My first long-haul flight was at the tender age of three. My family decided to immigrate from England to New Zealand, and as a result, I spent much of my life flying between the two countries.
This is no small feat - people often bemoan how far away Australia is from the UK, but New Zealand is even further. At its shortest, flying from London to New Zealand is 23 hours, but depending on where your flight stops to refuel, and how long your layovers are it can easily stretch to 36 or more. As I grew older, I got taller - and then I got very tall.
Now at 31 years old, I’m just shy of 6ft, and as a teenager, I wasn’t much shorter. Trying to cram myself into the economy class seats became more and more challenging with every extra foot I grew. That’s why now, whenever I fly long haul I use a trick my mum taught me as a gawky, towering pre-teen that ups your chances of getting a seat upgrade.
I have to stress that this trick does not work every single time. However, it does have a pretty high hit rate when carried out successfully - I’d estimate it’s worked for me around 70% of the times I’ve tried it.
All you need is manners, a smile, and no fear of rejection. It’s easier if you have a checked bag, but you can do it without.
Whenever I check my bag at the counter, I always politely ask the person behind the desk if they have either any seats in the bulkhead, or any rows with spare seats.
If I don’t have a checked bag, I’ll still queue and ask anyway - often under the pretence of getting a physical boarding pass printed out.
As a tall person, I often gesture to myself and make a self deprecating joke about being crammed into cattle class. If you are kind and ask nicely, you might be surprised.
I have received rows completely to myself, seats in the exit row and seats in the bulkhead all for no extra cost just because I asked nicely.
This trick relies on luck - if the plane is fully booked, then it obviously will not work but sometimes flights have seats free and people are happy to rebook you.
The most important thing is not to get upset if the answer is no - always be gracious, thank whoever is behind the desk for their time and head on to your flight.
