Everyone wants to buy a cheap economy ticket and get bumped up and upgraded to business class or first class. Who doesn’t want more comfort, more legroom, better service and the lounge access which come as standard for first and business class passengers. The current generation of flat seats in premium cabins of major carriers make flying long-haul much more comfortable than ever before.

Here are a few basic tips for maximising your likelihood of getting that elusive upgrade and rubbing shoulder with the first class jet-set.

1. Become a member of your airline’s frequent flyer program. If you can reach ‘elite status’ then you will greatly improve your chances of getting upgraded if there is any availability on the day you fly. Please note, business class is sometimes full and there will be no free upgrades available at these times.

2. Avoid flying from your carrier’s main hub. You will be competing against masses of frequent flyer members so your chance of a free upgrade is minimal. In other words it is more difficult to get upgraded with British Airways if flying out of London Heathrow.

3. Choose one of the smaller frequent flyer programs with fewer members to reduce competition. The biggest programs in Europe are those of Lufthansa, AirFrance-KLM and British Airways with literally millions of members. US programs are massive – the top 3, United, American and Delta probably have well over 100 million members between them! A good option is to join a quality Asian based carrier like Thai Airlines or Cathay Pacific who have far fewer members.

4. Book a flight that is likely to have a full economy section. A few days before your flight, check the availability of business and first class seats by doing a pretend booking on your airline’s website or use one of the class availability tools on the web.

5. Choose a destination that doesn’t carry heavy business traffic. Also try to fly on wide-body aircraft like the Boeing 777 with plenty of available first class and business class seats.

6. This is a cliché, but you should try to dress well in ‘smart casual’ or business attire and carry decent looking luggage. If you don’t fit in with the flying elite the airline may not upgrade you. Turn up with an economy ticket and a backpack and you’ll probably be sitting at the back!

7. If you are serious about flying in business class but only have an economy budget then you should invest in the Ultimate Airfares & Upgrades Guide. This includes a simple and highly effective strategy to gain immediate upgrade priority, shows you hidden criteria the airlines use in selecting people for upgrades and gives you many more insider tips and tricks in getting that elusive upgrade and finding the very lowest possible airfares in any class.

This is part 1 of a 2 part series on how to get a free airline upgrade on your flight. Part 2 is only available in the free articles section of airtravelgenius.com/articles airtravelgenius.com/articles

The ‘Ultimate Airfares & Upgrades Guide’ is available at airtravelgenius.com airtravelgenius.com The secret insider tips and techniques in this ebook will help you to crack the airfare code – this really could save you thousands of pounds, dollars or euros in future travel costs.

Postcards are known for their bright pictures adorning one of the two sides with a space for short messages on the other. They are commercial cards printed for marketing purposes, to generate new clients or advertise business solutions. Postcards do not require envelopes for delivery through postal services and only postal stamps are required to be pasted on them. This flexibility makes postcards very popular. They are directly delivered to the target area or audience selected by the concerned business organization. Postcards are designed and printed by several private organizations and can be custom-made to suit individual preferences. Various manufacturers also sell printed and custom-made postcards at wholesale rates.

Wholesale postcards are available for up to 50% less than regular prices. Wholesalers offer digitally printed four-color postcards, which can be used as impressive tools to promote any type of business. Wholesale postcards can be an easy way to procure high quality postcards within a low budget, especially in case of bulk orders. Wholesalers offer a wide variety of designs and styles for customers to choose from. These postcards come with full colors on both sides with a glossy appearance and striking layouts. Customers can also select from standard sizes, coloring options, and paper type according to personal preferences. Sample cards are also available online to provide a clear idea about manufactured products by specific manufacturers.

Wholesale orders can be placed online or by contacting wholesalers on their telephone numbers displayed online. Online orders can be placed through filling out information forms provided by the website. Free price quotes are also available by providing information regarding specifications of custom made postcards. Quotes are available usually within twenty-four hours of filling out the order specification form. However, for specialty stocks or outside services, additional time may be required for estimating the price quote. All information provided while filling out online forms are kept strictly confidential. Postcard mailing services are also provided by most of these wholesalers.

PostCards-Web.com Post Cards provides detailed information on Post Cards, Post Card Printing, Free Post Cards, Real Estate Post Cards and more. Post Cards is affiliated with i-GreetingCards.com Printable Greeting Cards.

It is obvious, no two tour-operators are exactly the same, each has specific needs based on the structure and service offered, location, area of operation, etc. In an optimized world, all these unique tour operators would have a computer interface reservation system exactly matched to their needs. However, the costs associated with the development of such unique and complex systems are very high, not to mention the IT costs associated with updating and maintaining such a system. Therefore, it makes much more sense to purchase a system that pertains to many common elements and functions of tour operators in general, and then tailors the system with built-in options that in the end produces a unique system that matches the company’s needs.

It is of utmost importance, when choosing a system, for a tour operator to first understand exactly what their needs are. This can be an intimidating decision, given the core of your business is reliant on an information and computer reservation system. You should ask yourself if view data is your prime selling tool. Do you need to manage a direct sell database? Do you have existing hardware that you wish to utilize? Time should be given to considering your requirements of a system and these should be written down and documented. It doesn’t have to be a detailed list of every single requirement, but make sure it includes those that are important to your business; those that set your company apart from other tour operators and so may not be standard features of every system. This specification of requirements is very important. Because it is quite time consuming, it is also the one task that is most frequently ignored. A written specification of requirements forms the very foundation of selecting and contracting for the most suitable system. What level of service do you expect? Do you prefer dealing with large or small “companies”? These questions will be able to assist you in the selection process.

With a clear and written understanding of your requirements, the next step is to review the suppliers that you believe can fulfill your requirements and approach them. Do not eliminate discount suppliers that may be considered borderline. You can make that decision later when you have their information. Ask for a written response from each supplier, addressing your specifics. The quality of the reply you receive back is a good indication of the knowledge, enthusiasm and professionalism of the prospective suppliers. At this stage, it should be easily possible to produce a short list of suppliers with which to continue. Make arrangements for system demonstrations. If possible, the demonstration should be at the suppliers’ premises, as this will add to your overall impression of the supplier. Rather than just accept any statement that a supplier can produce a system that they will “enhance” to your specifications, all the while demonstrating a generic “across-the-board” system, bring your written requirements and ask that they demonstrate an enhancement to a particular function YOU choose from the list, not them. Choose an important one.

Following the demonstrations, you may well be left in a dilemma. No system can match all your needs and different systems are meeting different sets of requirements. If it comes down to a compromise, as it more than likely will, the compromise needs to remain under your control. Obtain quotes from the suppliers but, before this, each offering should be reviewed and you should decide whether any supplier should be invited to quote for developing enhancements to match requirements that their basic system could not meet. This will require you to decide which features are really important to the business and which you think you could manage without.

This article was written by formula-travel.com/ formula-travel.com. Formula Travel Solutions is the leading technology provider of advanced tour operator software and Airline Systems. Formula Travel offers the most comprehensive technology solutions for Tour Operators, Wholesalers and Airlines. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include a link back to formula-travel.com/ formula-travel.com.

Whistler is known as a resort with extremely extensive terrain and the highest vertical drop in North America (over one vertical mile from the top of the Blackcomb Glacier down to Whistler Village. It is also known for a wide variety of ski-in, ski-out accommodation. However, potential visitors should be aware that not all ski-in, ski-out accommodation is created equal. For those who do not know Whistler well, here is a brief overview of the major slopeside developments on the lower slopes of Blackcomb Mountain.

On the Blackcomb side, the largest lodge is The Aspens. Over 300 one and two-bedroom apartments, a large swimming pool and several outdoor hot tubs, plus a large and comfortable lobby, a ski rental/tuning shop and several other onsite facilities comprise the Aspens complex. It is right on the edge of the slopes and just a 20 second ski down to the Blackcomb Base. For easy access to skiing, there is nowhere better than the Aspens. However the apartments in the Aspens are fairly small (the two-bedroom units are around 850 sq. ft.) and often furnished in a Spartan fashion. One or two have been extensively upgraded, and these are the ones to go for.

Next to the Aspens, and also equipped with a pool and hot tubs, is Greystone Lodge. Some people prefer Greystone Lodge since it is smaller and less like staying in a large amorphous hotel, and its proximity to the slopes is almost equal.

If you need a larger unit, a little further up the hill is Woodrun Lodge. This is a cut or two above the Aspens, and has units of up to 4 bedrooms and 1800 sq. ft. Go for one of these if you are a larger group and want to all be in the same place. However, the truly premium building on the North side of the Wizard run is Cedar Creek. A beautiful building, with very few units in the rental market, this is the crème de la crème of multi-unit ski-in, ski-out complexes in