I'm pretty sure most airlines will let passengers who are "gold", "silver", "platinum" members (or their equivalents) get complimentary upgrades when available before crewmembers do.

Otherwise, why would you give a premium priced product to a cheapest ticket passenger? How would you determine who gets it? First come, first serve . . . talk about a gate agent being swamped with requests!

What does that say to those who paid heavily for the perk of a first class accommodation who now gets to sit with a yokel who paid 1/8th of what he paid for his ticket?

Ultimately, you get what you pay for. The service should be good in both coach and business, but the other perks don't (and shouldn't) come cheap (or free).

Trust me though . . . this is really not much of an issue these days. I commute weekly, and I rarely, if ever see the first class cabin more than once ever 3-4 months.