Say farewell to bland plane food with this flight attendant’s genius hack.

The excitement of boarding your aeroplane and watching as the UK become a mere dot from the sky is a feel most of us will never get tired of. However, that giddy sensation soon melts away when the air stewardess comes over with a tasteless microwaved meal – usually accompanied with a dry salad and stale bread roll. However, if you’re flying economy with an airline that also has a business or first class – there’s a sneaky trick to upgrade your in-flight meal without spending a penny…

Kamila Jakubjakova worked as a flight attendant for the luxury Emirates airline for several years, and so knows a thing or two about flying. In an interview with the Sun, she said a complaint in the sky could go a long way… “Sometimes, if someone maybe didn’t get their preferred meal choice and then complained and made a big fuss about it, we would bring them a meal from business class instead to soften the blow,” she said. “Some supervisors will be more lenient [but] some will be a little bit more like, ‘tough luck’.”

Kamila added that she would always do her ‘best’ to make sure a passenger had their preferred meal choice, but acknowledged that this is sometimes ‘just not possible’. Of course, certain airlines like Ryanair and Wizz do not provide complimentary dining on short haul flights, so this hack won’t work on your £20 trip to Poland this Christmas.

The travel ace says those wanting more than just a taste of business class should actually turn up to the airport later than the recommended two hours (for short haul) or three hour (for Transatlantic flights) window. This is because many airlines in the US will oversell tickets and they don’t expect ‘everybody to show up’. For many UK airlines, or flights leaving the UK, this is a much less common practice.

“If the flight is overbooked, and everyone shows up, they’ll have to move economy passengers into business class,” she added. “And maybe the last passengers who come to check in for the flight will be chosen, as they’re the extra ones.” Kamila’s last tip for hopeful business class flyers is to travel on your birthday or a special occasion like a wedding anniversary. While you might not get a free upgrade, crew members may provide you with some treats like champagne or chocolates from business/ first class.