Thinking of finessing your way into first class on your next flight? Easy there — it’s not that simple.
Barbara Bacilieri, a flight attendant of 15 years, has seen her fair share of travelers doing whatever they can to get to the front of the plane — and it turns out, bribing the in-flight crew or saying you’re on your honeymoon won’t cut it.
“Cabin crew sees passengers trying these tactics all the time… none of that works,” she told creatorzine.com.
Most of the time, upgrade decisions are made hours before boarding.
“By the time you ask a flight attendant, the decision has already been made, and the crew simply follows the list provided by the airline,” which goes by frequent flyer status as higher-tier members often receive priority, the seasoned crew member explained.
However, despite your flyer status, there are a few helpful hacks that could potentially upgrade a squished economy seat.
“Check in as soon as online check-in opens, not just on the day of travel,” Bacilieri told the site. “On many airlines, if two passengers have the same priority, the one who checked in first may receive the upgrade.”
The flight attendant vet also pointed out that flyers will have better luck if they’re traveling alone, “because moving one passenger is much easier than moving a family.”
While a flyer’s plane outfit usually doesn’t have anything to do with where they’ll sit, Bacilieri pointed out that being well-dressed can sometimes work in one’s favor.
“While smart clothing doesn’t move you up the list, very casual clothing can sometimes work against you. A suit isn’t necessary but looking neat and presentable can prevent you from being overlooked,” she explained.
Which doesn’t come as a total surprise, considering flight attendants and airline staff have recently been up in arms over what air travelers are wearing when boarding a plane.
Fitness influencer Edda Elisa was one of those passengers who was supposedly denied entry on a recent Lufthansa flight due to her “naked” outfit.
Wearing a pair of black biker shorts and a V-cut sports bra, the enraged airline staffer supposedly told her, “You can’t board like that…You’re not wearing anything. You’re naked,” the blonde told her virtual fans in a TikTok video.
“She told me I wasn’t wearing normal clothes, and that I had to put something over it now,” recalled the influencer from Germany. “You go to the side now and you can only [board the plane] once you’ve got something on.”
Although Elisa doesn’t recall the airline having a “dress code on a plane,” reps for Lufthansa say that flyers must wear clothing “appropriate to the character of a public journey.”
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