Come Fly With Me.

This time next week, I'll be finishing up at work and getting ready for my last night in the UK before my two-week Australia visit! I am MORE than a little excited, and working from home tomorrow before the Easter break PLUS the long weekend, is going to make the time fly by.

Speaking of flying... I've been on a mission this week.

What is that mission? I wanted to find out everything I could about getting randomly upgraded on a flight. The flight from London to Sydney (and vice versa) is a horror, nearing 23 hours of flying time. It's broken into two legs, with a couple of hours stop-over in Asia (usually Singapore or Thailand) and I won't lie: it's painful. I've done it loads of times now, and it doesn't seem to get any easier. In fact, knowing what's ahead tends to make it just that little bit worse.

Because the countries are so far apart, tickets are expensive. As such, the only way I can afford to fly is cattle-class, also known as economy class, where most of the mere mortals end up. It's painful. It's squashed. And I inevitably end up stuck behind a very tall gentleman who reclines his chair for the entire flight. Interestingly, no matter how far in advance I plan my flight, and I'm a notoriously early planner (have had this flight booked since last November), I never end up with a row to myself. I always end up stuck in the back end of the plane, completely surrounded by people. It's awful. I hate it.

You see, I feel like I've contributed to my side of the positive flight karma system.

I only fly with one airline, because I'm a Frequent Flyer and I like to accumulate points. I fly with Qantas, because I'm Australian and I always book with them if I can... it makes sense to get as many points as possible.

And honestly, I'm an awesome traveller. I never piss off the flight attendants. I always smile and say thank you. I put up with the screaming children and the reclining passengers, and I try very hard not to elbow my seat passenger while I'm buttering my bread roll with a plastic knife. I also wear deoderant and brush my teeth and tend not to get up a lot during the flight, as I hate crawling over the top of people that are trying to sleep. I am the ideal passenger!

Because I'm a single traveller, I'm always the one that Qantas call upon to move seats - usually to accommodate for groups or families that for some reason have ended up split up on the flight. And every single time, I do it. Why wouldn't I? I would hate to be on the other end of that deal and stuck sitting with a stranger while my entire family sit together. I'm nice about it. I don't mind, at all. As long as I'm near a window that I can fall asleep on at some point, with my head at a 90 degree angle, I'm happy. (Well, as happy as you can be on a long-haul flight.)

Even still, even the times I've been switched, it's just been to another squishy economy seat. I've never managed to score an upgrade. Ever. Every time I fly, I hope this will be the day it happens, but so far I've been left unlucky. I'm hoping next week will be the one.

It seems like every second person I know has been upgraded at some point or another. I spent my lunch break searching for clues, and have found out that Qantas is notoriously bad with handing out free upgrades. Bummer! So far, I've been advised to be nice to the check-in and gate crew (check, I am always nice!) and to dress smartly, so no jeans or uggs for me. Those things, I can do - and usually do anyway!

Have you ever been randomly upgraded? Tell me all about it... and rub your luck off on me!