Former Flightatendant Reveals Top Tips For Getting A Flight Upgrade (And Yes, Dressing Smartly DOES Help)

There is almost no greater thrill for a passenger than being upgraded from economy to business class flights.

Former British Airways chief steward Simon J Marton, author of Journey Of A Reluctant Air Steward explains how you can get upgraded. Firstly, he stresses, dressing smartly isn’t a myth, it really does give you a better chance of a lie-flat seat.

‘Yes, dress smartly – it does no harm. If you look like you could be dressed appropriately for an upgrade, then you stand a better chance in that regard than someone in casual attire.’

Another thing that might help is booking yourself onto a scheduled flight that is notoriously busy and checking in a little later than you usually dare is one option – because you may be given an empty seat in business to help deal with the ‘overflow’.

He said: ‘I’m not saying this will definitely work, but it’s an angle.’

Also, anyone with SFU (suitable for upgrade) next to their name on the manifest, said married father-of-four Simon – and those are generally loyal customers.