Flight Attendant Goes Viral With Video Revealing Hacks for Getting First Class Upgrades

A flight attendant went viral on TikTok this month by sharing ways to get first-class upgrades. She suggested that one way customers could get a seat in first class is to simply be nice to the flight crew. The second hint she gave requires a bit more luck, as it involves being on a flight with few other customers. The hints caused a firestorm on social media, eventually causing the flight attendant to add a disclaimer that her hints don’t always work.

The attendant, who goes by Cierra Mistt on TikTok and Instagram, claimed there are “a lot of ways” to get free upgrades to first class. One of the “easiest” ways to get a free upgrade is to just be nice to gate agents and flight attendants, she said. “The miracles we can work when we’re given some Starbucks or a bag of chocolates, especially those long days when we have back-to-back flights and don’t even have time to go get some food,” she said.

The second way to get free upgrades involves a stroke of luck, although Mistt claims it is a “common” way. According to the attendant, they sometimes have to move passengers up to the front of the plane for weight and balance purposes if the flight is not full. Since planes are back-heavy, the attendants usually lead passengers from the back up to the front, she says.

At the end of the video, Mistt directed her TikTok followers to her Instagram page for the third way to get free upgrades. Mistt’s followers complained that she had not posted that third way yet, but she later commented that she was posting a full, three-minute video on her YouTube page. However, she still has not posted it there either.

Mistt’s TikTok post with the video has over 3.8 million views. While some of the commenters thanked her for the tips, many questioned if they would really work. “This is 100% not true. Please don’t get mad at the airline staff when this baloney doesn’t work,” one person wrote. Another person who claimed to be a pilot said there was “no way a flight attendant can upgrade you for free.” Another person wrote, “As a gate agent we don’t do complimentary upgrades, and if we do it’s staff first then in order by status, [and ticket] price.” One person claimed they would be fired if they moved people up to first-class without charging them.

Eventually, Mistt added a disclaimer. “These [aren’t] guaranteed to work,” she wrote. “These are wats that I have known to work… Also, I post on behalf of my views; not my company. That’s all.”