Don't show up in your sweats if you are hoping for an upgrade to first class.

When I have traveled on long transcontinental flights, I have dressed so that I could sleep - usually in a T-shirt, sweatpants and sneakers. On a flight to Rome last year I was flatly told by a representative of Alitalia that I would have been upgraded to First Class if I had been wearing a shirt and tie and a sport coat. Let me tell you, First Class is a lot more comfortable than Coach, no matter what you are wearing! The airlines have codes that go into a passenger name record in the airline departure control systems. Those codes are generally assigned to their best customers - their most frequent fliers. After that, they go for those who are well dressed, or, at least, smart casual. Almost every flight these days is oversold…in Coach. If they have empty seats, they are virtually always in Business or First Class. Guess where they are going to put those extra Coach customers? You got it: where the empty seats are - in Business or First Class. They are not eating pre-prepared, reheated food up there. The flight attendants are preparing fresh meals of steak, broiled just the way you like it, after a tossed salad with your favorite dressing. And the seats are twice as wide, and there is four times the space in front of you. On some airlines, seats on transcontinental flights make into a bed. A round trip ticket from Salt Lake to Europe up in the first few rows would cost you between eight and ten thousand dollars. What I'm saying is that if you want to fly First Class in a T-shirt, sweats and sneakers, you had better be a millionaire! A recent survey of 600 U.S. travelers conducted by Fodor's Travel Publications found that more than two-thirds said they hit the road dressed up, because it results in better service - in areas ranging from upgrades to service and attention at lodgings. Everyone seems to want to go casual these days, but Fodor's says experienced travelers know that dressing up provides an edge. Now that I've learned my lesson - the hard way - I'm hoping to be moving forward, and maybe I'll see you up in First Class, too. It's definitely more comfortable up there; and besides, once I'm seated, I can loosen or take my tie off, and put it, with my jacket, in the overhead bin.

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