A former flight attendant has shared insider tips on how travellers can save money and boost their chances of scoring free upgrades.
In her recent chat with express.co.uk, Skye Taylor, from Southampton, warned against using third-party websites and search engines for booking flights.
The seasoned flyer, who boasts 16 years of experience with Virgin Atlantic, advised: “For saving money I would always go straight to the site. A lot of people go straight to search engines for flights but go straight to the actual site.
“A lot of these sites, once you start searching for a light, it will then recognise you are searching a flight and then it will actually come back with higher amounts. Searching the site and booking your flight is sometimes much much cheaper.
“And you will get offers of upgrades which are much better whereas on these search engines they won’t do that. They will just bang out what they think is the cheapest and you will search the next day and it will go up by £300 or £400 because it recognises you are searching for them.”
But her ultimate trick, particularly to gain free upgrades, was to join a frequent flyer programme. She referenced Virgin Atlantic’s ‘Flying Club’, which rewards members with points for every journey that can be redeemed for perks like reward seats, flight upgrades, or benefits with airline partners.
Skye revealed: “Through Covid and stuff, what we found was a lot of people in the flying program, maybe they only flew three times a year, but because there were a lot of spare seats, you will get the upgrades just by being in the flying program.
“You will get them a lot cheaper and you will get discounts and a lot of people don’t do it. We used to push it a lot years ago but they really really are worth it.”
She explained further: “Even with free upgrades, they will always look (for members), so many people don’t do it and it is just simple. Everyone seems to sign up for everything these days, your club cards and this sort of stuff, but I presume because they think they don’t fly a lot it won’t matter but it actually does and it makes a difference. I would always say that it is a really good thing to do.”
Skye also dispelled myths around airport food, saying many Brits unnecessarily pay out for overpriced meals on flights or at terminals without realising they can pack their own grub.
“I think a lot of people panic about the very simple things like you can bring food,” she said, urging travellers to “bring as much bloody food on as you want”. She added: “Do that, especially if you are travelling with children and things like that.”