Who Will Give Me an Upgrade

Joel,

Great site.

I had a question. I will be traveling to South Africa via Paris with Air France in December over Christmas. I was obviously looking to try to get an upgrade. Would it be worth contacting Air France directly in advance? There had been a mix-up with my tickets when they sent them out to me.

They kept having trouble matching my address to the tickets to send them. Is this worth leveraging?

Thanks in advance.

Sean

Hi Sean,

Thanks for your comments about the Penny Pincher’s site.

No doubt an upgrade will make the 10-hour flight more palatable. Generally, it is best to wrangle your upgrade at the airport. Much of the authority and discretion to offer preferred services lies in the hands of airport gate agents.

I would call Air France and make sure that the misunderstanding with your ticket is documented in your record.

Then when you arrive at the airport go up to a gate agent and explain your challenges, while he reviews your record. Concurrently, ask the agent if he can upgrade you for your inconvenience.

Good luck,

Joel