A FLIGHT attendant has revealed why giving passengers a free seat upgrade could get cabin crew members fired.
Asking for an upgrade is always a big risk, and not just for the passengers who are gambling for a better place to sit.
Rich Henderson, a flight attendant with 10 years of experience and co-creator of the blog Two Guys on a Plane, told Business Insider how giving out free upgrades could result in members of cabin crew losing their jobs.
This is because the airline will view the free upgrade as stealing a product.
However, this doesn't mean you can't get a better seat – but it has to be in economy.
He said: "We can probably move you to an exit row or even a better row if there's space available.
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"Best tip for that is to be as nice and accommodating as you can both to crew and passengers and that can really go a long way."
These seat swaps will often happen in the same cabin area, so it's unlikely an economy passengers will be upgraded to the first-class cabin.
Henderson also encouraged passengers from talking to their seatmates for the entire flight and to avoid ordering hot or warm beverages because they're made with tap water from the plane.
He added: "The airplane water is notoriously gross, in terms of safety, I mean, I think you're fine, but it's probably something you don't want to know where it came from."
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Meanwhile, another former cabin crew member, Susan Fogwell, told Travel + Leisure that free upgrades are incredibly rare and likely to get flight attendants into trouble.
She added: "If a flight attendant moved a passenger from one class to another, the flight attendant would not have a job for long [due to the price difference].
Bobby Laurie, a travel expert, and former American Airlines flight attendant also told Travel + Leisure the best time to ask for a seat upgrade is as you're getting on the aircraft.
He said: "You should ask the lead flight attendant or the flight attendant at the boarding door.
"You should ask prior to door closure, but don't be surprised if they don't move you until after you're in the air if they're going to grant your request."
The reason why you might not get moved right away is that the flight attendants first have to make sure everyone's on the plane.
If there are spare seats in first or business class, then passengers will have a better opportunity to make the move from economy.
One man claimed he managed to sneak into business class in the middle of the night to get a full night's sleep – although not everyone believed him.
In 2018, a first class passenger was booted out of a plane for trying to share his fancy drinks with some mates sitting in economy.
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