Assuming there are upgrade seats available (big assumption), you could use your status to upgrade their tickets. Ah - no miles, no problem. Get an Amex Platinum card and advance yourself 60k MR points and then xfer to co, dl, whatever. Just make sure you earn them back before you have to pay for them.

If you do this, just don't advance the miles or xfer them until you find that you can upgrade their seats. If you can't you can cancel the card for a refund.