How I upgraded to first class for FREE on a FULL flight (and, you can too)
If you have ever flown on a plane you’ve seen the luxuries associated with paying the ABSURDLY premium price of flying first class. Airlines parade us normal folk through the exquisitely manicured and spacious first class area as we go to our cramped, musty coach seat in the back of the plane. Then, after we’re herded into the back, the flight attendants close the door to hide us from the mystery of the first class life.
I was recently on a flight where the 18 people in first class had their OWN restroom, and the remaining 200 passengers shared only 3. The line was long and people were extremely frustrated as they shifted and fell in the aisles while the plane hit turbulence.
This baffled me. Economically, the 200 passengers in the back support the operation. Without them, flights would not exist, so why is it that airlines can run this type of operation?
During the Concorde era, an entire first class flight was attempted. Entering the Concorde cabin was lauded as entering the “rarified air of gods and kings” because of the free-flowing champagne and meticulously detailed service. However, due to increasing operating costs, among other things, the Concorde service was discontinued.
Today, to maintain the fact that some people are still willing to pay a high price for a certain service, you can still find luxury in the air. On airlines like Emirates a first class ticket from NYC to Dubai will cost you $14,000 round trip. With it, you get fully-adjustable seats designed with NASA, lighting and temperature control, a privacy door, a personal 32" television, among many other amenities. This experience is truly baffling, but for the right price, airlines are willing to give you an experience you will never forget.
First class is an opportunity to live like a billionaire for a few hours, but for us normal people who are rushed passed it to sit in our 27" seats, it is more of a mystified world. Seemingly unattainable, I embarked on a mission to break through this invisible barrier and experience the pleasure of this 30,000ft high life that I have only seen in movies.
Along the way, I learned a little about airlines and a lot about flight attendants.
As I sat in my coach seat, I contemplated the many psychology techniques I could apply to the flight attendant to allow me to move. Start a conversation, build their trust, leave them with the feeling I wasn’t actually after anything, then strike.
I established a detailed plan of how I was going to do all of this, but as I approached the flight attendant, everything changed.
To begin my story, a concept I learned from reading Ryan Holiday’s book, the Daily Stoic made a huge impact on my decisions this day. His book does a magnificent job connecting the writings of philosophers like Marcus Aurelius to modern day life. Ryan Holiday writes; A truly stoic person doesn’t allow adverse circumstances or unexpected or unfavorable outcomes to alter their future actions. This is important because when everything changed I needed to react quickly.
I have a very limited background in flying . I may fly a couple times a year, but not enough to have a lot of experience with flight attendants or to know the secret phrases to get an upgrade from corporate. Instead, I understand a bit about psychology and a lot about being a kind person. I used these to my advantage. On the ground, the airline’s corporate rules and algorithms come into play to fluidly manage an aircraft’s operation. However, whenever the plane is in the air, the flight attendants are now in control.
I started off with the idea of psychology, but quickly altered my plan. As I approached the flight attendant, I decided to do something that flight attendants don’t experience very often. Be genuinely kind.
The news commonly broadcasts cell-phone videos of airline flyers freaking out on airplanes, customers being dragged off, and people getting in arguments. The flight attendant is the first-line of defense against these instances. However, flight attendants are more heavily trained on customer service and airline safety not in police tactics and conflict resolution.
Flight attendants put up with a lot. Actually, MORE than a lot. With several flights in a day, hundreds of customers, recirculated dry air, cramped spaces, and no place for privacy, it is amazing the calmness and kindness that they consistently exhibit, even in the face of adversity.
So, as I approached the flight attendant, I radically shifted my plan, by instead, showing them genuine kindness.
Here is how our interaction went
Me: “Pardon me ma’am, I noticed there was an open seat in the first class section. Is it possible to switch to it?”
Mickey: “No, I’m sorry the seating arrangements are set on the ground and given to the pilots. We can’t move seats once we’re in the air.”
Me: “Of course, that’s no problem at all. If I was going to request an upgrade in the future, what would be the best time to do it?”
Mickey: “Request it at the gate before you get on the plane.”
Me: “Oh okay, I’ll have to try that next time. This is the first time I’ve ever done this. I’m actually going to run an Iron Man in San Francisco. I don’t fly much.”
*we talked about ourselves for a few moments*
Mickey: “I’m sorry I can’t help. Is there anything I can give you instead?”
Me: “I would really enjoy a bottle of water.”
Mickey: “Of course, that is no problem at all.”
*I returned to my seat*
*Mickey approaches me and tells me to grab my things and follow her to the front*
What was important about this was that I maintained my kindness throughout the interaction, I was genuinely kind and interested, I was genuinely curious about her, I told her about myself so as to differentiate me from the hundreds of other people on that flight that could have also asked, and I maintained and built our relationship throughout the remainder of the 6 hour flight.
Remember, she told me no at first, but I didn’t let that phase me. I continued my interaction, learned about her as a person, she learned about me, then I returned to my seat. A few minutes later she came to me and told me to follow her to my new seat.
I was going to approach this situation using all of the psychology and sales techniques that I’ve learned recently, but as I approached the attendant a feeling swept over me that reminded me what we are all truly looking for; genuine human interaction, especially in a public place like an airplane where hundreds of people are crammed together for hours.
Remember, acquiring that seat is a privilege. Your work doesn’t end when you move to the seat, neither does it end when you get off the plane, your work ends when that flight attendant that helped you is having a better night than you because you are reciprocating the kindness. As I walked out of the plane, I saw Mickey, and I gave her a hug. She wished me the best of luck on the race I was going to. I left that day with a feeling that I made a friend, and I knew that she had as well. During that flight, she told me she only allowed me to switch because I was so kind.
This doesn’t just apply to airline upgrades. It applies to all walks of life. Every day we are given an opportunity to make a difference in other’s lives. Sometimes we get something out of it, most of the time we don’t. But if you make this your normal approach to life, you will begin to be rewarded for it if you ask. If I didn’t ask, the answer would have been no, but instead I took the risk and went for it.
Being genuinely kind is not the normal approach to life. I am very optimistic and believe that most people are genuinely kind, however I pass hundreds of people on a daily basis and 99% of them don’t leave a lasting impact on me. It is only that 1% that we remember. There is a reason that we remember them too. They stood out from the crowd, did something different, and they did so in a good way.
There is a reason I was given an upgrade on this flight. I spoke up and I was genuinely kind and curious. They could have easily given a random upgrade to anyone else, but how would they differentiate between the hundreds of other people on board?
If you want something in life, the key to getting it is asking and being genuinely kind and curious. You may not get it the first time, you may not get it the second time, but you will eventually get it. When you do, your life will be better and so will theirs.
