First Class for a bribe?
 

A co-worker posed this question and my immediate response was "No way, you'd never pull it off, people could get fired". But I told him I'd post here and ask, so here goes.

He wants to fly from LAX to an yet undetermined airport in Brazil, flying yet undetermined dates "at the end of the year". He was wondering if bribing a flight attendant with $400 - $500 would get him upgraded to First Class. And if so, what's the chance of doing it again on the return flight.

Alternately, what are other things he could do to get bumped up (besides paying the 1st class fare, obviously). Perhaps buy a yearly membership to a specifc Airline club (though I'm not even sure that'd give you upgrade privledges)?

I'd say chances are slim to none. I have had my a$$ bribed into F, but it was at an airport in a 3rd world country and over 10 years ago. Most likely offering a bribe to an FA will have negative consequences.

Not having tried myself, but I'd suggest the best way to pull this off would be to offer the cash to someone who appears as a business traveller (eg they didn't pay for the ticket themselves) and simply swap boarding passes with them.

However, this being said, I can see making such an offer to someone going down the very wrong way. A quick whisper to the TSA, and you're gig is up.

Other than the fact that they like to stick their noses in lots of places they don't belong, why in the world would the TSA get involved?

Each passenger is given a boarding pass which identifies them as the traveller. For the same reason you can't go through security with someone elses passport.

If the plane went down for whatever reason, and the guy in 28B was found to be carrying explosive, they need to know who it was.

People have tried to slip me cash many times for upgrades. There is nothing more insulting to me than this - and I make sure to tell them so, preferably within earshot of other passengers. Idiots!

US carriers are already struggling...the cost of most tickets barely covers the gas bill for the flight, they can't afford to pay us the income they agreed to in our labor contracts. Given all that, these passengers actually think I'm going to help them STEAL from the company? As if!

I don't think it would work in the US...when I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia (a notorously corrupt place) I had a friend who offered the Garuda flight attendant some cash to allow another friend to move up to an empty first class seat next to him. Reportedly, the flight attendant was shocked and refused.

Good for him! There are honest people everywhere.

-steps up to soapbox-

Sure what your friend is proposing isn't like robbing a bank...but it's still stealing. Just because you pay someone to "give" you something that isn't their right to "give" away...

It's very similar to knowingly buying stolen goods. Pretty hard to justify by my way of thinking.

-steps down from soapbox-

Agree about 3rd world country many years ago. We once had a hotel driver tell us that he would check us in at the airport. We were not flying FC and didn't ask for an upgrade. However, the driver took our tix to the counter and called us over. The next thing we knew the airline agent said that he happened to have 2 FC seats for an "additional collection" of $50.00. Sounded okay to us. This was in the late 70's and we were flying HKG/DPS

Isn't the TSA supposed to prevent the guy in 28B from bringing explosives onto the airplane? ;)

Bribes including food has worked before but I have also seen an airline employee decline to accept such in exchange for an upgrade.

so, how do they know who was who in 28B on a Southwest, RyanAir, EasyJet airlines?

In case you don't know, the above airlines do not have assigned seating... :)

Good question.

Not really. Last I heard those carriers didn't have 1st/biz., thus they could get away with no assigned seating - there's no place to which one can upgrade.

Will

It is done all the time
 

All one does is ask a FA or gate agent if it is possible to buy an on board upgrade and hand them the cash.

It is not a bribe... its a question....BA have on board upgrades and you get a receipt..Now I'm sure some FA / GAte agents might give you that Op Up and pocket the cash but that is their choice

nothing wrong with asking

Re-read the thread -- this was not in response to upgrading. It was in response to TSA not allowing people to swap boarding passes because they wouldn't be able to identify who was in a specific seat.

The TSA (rightly) would not care who is in what seat -- proof: some airlines don't have assigned seats.

This reminds me of a friend who used to fly in Biz from the US to Brazil quite often. He would prowl the back of coach for anyone lounging across the 4-seat middle section (on a less than packed flight), and he'd offer someone a swap - his biz seat for theirs. He just wanted the flat row of seats to sleep, before lie-flat seats started becoming more common. He never failed to find a taker.

Cutting through all the bs moralizing to answer the question posed, my opinion is $500 cash to a gate agent (who has operational upgrade powers) might yield an upgraded class of service 50% of the time. Aside from the embarrassment factor if denied, the security issue is crap.

Some other common bribes/tips (for the "this is stealing" crowd):

$50 to a host to get a nice talbe quickly at a busy restaurant
$50 to a hotel clerk asking for a nice room
$100 to the helicopter pilot to take an extra couple of spins around Sydney Harbour on a sightseeing flight
$20 to the valet to keep the car close
$100 to the appliance delivery guys to go ahead and attach the dishwasher hoses

Does it normally cost extra to sit at that nice table? To keep your car close? Yadda yadda yadda. Apples and oranges.

i bet they don't mean to insult you
 

People come from all cultures and plus they keep changing the rules on us. In Vegas, first you were supposed to tip your host or at least buy him a gift and now it's a bribe to tip your host and a gift is probably in poor taste also but it's OK to tip the clerk at the desk to get an upgrade and by God if you don't tip everybody else you're rude. How do you win? I would not embarrass someone for trying to slip me cash. I would just slip it right back with a quiet face-saving comment. Believe me, no one is offering you money because they want to offend you. You are painfully aware of the airline's financial issues because you work there. I guarantee that if you stop Joe Average on the street, they don't got a clue nor would they quite see how upgrading someone to an otherwise empty first class seat is hurting anything. I guess I don't quite see it myself. A polite "it's against the rules for us to accept tips" is fine and I'll accept that answer. Since you are not a public official, it ain't a bribe. It's a tip -- and if you are not allowed to accept it, that's cool. But it was never meant as an insult or to cause you pain. I'm quite sure you are a professional and that you do a fine job without needing to be bribed. Sometimes people are imperfect and simply do not -- cannot -- know the proper rules for tipping in every situation.

bribes work like a charm on Аэрофлот!!!

that was their marketing campaign for a while...

:confused:

If I offer $20,000 to a corporate buyer to secure a purchase order for my inferior overpriced product, that most certainly is a bribe. It does not have to involve an agent of the government.

Average Joe on the street also knows that one can get a first class seat by purchasing it - but maybe they hope they'll get it cheaper with a little cash to the right person. It isn't 'tipping' no matter how you spin it - and I guarantee the men (why is it always men? Never seen a woman try it...) who've tried to bribe their way into FC on my flights had no delusions about the innocence of their question.

I agree with Colin although I think his prices are too high for two reasons.

First, because he lives in an expensive city.

Second, based on an interview I heard on the radio with a guy who wrote a book about tipping. I actually bought the book. He says $20 and the right approach is all it usually takes. Right approach means being discrete and respectful for the hard work someone like a maitre d does. And doing things like being loyal to an establishment, explaining why its important (anniversary, etc.), having the right attitude (consider it a favor, not an entitlement).

He recommends for most things calling ahead and explaining that you'll "take care of him." And then when you show up, fold the bill into your hand and shake his hand with both of yours.

The books main points were
that there is a lot available if you ask for it,
most establishments want to take care of people who are willing to take care of their employees,
and it doesn't take nearly as much extra as you think to get more than the next guy.

That said, getting an upgrade like this was beyond the scope of the book. But the key is that you maximize your chances by asking in a well thought out, discrete, and respectful way.

Would you mind sharing the title of the book with us? Thanks. ^

You'd probably have better luck buying first class off one of the passengers in most non-third-world-corruption-bribery-or-special-favors-are-normal-and-accepted situations.

I was on a flight with Little Richard and he paid one of the first class passengers for their seat. (He was in a bulkhead in coach, his boduguard went to the front of the plane after the door closed, came back, Richard took out a BIG roll of cash and handed it to the bodygard, he moved up front and the first class passenger took his coach seat.)

On international flights you often have to show your passport with the boarding pass. If they don't match, you'll have a lot of explaining to do. Depending upon where you are in the world, you could be carted off to another room and miss your flight.

I've had my passport/boarding pass checked at the gate.. and then again right before entering the cabin, a second time.

One can also not easily move/swap while on the plane on many international flights. Many FA's monitor this like a hawk... particularly between cabin classes. ( Your mileage and experience may vary, as they say ) I remember one passenger moving from his seat to an empty row in the same cabin class... and the FA was on them, telling them that they HAVE to be in their assigned seat on take-off and landing. ( An exception is if the seat has problems and the FA then moves them.. and when they did that in two instances that I know of, the FA updated a clipboard sheet. ).

an associate said...
 

an associate claims he regularily slips a $50 to get up'd from coach to biz... says FA's are happy to recieve it...
but, given the feedback here, and on other FT threads, I think I might have to call BS on him...

How does your associate usually approach the issue with the Flight Attendant? Is it done before or after take off? Just curious what is the best way to bring it up/etc and offer the cash without coming off being rude. Would hate to ruin a 15 hour flight by pissing off the FAs just after take off.

Does anybody read the threads anymore?

Like I said earlier.....

How does that work with EasyJet or RyanAir?

Who cares where you sit as long as you are not "trying to steal" the next class of service?

I know that EasyJet, RyanAir do not offer F or J service, but you seem to think that it's against some "rules or regulations" to move about the cabin on international flights. Yet both of the above airlines fly internationally and have no assigned seating. So how does that work?

Risking their jobs for $50...right :rolleyes:
FA's know that there are MANY people that would like their job.

I would never condone the practice myself, but methinks that you would have more luck with ticket counter/gate agents vs. FAs.

IF they have empty first class or business class seats, would they have the authority to 'give' you a free upgrade? or perhaps sell them to you for just a few more dollars?

I mean do you just come right out and ask the ticket agent when you check in? Also, the gate agent is the guy by the boarding area right? Does he have the same authority?

I was op. upgraded once on airtran to biz class, but I was dressed nice than post pax. not sure if that counts, but yeah it was the agent at the gate who did it for me.

book on tipping is Tipping for Success.

Its more about how to be effective when tipping, not how to bribe people. Its a concise book, and while much of the advice is common sense it is still worthwhile. I have to admit, I thought it woudl be a little more revolutionary, but still its a useful book.

Congrats on being to moved to J. I haven't received an op-up for several years but... hope springs eternal.

However, unless you tipped the gate agent to get your new seating assignment, it was just a plain ol' operational upgrade and not really relevant to the OP.

Operational Upgrade?

Sometimes when a flight is overbooked, the airline will move a pax (usually an elite) into a higher class of service at no charge. This is known as an operational upgrade or op-up.

It's a rare ocurrance nowadays, but it does still happen. :)

NW will sell FC seats if available on transatlantic flights and probably on TP's as well. You have to buy them at least 1 hour before departure the GA told me when I asked last week. Cost I am not sure but think $400.

Thanks for the title of the book. ^

If it's their business, it's their money........if not it's theft if they pocket the money.

Your examples are so diverse and have some similiarities, but not all are the same ethical or moral dilemmas posed. ;)

Save the money/embarrasment
 

Have your friend try this before departure:

Put a cast from shin to foot. [Zip-up casts are available from medical supply shops. Important: have an ace bandage correctly wrapped on the ankle before donning the cast, so that if TSA asks for cast removal (due to the zipper), your lack of infirmity is hidden under the ace bandage]

Wear a pair of dress pants (get from Salvation Army thrift shop) with the casted trouser leg slit open. Wear a sport coat and tie, and be well-groomed.

Get a cane, not a crutch, also from SA thrift store.

Rehearse a couple of stories about how the injury happened: in general, the stories should involve not being as young as you used to be and/or chivalry (carrying your wife/girlfriend because the beach sand was too hot for her feet) and/or pets (ask if the agent likes cats: if yes, then "slipped on floor trying to avoid stepping on the month-old kittens"; if no, then "slipped on floor when the damn cat got underfoot"). Choice of story depends on friend's and agent's ages and genders. Helps if friend has kissed the Blarney stone ;)

At checkin, explain the misfortune, be charming but not demanding, and ask if it would be possible to get an upgrade.

It would help if your friend has elite level in the airline.

If successfull, keep the cast on until leaving the destination airport. If not successful, go to restroom before TSA, remove cast, and ditch cast and cane

Cmon folks, the OP wants some ideas on how to get upgraded, not a discussion on ethics of bribery, TSA, etc... :)