The secrets of a first-class flyer who never pays a first-class fare

WANT to fly fancy without the fare? Meet a passenger with a 100 per cent success rate of being upgraded to first class.

Qantas flight attendants serve French champagne in the first class section of mock 747.

NOT long ago I was chatting to a businessman who spends a lot of time in the pointy end of Qantas jets.

He told me said that while he pays for a business-class seat he often finds himself upgraded to ride in the first-class cabin, especially when making the long hop across the Pacific to meet clients in North America.

Putting first class to the test

"I crossed the Pacific six times last year on a business-class ticket and every time I was upgraded to first," the management consultant revealed.

"I'm a Qantas Platinum One frequent flyer and I find when a plane is full, the airline will cascade everyone up to the next class. I'm a higher status, so I always get kicked up as well.

"Sometimes I notice the upgrade on my frequent flyer profile before the flight, sometimes I get it when I roll up to the desk at check-in, and on two occasions, it's happened at the boarding gate when I'm just about to walk down the ramp to the plane.

"The first thing I notice is the extra space. The little alcove rooms make it feel really private and first class is so quiet because you don't have some bozo snoring beside you or the drinks cart rolling past.

"I've found first class has been pretty full, but I think the airline has been upgrading a lot of people. The only time I remember it being otherwise was about six years ago when I used points to upgrade my wife and I on a trip to New York. We were the only ones in the cabin."

So, who is flying first class on long-haul flights, and how are they getting into the most exclusive of aircraft cabins?

According to Andrew Wong, TripAdvisor's regional director for flights, the majority of passengers up the front on international journeys will be "a mix of upgrades and those redeeming points".

"In an ideal world for an airline, 100 per cent of first-class passengers will be full-fare paying but this is rarely the case," he said.

"Typically, full-paying passengers in first will be the super wealthy and very senior business leaders but in more austere times, CEOs and senior executives find it hard to justify sitting in first when many of the important comfort attributes can be found in business class."

Mr Wong said many airlines offered a first-class product, defined as a category of service above business class on international routes only, as a strategic marketing tool to promote an exclusive image and enhance an airline's frequent flyer program.

"Swiss, for example, made the strategic decision to offer first class on all international destinations, whether or not justified by demand. As a result it is associated as a premium carrier offering the pinnacle of in-flight service,'' he said.

"Upgrades to first class also become a perk to frequent flyer programs as members have the ability to upgrade using points, and corporate sales agreements between an airline and a major corporation may also provide upgrade certificates to companies with a business-class travel policy."

"So first class is offered for both demand and for marketing reasons, and we see a mix of passenger types for that reason."