Hi everyone!

I recently returned from my honeymoon to Italy and it was suggested to me by coworkers that I should try to get upgraded seats for my flights. Their advice just required me to ask the gate attendant if there was anything they could do, so for both long flights I do this. Their responses were the same, "sorry, we cant give free upgrades because the plane isnt full."

How does this make sense? I would think if the plane isnt full, they should be able to move anyone they want. Does anyone have an explanation for this? Or how it can be done in the future? Maybe a secret code word 🙂