Getting a first class seat on any flight is a holy grail for many people, particularly if you're stuck next to someone's screaming child in economy. But one woman has made getting a first class flight look incredibly easy.
British author and ex-pat Tilly Bagshawe apparently travels up to 100,000 miles a year from her current home in Los Angeles to the UK. Alright for some.
Now the frequent flyer has given her advice to normies who want to get bumped up to first class without paying, saying that it's all down to uttering just two words: 'revenue management'. Could it seriously be that easy?
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CHECK OUT THIS WOMAN WHO DRIED HER UNDERWEAR ON A PLANE:
Speaking with Bloomsburg, Bagshawe suggested a handy way of using their air-miles to help you get upgraded from economy class, all from chatting with someone over the phone.
Bagshawe explained that 'revenue management' is a little-known department of airlines that makes sure that a flight is earning the business money, telling travel agents what they can say and essentially acting as 'Flying Club's boss'.
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By name-dropping the name of the department, you can make yourself sound like a VIP frequent flier who knows how the airline industry works back to front. Of course, you're probably not.
Bagshawe advises you ask the reservation agent: "Have revenue management released any first-class seats for miles upgrades yet?"
"When they say no, ask them to check or just be put through to revenue management so you can ask when they will release some, as well as how many seats are left," she went on.
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"Politely respond like this: 'You have 20 seats unsold? Why aren't you releasing them?'.
"Often by the end of the conversation they say, 'OK, we'll release one for you', or they might tell you to call back tomorrow. Doing that, we've had a pretty much 100% success rate."
Bagshawe said that the trick works with the airline she most regularly flies with, Virgin Atlantic, although it could well work for other airlines too. Might be worth giving it a shot.
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Business Insider did give it a shot, contacting Virgin to ask them if the trick would actually work.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson replied: "Each year we release thousands of reward seats for our Flying Club members and customers can check availability online and through our contact centre." That sounds like a yes then.
Some of the other advice that Bagshawe gives fliers is to practice 'realistic thinking' if you get nervous flying and to take a big mug on long-haul flights if you want a proper-sized brew.
Can't say we jet-set as much as Bagshawe does, but if it saves us from people farting next to us like this guy we might give it a go.
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