It helps if you can manage six degrees of separation to the family member working the check-in counter. Used to get upgraded often on the BOM-FRA leg of BOM-FRA-JFK flights on DL b/c friends of friends knew someone working the Delta counter. Moving back to Y for the second lefg was always bittersweet. It's a little more difficult in Europe, where I seem to have better luck getting upgrades from the women at LH.

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