Flight upgrades are rare, but according to three flight attendants, there is a simple way to increase the passengers’ chances of being moved to first class, or get better treatment on board. Cabin crew member Helena Afroughi said that bringing sweets to the crew “always works”.
She said: “What always works is when people bring some sweets to the crew, chocolates or whatever. And they make themselves known. Don’t just give it and run away. Usually, people do it as a thank you, but I’ve seen it more with people who have family working as cabin crew too, so they appreciate the crew more. If someone brings chocolate, we ask them if they are crew because we automatically think it’s because of that.
“When people do that, the cabin chief would be like ‘make sure you go up to him and ask him if he wants coffee or tea’ because we could give it for free. Obviously not everything from the snack bar, though.
“I had this very young kid once, who came and brought us little gifts from Bath and Body Works, he bought us mini hand sanitisers. It was the cutest thing ever.”
Flight attendant Miguel Muñoz agreed and said that he loves it when passengers bring “Toblerone or Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons”.
He explained: “I am automatically nicer to the person who had that nice gesture. The cabin chief would always offer them free coffee and tea, and if there are better seats available, we will move them!”
Flight attendant and founder of Confessions of a Trolley Dolly, Dan Air, explained: “These days it’s pretty difficult for your crew to upgrade you. And obviously, if you’re flying with a low-cost airline, there’s not much we can upgrade you either. However, we can make your time on board with us that little bit more comfortable, serve you first, maybe throw in a few freebies, and move you to extra leg-room.
“And to get this, it’s pretty straightforward, simply treat us with a little bit of respect and courtesy. Smile when we smile, acknowledge us, ask us how our day is going and remember that we are people too.”
Flight attendant Miguel agreed with Dan, saying: “To get better treatment, or a better seat with extra legroom, the best trick is just to be nice. And ask for it.
“You can come up and talk to us a little bit. Not too much unless the conversation is flowing, because I’ve had passengers who sit there and talk forever. And after that, just ask away. If you ask nicely and kindly, it’s rare that a crew will say no.
“Basically, ask for it but be nice. So when you arrive, say hi to the crew, say good morning, ask how their day was, treat them like human beings and not like they are there to serve you.
“For example, if the captain asks us to move passengers around for some reason, and I have to pick two people to sit in the best seats, I would pick the ones who have been nice to me.”