Upgrade possibillity for a medical condition?
 

Hi,

I know the average flyertalker will come to the immediate answer of "Suck it up" yet I still must ask… I have a medical condition (Scheurmanns Kyphosis) which makes it extremely hard to sit in the type of airline seats that 75% carriers fly with. I have an ILM-CLT-ORD flight planned for later in the day in a few days? What do you think my chances are if I go to the gate agent and explain my condition. I understand obviously it would be out of the GA/Supervisors good graces but still.

Thanks

Why not buy first class? I'd say odds of asking and getting is close to zero as it should be

None. It is out of the GA's hand.

1. Since airlines offer complimentary upgrades to elite, non-elite complimentary upgrade in the U.S. is extremely rare.

2. The cabin is full. GA can't possibly downgrade a premium passenger for your condition (unless that passenger is willing to exchange with you without asking for anything).

3. Your case is not an emergency. So you have a less-convincing reason.

4. You can buy/upgrade to F.

It is definitely worth inquiring about. And it will, of course, depend on the agent you speak with - as well as the availability of an upgraded seat. Although the agent might well not have time to look at any medical documentation you may bring, I would bring some sort of brief statement from a doctor just in case.

I would also call the airline and have them put into your record a notation concerning your request. That way the request will already be in the system for the agent, hopefully, to see.

To answer your question, I think your chances would be slight, but it would be worth it to give it a try. Best wishes to you.

Upgrade possibillity for a medical condition?
 

I guess this is on US? (can't see forum on mobile). Does US do cash and miles upgrade? I'd do what's necessary to confirm ahead.

Hopefully none. Nothing against you, but if allowed, this will open a loophole people will try to take advantage of (think "service dogs").

Sorry to be harsh. But this is not an emergency, you are well aware of your condition and you're choosing not to do anything about it (you could buy a first class ticket). If you don't care enough to make sure you're in first class, I don't see why the airline should care.

Last summer I had to get six stitches in my knee two days before a transcontinental flight (so no time to plan ahead for seating) and was really worried about being able to bend my leg. The gate agent was really nice about it and moved me to Economy Plus without any trouble; on the return flight a few days later i VDBed and got another upgrade to Economy Plus that way.

Tl;dr-- never hurts to ask.

Upgrade possibillity for a medical condition?
 

To ask the obvious question: why did you book a seat that you find "extremely hard to sit in" due to your condition?

I would suggest investing in a specially-designed seat cushion (such as Gelco Seat Lite). I know such cushions, designed as they are to disperse pressure, have benefited others.

Well of course. I mean, we all have several thousands of dollars extra lying around to do just this sort of thing. Now, maybe if they made upgrades reachable by us common folk...

To the OP, I am not sure that you would find much improvement anyways. The big gain with First class seats is seat width. Some have some extra padding, but it's not a lot.

I think you might have had more of a chance if you were to call the airline when booking the ticket and explaining the situation. Asking last minute is not likely to get you sympathy from the airline. You said %75 percent of the airlines - I am assuming then that you found some airlines which did have seats you were comfortable in? Do you know which airlines? Perhaps we can come up with some kind of solution ot the seat issue?

The airlines are very unlikely to do this because thousands of other folks would claim some condition of their own to get upgrades. How obvious is your kyphosis? It might make some difference.

Several THOUSANDS of dollars? A first class ticket ILT->ATL->ORD is about $100 more than the economy ticket. If the OP must go via CLT on US, it's about $350 more.

Wow! What dates are you looking at? From what prices I saw coach is about $300, first is about $850. If you can get true first on that route for $400 that is a pretty good price, maybe worth a run.

In general, though, for some reason people assume that your typical first class seat which often runs the high $100s and often into the $1000s once you find a time and routing that works, is easy for people. Fact is that the price difference between lowest coach and lowest first is too big - usually 1.5 to 3 or 4 times, especially internationally. There are people who really do find coach travel excruciating, and certainly not pleasurable for many people. But unless the airlines bring down that price or make some other option available, we are going to continue to see this battle over accommodations. That is one of the prices we are paying for airline consolidation and lots of routing options - uniformly poor product.

If you were upgraded to first, the GA would be definitely breaking the airline rules.

Honestly, I could see the airline being just as likely to deny carriage than upgrade.
If you feel you're not able to sit in the seat you purchased, the airline may simply agree with you, and return your money. So, while it doesn't hurt to ask....be mindful of how you present your condition to the airline.