t leave upgrades to the whim of the person checking you in or boarding you on a flight. “Oh but the seat will be empty otherwise” - the same is true of your original seat, but I’m not sure anyone would dream of turning up at an airport and asking for an empty seat for free.
Behind the scenes, their reservation system creates a neat queue of people to upgrade. The exact formula is driven by each airline but it’s a combination of your airline status and the price you paid for your ticket. No airline status and snagged a bargain ticket? I’m afraid you are either at the back of the queue or not even on it.
In very rare circumstances when there’s perhaps a mishap that sees two people allocated to a single seat, it might be left to the discretion of a member of staff. Even then, they might be driven by a computerised queue. An upgrade to Club Europe for me came when two people (I was neither) had been allocated the same seat near me. One of them got my exit row seat, the other their original seat and I got a dubious Coronation Chicken salad and a free seat next to me in Club.
All seats aren’t the same
I have a colleague who can sleep in any airline seat. They are also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Everybody likes them. Yeah, one of those people.
I however, am fussy. If you’re like me, or planning a long and/or special trip, I’d suggest looking at sites that you might not otherwise and find out what the seat pitch and configuration is on your flights. AeroLOPA has seating charts for a huge number of airlines. Replete with details about seat pitch and how it might vary, the number of seats in each row and whether the plane has wifi and inflight entertainment, there’s a wealth of information that might make the difference as to who you book with.
Low cost means to them, the airline, not necessarily you; see the whole price
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be
Gone are the days of airline tickets being all inclusive. The heady days of the IATA cartel in the 1970s where ticket prices were heavily regulated so airlines competed on service are long gone. So too the notion of ‘Flag carriers’ and the idea that a national airline should provide more. We have got hooked on low cost airlines and that’s a good thing in so many ways because air travel is so much more affordable than it once was. But with that came the unbundling of fares. The proliferation of flight comparison sites means that airlines look to find new ways of keeping their headline price, low. To achieve that, bags, seat selection and meals have been stripped out of the lowest fares. If you start from the perspective that a low cost carrier will charge you for everything but one of the old established airlines will not, then you aren’t comparing like for like. That lowest fare probably includes just a seat, but not a specific one that you can choose.
For my part, I like to choose my seat and I like to check-in a bag because I’m not a tortoise. Some of the comparison sites let you select these options better compare prices. Work out what your must have items are and factor those into your total price.
Buy direct
Having referenced comparison sites above, I use them but never buy through them or a travel agent. Two reasons in particular. First, it’s almost always easier to deal with an airline (or hotel) if you buy directly from them. Whether it’s making changes, getting a refund or adding extras, buying direct means you can usually make changes online or calling them up. If you buy your ticket from a travel agent the airline might fob you off to go back to them if you need a refund and the travel agent may charge you fees over and above the airline. Second is price, discounts and miles/points. A travel agent isn’t necessarily cheaper. Airlines pay travel agents a commission. If you book direct they don’t. That doesn’t mean they pass the savings on to you but you might get lucky. Most of the hotel chains now only award points if you book directly with them.
Loyalty adds up
Airlines, hotels, it seems every shop have a loyalty programme. They cost nothing to join save for the data you give up to them and the increased bulge of your inbox. If you’re an infrequent traveller then you probably aren’t going to amass sufficient miles or points to fly far or stay long, but every little helps. A large number of the world’s airlines are a member of one the world’s three airline alliances: OneWorld, Star Alliance and Skyteam. You don’t and shouldn’t sign up to more than one programme for each alliance as you can collect miles from any carrier within an alliance. I have an account with one airline in each of the three but the overwhelming majority of my flights are on OneWorld and credited to my British Airways account.
Airlines are making just joining their programme valuable too. BA and others offer free messaging WiFi on their aircraft for anyone with an Executive Club account, regardless of how often you fly.
Status makes prizes
(Sorry Brucie) The first rung on the status ladder with most airlines unlocks value. With many, it can make seat selection free and/or reduce the cost of seat selection. We can argue the merits of whether seat selection should be free or not, but that’s where we are. British Airways were the first to charge for seat selection in their Club cabin over a decade ago. It was unpopular but hasn’t budged and more airlines are starting to copy. At the same time, anyone with a Silver or Gold card could still select almost any seat for free and Bronze card holders could too, 7 days before their flight. Adding a cost to seat selection is plainly a revenue raiser, but it also made airline loyalty more attractive. When I book what is likely a more expensive last minute ticket on an airline I’m loyal to, it’s handy to have my pick of the best seats. Yes, it works for me so I like it. But as airlines chase your cash, they’ll side with their frequent flyers.
Keep going through the status ranks and you’ll find lounge access, priority check-in, security and boarding. All of which can make regular trips through airports just that little bit more relaxing.
Switching seats onboard
If you don’t get the seat you want or your party gets split up, the quickest way to get someone to trade is to observe the rule of offering them better or equivalent. Recently, I had an exit row seat when travelling alone. A couple had been assigned seats apart. One had the seat next to me, the other had a seat in the row behind. They (rightly) knew I wouldn’t trade my exit row seat for a non-exit row seat so when someone in the row behind arrived, they offered him the seat next to me and he happily moved.
Customs and Immigration has gone digital
An ever increasing number of countries are digitising their customs and immigration process. The days of filling out a paper landing card with a pen borrowed from your seat mate is decreasing at speed. It’s worth researching this even if you don’t need a visa for the country you are visiting, or like me, you’ll land in Singapore with a splitting headache and have to use an unresponsive tablet in the immigration hall to facilitate your exit.
US Global Entry
A specific call out for US Global Entry. For UK citizens, it’s $100 for 5 years, plus £42 for a UK Police check so it’s only worth it if you travel frequently, but you benefit from a much shorter line at immigration and the ability to use dedicated security lines when departing a US airport.