I must admit that I feel I pay a premium for my cattle-class seats as I always fly Qantas (relative to other discounted seats I could purchase on say Singapore etc). And so far on all my international flights I have been flying solo. I *am* a frequent flyer with Qantas, although only the lowest class as I travel OS but once every couple of years :) and have never received an upgrade or any other evident special treatment.

And all that being said because so far I have always been treated wonderfully when I fly. Often I cannot request a seat allocation at time of booking (usually direct through Qantas) but I usually ring sometime before my flight. I always request an aisle seat - I feel less claustrophobic, I can see the movie better (for when I've finished reading my book), I can stretch my legs into the aisles at times, and I can get up and walk if I need to stretch my legs.

Once flying to Canada the lovely lady at the counter in Brisbane sensed my pre-flight jitters and I believe that's why she booked me into an economy seat upstairs in the bubble part! in the first row! containing only two seats! with no-one but me! (One attendant and toilet for only 10 people - heaven!)

I also find that on flights that are not full, I sometimes end up with the seat next to me vacant so I can sleep over two (unless the person on the other side beats me to it).

Oh and one of my other tricks - I'll often order a special meal, say Low fat - but not to watch my weight. It means I get my meal first before the masses, it is always hot, they never run out of my selection (i.e. chicken thereby leaving me with the unpopular curry :) ) and I finish first so can use the bathrooms while everyone else is eating and so before the rush. And as I have an aisle seat I don't have to climb over anyone! Voila! (Downside - I'd rather the chocolate muffin for morning tea rather than the rice cakes!)

So all that being said I can highly recommend Qantas! :) Megan Brisbane, Australia