Can a gate agent upgrade someone because they like you or you tip them?
My father, who use to fly alot years ago, always told me that he had friends working for the Airline as a Gate Agent who upgraded him to Business or First Class because they knew and liked him. That might of been a story of a simplier time in Air Travel, or maybe not.
I always wondered if the Gate Agent can actually push the right buttons on his/her computer to upgrade their "friends or relatives" who bought a coach class ticket. Can this be done?