Little-known hack for a £200 ‘business class’ experience with major airline
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Long-haul flights can end up very expensive very quickly, but there’s a little-known hack that could grant you access to a champagne experience on a lemonade budget. Sharing her discovery on TikTok, 24-year-old lifestyle and travel influencer Maddie Borge (@maddieborge) realised that she could effectively unlock a ‘business class’ experience through Etihad for as little as £200.
![[A female passenger traveling by plane sleeping on cushion airplane]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-1478304419.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Maddie is visiting Australia in February and booked her tickets a few months ago. This week, she received an email inviting her to upgrade – and so she decided to peruse the offers available when she found a hack she’d never seen before. ‘I never really click on these emails, but I was like, you know what, let’s just see what they have,’ Maddie tells her 328,000 followers in a TikTok video.
![[Interior of airplane with people sitting on seats]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2151913805.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘So, I log in, and it’s the basic choose your seat, extra baggage, upgrade to business.’. Out of curiosity, Maddie wanted to see how much it would cost her to upgrade to business class – and she ended up with an offer of £842. It was then that she came across an offer right next to it called ‘neighbour free.’.
‘It allows you to buy out the seat next to you or the entire row for £200,’ Maddie shares. ‘You’re telling me I can upgrade to business class for £1,000, or basically get business class in economy for £200? I’m in shock, this is so cool.’.
