I have never flown on Virgin but have flown many times on American, a couple of times on Delta and once on BA. All charge for alcoholic drinks in cattle class. When I first started going over the pond I used to travel business class all the time and often used to get moved up to first. The trick is to travel outside the normal commuting days. Try to avoid Mondays and Fridays as most people on business tend to go out there for the full week.
You could try the old honeymoon/anniversary trick and blag an upgrade. Obviously this only works if you are travelling with somebody of the opposite sex.
Since 911 and the drop in profits for the airlines, I think the airlines have reduced the number of upgrades. Last year I was travelling to Orange County on a regular basis and always in cattle class. Despite being a platinum AA member I only got one upgrade. Often there were seats free in business but they just didn't seem to want to upgrade anybody.
|