Do you know anyone that works for BA?

[pugwash4x4]

Rather unbeleivably a beautfiul young lady recently agreed to become Mrs Pugwash.

We've spent 12 months scrimping saving for a rather special one-off honeymoon (on top of paying a big chunk for the wedding) to Mauritius in May.

Neither my lovely wife or I have ever travelled anything more than economy, and i was hoping to appeal to someones romantic side who may be able to pull a couple of strings and make our holiday that bit more special with a bit of an upgrade. Neither of us will get the chance to travel for a good long time again, and following a rather traumatic year for my wife, it would be amazing to do something really special for her.

This is of course car related- can you imagine the amount of brownie points PH will get for organising this

any help very much appreciated.

[Tsippy]

I don't know if it's any use, but my sister travelled with Emirates last year on her birthday as she was going to Australia to see her boyfriend. As it was her birthday, they upgraded her to 1st class free of charge, and on the return journey they found out she was travelling with her partner who she does not often see and so upgraded her again FOC

So some companies will offer 'presents' for special events without you knowing anyone in their company

[tuffer]

Very hard to get an upgrade on BA and even harder on that route (I did it four times last year). Don't worry, it's only 11 hours and it is worth it when you get there. What hotel are you staying at?

[pugwash4x4]

staying at the Oberoi in early May for 11 nights.

Very very much looking forward to it- we've made a fair few sacrifices to go!

And no, there isn't a credit card in sight before anyone pipes up

[Jonnas]

My missus' old man is a retired BA captain and he can't get us upgrades, cheap tickets yes but not upgrades. He flies everywhere first class (most of the time) but only on standby so it requires flexibility. I think your best bet is to try your luck at check in and hope the flight is not full.........

[Kermit power]

I know someone in BA, but I'm not completely sure they'd be willing to help.

My wife, who knows her far better, only told me that she worked for BA as a long haul stewardess at Heathrow just after I'd happily explained exactly what I thought of the striking cabin crew!

[Tsippy]

Kermit power said:

I know someone in BA, but I'm not completely sure they'd be willing to help.

My wife, who knows her far better, only told me that she worked for BA as a long haul stewardess at Heathrow just after I'd happily explained exactly what I thought of the striking cabin crew!

I hope she had pointed out the emergency escape doors to you

[x 7usc]

strike up a brief, plesent conversation on check in and slip in that its your honeymoon, broke the bank, once in a lifetime, etc. not saying it will work though, just think you have more chance with this method as ive had friends who work at BA try to upgrade me and it does'nt always happen,
ps try to pick a lady over a bloke on check in, they tend to be more receptive about weddings, unless they are a lesbian,then you will end up next to the toilets

[Bill]

x 7usc said:

strike up a brief, plesent conversation on check in and slip in that its your honeymoon,

Just like everyone else on the flight... TBH you've probably got more chance of an upgrade if you don't mention it as you're almost certainly the only one.

[Kermit power]

Have you already booked the flights?

If not, make sure you book them in your married name.

Then make sure that your wife's passport is in her maiden name.

Then take your marriage certificate to the airport with you.

You will then be dropping the honeymoon into the conversation without obviously chancing it for an upgrade, and will also have documentary evidence that you really have just got married, and this really is your honeymoon.

It might not work, but it's probably the best shot you're going to get!

[C8PPO]

Kermit power said:

Have you already booked the flights?

If not, make sure you book them in your married name.

Then make sure that your wife's passport is in her maiden name.

Then take your marriage certificate to the airport with you.

You will then be dropping the honeymoon into the conversation without obviously chancing it for an upgrade, and will also have documentary evidence that you really have just got married, and this really is your honeymoon.

It might not work, but it's probably the best shot you're going to get!

I can't remember the full details but I know that there are issues around the name on the ticket, the name on the booking and the name on the passport, so if you go down this route then check that you're not tucking yourself up!

[pugwash4x4]

HI All,

very valid points made - as mentioned sure that just about everybody mentions something at Check-in.

Realise its a cheeky request, but you never know......

Its a bit like writing to Jim'll'Fix it when you were a kid

[chunkymonkey71]

Murdoch, Face and Hannibal.

Sorry, crap joke.

[Kermit power]

C8PPO said:

Kermit power said:

Have you already booked the flights?

If not, make sure you book them in your married name.

Then make sure that your wife's passport is in her maiden name.

Then take your marriage certificate to the airport with you.

You will then be dropping the honeymoon into the conversation without obviously chancing it for an upgrade, and will also have documentary evidence that you really have just got married, and this really is your honeymoon.

It might not work, but it's probably the best shot you're going to get!

I can't remember the full details but I know that there are issues around the name on the ticket, the name on the booking and the name on the passport, so if you go down this route then check that you're not tucking yourself up!

This is a fair point, although I would say that in the time we've been married (8 years), we've not had a problem, and it happens almost every time we travel, because I'm crap at remembering to put her maiden name on the booking! Most of those have been in the EU, however.

[anonymous-user]

Sorry to say, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. That route is busy, and busy with people who are prepared to pay ££ to sit in the big seats. In general to be in the running for an upgrade, you need to have an economy cabin that is overbooked and higher cabins that are underbooked. Then the movement starts. Movement is generally one cabin though, and those at the front of the queue are travellers with the best frequent flyer status with that airline, followed by those who've paid full fare for their ticket (vs discounted).

Getting a BA employee to mark your booked as SFU (suitable for upgrade) is a big ask. That's something that is considered a disciplinary offence in BA.

As has been said, if you know someone who is staff, they may be able to source you a staff ticket in a nice seat, but that is likely to be standby. Wouldn't fancy waiting for a spare seat on a busy route like that meself.

For future reference, get yourself a BA American Express card, a Tesco Visa, membership of the BA Exec Club, 200 BA shares and start reading about how to use BA miles on the BA forum on Flyertalk.

[killsta]

Kermit power said:

C8PPO said:

Kermit power said:

Have you already booked the flights?

If not, make sure you book them in your married name.

Then make sure that your wife's passport is in her maiden name.

Then take your marriage certificate to the airport with you.

You will then be dropping the honeymoon into the conversation without obviously chancing it for an upgrade, and will also have documentary evidence that you really have just got married, and this really is your honeymoon.

It might not work, but it's probably the best shot you're going to get!

I can't remember the full details but I know that there are issues around the name on the ticket, the name on the booking and the name on the passport, so if you go down this route then check that you're not tucking yourself up!

This is a fair point, although I would say that in the time we've been married (8 years), we've not had a problem, and it happens almost every time we travel, because I'm crap at remembering to put her maiden name on the booking! Most of those have been in the EU, however.

You've been married 8 years and your missus still has her maiden name in her passport?

[Kermit power]

killsta said:

Kermit power said:

C8PPO said:

Kermit power said:

Have you already booked the flights?

If not, make sure you book them in your married name.

Then make sure that your wife's passport is in her maiden name.

Then take your marriage certificate to the airport with you.

You will then be dropping the honeymoon into the conversation without obviously chancing it for an upgrade, and will also have documentary evidence that you really have just got married, and this really is your honeymoon.

It might not work, but it's probably the best shot you're going to get!

I can't remember the full details but I know that there are issues around the name on the ticket, the name on the booking and the name on the passport, so if you go down this route then check that you're not tucking yourself up!

This is a fair point, although I would say that in the time we've been married (8 years), we've not had a problem, and it happens almost every time we travel, because I'm crap at remembering to put her maiden name on the booking! Most of those have been in the EU, however.

You've been married 8 years and your missus still has her maiden name in her passport?

Yes. Hers expired the year before we married, so she had to get a new one. It's still a perfectly valid passport, so why pay for a replacement before the 10 years are up?

[arfur]

Greg66 said:

Sorry to say, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. That route is busy, and busy with people who are prepared to pay ££ to sit in the big seats. In general to be in the running for an upgrade, you need to have an economy cabin that is overbooked and higher cabins that are underbooked. Then the movement starts. Movement is generally one cabin though, and those at the front of the queue are travellers with the best frequent flyer status with that airline, followed by those who've paid full fare for their ticket (vs discounted).

Getting a BA employee to mark your booked as SFU (suitable for upgrade) is a big ask. That's something that is considered a disciplinary offence in BA.

As has been said, if you know someone who is staff, they may be able to source you a staff ticket in a nice seat, but that is likely to be standby. Wouldn't fancy waiting for a spare seat on a busy route like that meself.

For future reference, get yourself a BA American Express card, a Tesco Visa, membership of the BA Exec Club, 200 BA shares and start reading about how to use BA miles on the BA forum on Flyertalk.

Using a BA Amex or Virgin Amex and putting your whole monthly spend on it generates enough each year for upgrades and free flights ... I run about 3.5k a month through Virgin until I have the 4 x upgrades and 1 x Free and then switch to BA Amex for the rest of the year for roughly the same freebies. On top of these, there are of course the miles .... and they do add up, and YES you can combine them with the reward upgrades

Arf

[tuffer]

arfur said:

Greg66 said:

Sorry to say, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. That route is busy, and busy with people who are prepared to pay ££ to sit in the big seats. In general to be in the running for an upgrade, you need to have an economy cabin that is overbooked and higher cabins that are underbooked. Then the movement starts. Movement is generally one cabin though, and those at the front of the queue are travellers with the best frequent flyer status with that airline, followed by those who've paid full fare for their ticket (vs discounted).

Getting a BA employee to mark your booked as SFU (suitable for upgrade) is a big ask. That's something that is considered a disciplinary offence in BA.

As has been said, if you know someone who is staff, they may be able to source you a staff ticket in a nice seat, but that is likely to be standby. Wouldn't fancy waiting for a spare seat on a busy route like that meself.

For future reference, get yourself a BA American Express card, a Tesco Visa, membership of the BA Exec Club, 200 BA shares and start reading about how to use BA miles on the BA forum on Flyertalk.

Using a BA Amex or Virgin Amex and putting your whole monthly spend on it generates enough each year for upgrades and free flights ... I run about 3.5k a month through Virgin until I have the 4 x upgrades and 1 x Free and then switch to BA Amex for the rest of the year for roughly the same freebies. On top of these, there are of course the miles .... and they do add up, and YES you can combine them with the reward upgrades

Arf

And even with all of that you will struggle to get a "miles" seat on the Mauritius flight.....I know, I try every year.

[audidoody]

IF BA is anything like Virgin there is a limited number of reward seats on each flight and you still have to pay the taxes and fuel surcharges.

If I was the OP I'd concentrate on trying to get Exit row seats rather than hope for a free upgrade (wiih zero chance if he's not an Executive Club member).

flyertalk.com is the place to ask for advice.