How To Get Upgraded When You Fly

Examining the experience of a young Anglo-American couple as they travel from London Heathrow to Los Angeles International Airport on Virgin Atlantic and how they managed to get upgraded to VIP status with the cheapest economy ticket on the flight.

The story starts many years ago with an idea inspired by a news article stating that the EU is banning plastic straws and a Google search revealing none are manufactured in the EU. The straws are made in China, why not buy the equipment from China and make them locally in the UK? Check out: https://www.thestrawbrothers.com/ for paper straws made in Great Britain.

Fast forward a few years and the factory is up and running and with the help of a girlfriend from America the business manages to survive the lockdown.

Hard work means you need to take a break now and then and on this occasion a visit to see family in America was the reason for the trip.

Unfortunately, with any fledgling business, there are financial constraints and sacrifices need to be made, so on the cost of the ticket, you can buy the cheapest ticket class in economy without check-in luggage from London Heathrow (LHR) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for as little as £280 return on Virgin Atlantic (https://www.virginatlantic.com/). Even though it may be the cheapest ticket you can still manage to have a good time. You are allowed 1 piece of hand luggage up to 10kg and the first trick our young friend teaches us is that you can take a backpack which they don't usually weigh so long as it fits within the allowed dimensions of hand luggage.

The next is you can get access to a lounge through your bank card. In this case the Revolut Platinum card (https://www.revolut.com/ultra-plan/) which has the Dragon Pass that allows you access to many airport lounges. If you are flying Virgin Atlantic at Heathrow you will be in Terminal 3 and you can then visit the No.1 Lounge. There you can eat as much food and drink as much alcohol as you like for free in a very comfortable surrounding with the only viewing deck in the terminal building. In this case our young protagonist likes to drink and is on the Prosecco, making sure to arrive early to fit in two breakfasts and umpteen drinks.

There are the usual routes to getting upgraded, through airmiles or airline status as a frequent flyer, or paying for one at check-in for a discounted price.

You can always try asking for it. Write to customer services and tell them your story and see what they say. It will probably be a no as there may be extra taxes and charges an airline would have to pay in order to upgrade you.

Having exhausted every avenue and getting drunk to the point that walking to gate was difficult, it was good that our young hero had gotten his story straight by writing to customer services in advance as even though it was still a no at the boarding gate, there was someone to speak to on the flight itself! The manager of the flight can upgrade you once the plane has finished boarding or just after take off. So, from the cheapest seats at the back of the plane to the luxury of Upper Class and being welcomed with 5 glasses of champagne. Enjoying a drink in the Upper Class Lounge onboard

Hey, you might even get a model plane out of it as a gift.