Chennai man reveals hack to get free flight upgrades. It costs zero money

A Chennai-based man shared a post on X revealing how he got two seat upgrades on a flight, and he didn't have to pay a single rupee for it. Read on.A Chennai-based man's hack for getting free flight upgrades is simple but has a catch. (Photos: @narayananh/X)New Delhi,Sep 29, 2026 14:13 ISTA polite conversation at the airport may not sound like much of a travel hack, but it worked for one Chennai-based man to secure two seat upgrades on a flight. Yes, you read that right. But there’s a catch to the process and that’s where most of the passengers fail.Narayanan Hariharan shared a post on X detailing how he got his free upgrade with Air India Express. To back up his claim, Narayanan posted screenshots of his original online boarding pass and the upgraded boarding pass he received at the gate.“Free travel hack: Being nice. Was assigned 27B on my flight today. Smiled, used her name, enquired about her day, and politely requested at the check-in counter; moved to emergency row (14F). Tried the same thing at the boarding gate; flew in 1F,” he wrote. He also explained why he thought the approach worked.“The staff deal with tired, grumpy passengers all day. One person being nice is easy to say yes to,” he added. See the post:The post has already garnered close to 30k views and many comments. Several X users shared their own experiences of how basic courtesy can go a surprisingly long way at airports.One user recalled chatting with a CISF personnel at the security checkpoint and said the interaction appeared to genuinely brighten his day. “He seemed so happy that someone finally spoke to him about something other than ‘yeh bhi nikalna hai?’” the user wrote.Another claimed that check-in staff can sometimes accommodate upgrade requests when seats are available. “Almost all check-in crew are happy to give a free upgrade if asked nicely and if the seats are available. I had got it one time with at least 15 people behind me in line,” the user said.Of course, being polite is no magic ticket to business class. Upgrades depend on availability and the airline’s policies. But Narayanan’s experience has struck a simple chord: sometimes, a smile, a little patience and treating someone with basic courtesy can take you further than expected.So, turns out, being nice really can take you places, quite literally.- Ends