They have grahams, Oreos, and seasoned pretzels today. Gave me all three this past Sunday. Usually it’s just pretzels or grahams on longer flights. First time I’ve seen Oreos.
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“ * OREO Cookies: Served on some flights over 1550 miles”
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Those were full sized junk snacks with nuts or nut butters in them! 
lotsa calories! Not the skinny packets devoid of any protein that are given out today.
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This is the case with US airlines but not overseas. US airlines publish an upgrade list which is ordered by status and ticket class and then fill the better seats. But overseas airlines (like British Airways which I usually fly), don’t attempt to fill business and first with automatic upgrades. They leave those seats empty on the basis that you should travel in the class you paid for and only upgrade if the flight is oversold (they don’t want frequent travelers only paying for cheap seats). The algorithm isn’t transparent but includes an estimate of your propensity to pay for a higher class when traveling on future flights. So a lower tier or non-status traveler can be upgraded ahead of a high status traveler.
However during holiday periods the algorithm appears to reward status more explicitly and it can be based on the person who booked it not the traveler. So for example my kids all got upgraded at New Year (two from economy to premium and one from premium to business) despite none of them having status (and not even traveling on the same flight as me), just because I booked the ticket. But there’s not much the agent can do at check-in other than to flag you as “suitable for upgrade”. After that it’s all up to the algorithm.
TL/DR if you don’t have high tier status you have much more chance of a free upgrade with overseas airlines. The sweet spot is a premium economy seat on a busy flight, because there are relatively few seats in that class and you have a better chance of being chosen for an upgrade.
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In summer of 2023 I flew with D19 for a Europe trip, on BA. For reasons I still don’t understand, they upgraded us to business on both transatlantic legs. The return flight was the reconfigured business class which was ABSOLUTELY amazing (the outbound was the old one which was I think universally regarded as the worst business class because of the seat configuration, but we absolutely were not complaining about being upgraded).
I lost status on BA a few years back. The only reason I can possibly think of for the upgrade is they may have had a note in the system from having to cancel flights earlier that year because my traveling companion passed away. Would they be that caring? (I will say - I had to call to cancel and I thought the agent was being unnecessarily nosy about my reasons for cxl, I was still pretty distressed at the time, but then it turned out she was asking so that she could get a full refund to my credit card of my non refundable fare. Which is the second time I’ve had an overseas non refundable fare refunded in full - the first time was Virgin when I had to cancel a trip due to breaking my ankle a few days before the flight - our PA called them to cancel and they said if we could send them proof of the injury they’d refund, which they did).
I don’t fly them a lot any more so don’t know if they still do this, but they used to have a “standby upgrade” available where you could pay a flat fee at the airport -I cannot remember now but a few hundred pounds - to upgrade one class if there were seats available. For my 12 hr flights, I used that a few times to get to business. Saw one woman use it to get to first. Makes no sense to use it from Economy to premium economy I think, but to get to business from premium or first from business for a long flight like that, is worthwhile.
Yes they may sell upgrades to business if they are oversold in economy. But it’s now about $800 or more per person for transatlantic flights.
More likely it was an attempt to win you back if they thought you might have switched to another airline since Covid (rather than your traveling patterns changing). That seems quite common for travelers whose had status and lost it.
But especially if you have status they can be amazingly helpful. I’ve changed non-flexible flights plenty of times both for myself and other family members due to family illnesses. I’m glad I got lifetime gold before the recent revamp that makes it harder to qualify.
Odd. Phoenix to Cabo - 1 hr 40.
17 years of 100% travel gave DH elite status on American and United. He always asks nicely if an upgrade is available, and often it is. We have been upgraded to first class many times, and our son has enjoyed this advantage, too. Both of the celebrity stories I posted upthread occurred due to FC upgrades. I really appreciate the member lounge access as well. I hate to fly, so these conveniences help with my dread of travel.
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This is what happened to us a couple of years ago. My family of four was traveling from Paris to Denver on IcelandAir, connecting in Reykjavik. We had frequent flier numbers, bu they were brand new – this was our first round trip on this airline. We were bumped from coach to first class (or was it business?) – sadly, just on the shorter leg. That made for a lovely four hours, but could have used the extra room on the longer haul!
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Yes, that’s correct. Many overseas airlines also let you bid for upgrades and you can “win” a bid at reasonable prices if they have unsold seats.
Which is consistent with what I said:
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Not my story, but what an inconvenience.
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For our 30th anniversary trip to Europe, we used miles to fly - business class over and 1st + business class back. The return trip was on Emirates, with 1st class portion was on an Emirates A380, AMS to Dubai. Over-the-top luxe. On-board showers, individual pods, exceptional food, a personal flight attendant. And champagne. So much of the best champagne around. No off brands.
A long nighttime layover in Dubai, then home.
Business class was such a letdown haha. The champagne served was nowhere near the quality of they had on the earlier flight.
It spoiled us for flying. No more basic economy for me!
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Emirates First and Business are probably the best in the world!
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Years ago, I was on a flight where the plane had almost fully boarded when 2 passengers arrived at the last minute with a giant crock pot. It was too big to fit in the over head bin.
The flight attendant did not want any delays so she took the crock pot and strapped it into one of the open first class seats.
The husband asked the wife why they couldnt sit in first class with their crock pot. She responded that the crock pot got upgraded but they didnt.
On this plane, there was also a woman with one leg and they didnt upgrade her either.
I was really hoping the flight attendant wouldve offered the crockpot a drink and followed the normal first class service.
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Did you find out what was in the crockpot? That is such a strange thing to carry onto a plane!
It was in a brand new box. They must have purchased it and tried to bring it back.
The entire episode was odd because there were many first class seats available. They shouldve let the woman with one leg sit in first class but nope.
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I think I have told this story on CC before. Many years ago I was meeting then husband in Paris for a long weekend. He was already there for a business trip. I got myself a window seat thinking I could have some privacy to fall asleep. A couple came sitting next to me. Even before they sat down, the woman (gum chewing type with big hair) started with, “OMG I can’t believe we are sitting in economy. I can’t believe making me sitting here with all of these people.” blah blah. I then heard her say, “You haven’t given me this month’s allowance. If you think I am going to stay with you if you don’t give me the allowance then you are wrong.” I then figured out she was his mistress. The guy was trying to keep quiet, but the woman just wouldn’t shut up. I tried to make myself small, except one time when I had to go to the bathroom and she wouldn’t get up. The man actually got mad at her. It was the awkward trip.
Sometimes I just think you can’t make this up.
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Last spring D1 and SIL moved cross country. D1 drove the family’s SUV, car seats, and family pets (including a dog who was too large to travel in cargo) on the 3 day cross country trip and would meet the rest of the family at the airport nearest their new city.
That left SIL to fly out of the LA airport with 3 kids, just turned 3 year old twins and an 15 month old. He loaded all 3 into the biggest stroller allowed under the carryon policy, carried a diaper bag & backpack, plus each twin had a tiny backpack with snacks, an security blanket/stuffed animal, headphones and a iPad. So it was a menagerie. At the security check point, one of the twins–who was going thru a stage of hating being made to wear clothes-- saw people taking off their shoes to go thru screening. She decided that meant she could take off her shoes—and everything else. She stripped naked, dropped her clothing & shoes in a pile and started running around the security area, screaming with glee.
Cue to SIL, restraining the other twin from doing the same, while trying to catch the naked twin without leaving the baby alone in the stroller.
Fortunately another family, who also was traveling with a set of slightly older twins, saw what was happening and stepped in to watch clothed twin and baby in stroller while he caught and redressed the naked twin.
Thank goodness the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful.
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Wow, kudos to your SIL. It was so stressful for me to travel cross-country with three little ones. I really appreciated strangers who were kind to me and offered to help. I did NOT appreciate the woman standing in line in front of me who started screaming at me when my toddler, in my arms, kicked her. Of course, I apologized profusely, but she just reamed me out. We were waiting to get on a bus at Logan Airport to go to a different terminal, and it was a really, really cold day. I started crying!
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