Long Haul Hell or Long Haul Luxury

Welcome to my first ever blog.

I am certainly what you would call an amateur at this. English was not a strength for me at school, although I passed both the language and literature elements. I always struggled to focus and see the point in learning any more than enough to pass my GCSE's. Well, I am sure my English teacher will have the last laugh if they ever get a chance to read this poorly written piece, so please bear with me.

I write to you after a Christmas trip to visit some friends in Australia. My sister and I travelled from London Heathrow > Kuala Lumpur > Melbourne. We flew economy with Malaysia Airlines and we were too scared to even enquire about the possibility of an upgrade, even though we had spoken about it prior to leaving. The flight was great. The service, entertainment and food were exemplary and we were impressed. The lack of space and not being 100% comfortable were our only issues. This sparked something inside of me: I have basically decided that I am always going to at least ask.

So my journey home... Sydney > Abu Dhabi > London Heathrow; this time with Etihad Airways. The difference here was that I was flying solo due to my sister having an extended trip and unlike me, no need to rush back for work. Now, I had heard that flying solo and gaining a chance to upgrade was definitely in my favour, which was an exciting prospect, so here is how it went for me:

Firstly I followed advice and did not check in online for Sydney airport where to my dismay, I had to queue for a VERY long time. Upon reaching the check in desk I asked nicely if the gentleman was busy and also if the flight was busy. He was busy; the flight however was not (which I knew would limit the chances of my upgrade). He was very kind and told me that if I asked at the gate at both destinations (Sydney and Abu Dhabi) I may get lucky and I took his advice and off I went. At the gate, the lady was also extremely helpful. Although she couldn't upgrade me, she informed me that I had a spare seat next to me and my seat had extra leg room as I had been checked into economy space. I didn’t even know economy spaces existed - thank you to the lovely gentleman who checked me in - he didn't tell me that he had done that for me, so it was an extremely welcome surprise. The same happened at Abu Dhabi when I asked, where I was told that I was in a row of three on my own and would have lots of space anyway, again in economy space (thanks once again to the lovely gentleman at the check in desk in Sydney). Now, I know what you are thinking - Tammie, how are you even claiming to be giving tips if you were unsuccessful at getting an upgrade? Well I can confirm that both my flights were more comfortable than my flight out to Australia and that was largely due to being checked into economy space instead of the usual economy, which was a result of me having the courage to even ask.

In summary, my tips here are basic and can be found anywhere on the internet. However, I can attest to the fact that the information I share works and definitely improved my seating arrangements on my long haul flights.

Tammie's Travel Tips for an upgrade:

1 - Do your research on the airline

2- Ask at check in and don't be afraid to only check in on the day

3- Ask at the gate, be polite and ask the right questions - e.g. "I was wondering if there might be a chance to upgrade to a better seat if there is space or the flight is full?"

4 - Keep smiling and keep believing :)

I am off to Bali next month and will be taking another long haul flight or two with Qatar Airways. I will definitely be asking politely if there are any chances of my seat being upgraded and I hope that I will have more tips and ideas that I can write on my next travel tips blog.

For now thanks for reading, and if you have any advice or success stories please feel free to share on here to help others.