MilesBuzz! - You and your Boss, Upgrades and not. . .

So a bunch of us that work together that FLY everywhere were talking at dinner last night. We recounted a story when we all worked at the same company and FLEW EVERYWHERE for work. Once the CEO of the company was going to fly with us, well we were all upgraded to First and he wasn't. At the time one of the co-workes and the CEO were not on good terms and told his supervisor that if anything was said about us all being in first and the CEO being back in coach, he would quit his job (at the time we were all at a point where we wanted to quit).

Sure enough, as we all preboarded and sat there in first drinking and such, the rest of the cabin began to fill in, the CEO of our company at the time boarded and well as he walked past under his breath he said "you f***ers". Needles to say the one that threatened to quit did that week. Over the course of two years we all were either fired or quit that were on that flight and we all formed a sorta co-op of working together and are WAY better off now than ever before.

That being said, when you travel with your upper mangment, and you get upgraded and they don't purchase a First ticket, do you feel bad? I don't. I have had my BIS for way to many miles to care. If they have a problem with it, they need to go and purchase or sit their BIS for that many miles. When I am on the road for over 1/2-3/4 of the year away from my loved ones, it is the price or the perk of my job.

....let those CEO's buy a FC seat or earn it hard way.....BIS.


When I worked in the corp world, it was never a problem because my upper management flew more miles than me. If it was a longer flight, they got to purchase an F seat.

Soon after taking a new job several years back I took a business trip to Milan with our CEO (my immediate boss). We were both in Y.

Connecting at ZRH on the return, I spent a bit too much time shopping. By the time I got to the gate my seat had been given to someone else. All was not lost, however: Swissair found space for me in F.

When my boss boarded, he walked past where I was reclined, sipping champagne and having grapes peeled for me (or whatever). He didn't say a word - then or later. He was very uncommunicative, the type who would send a memo to ask the time. I left the job soon after and never regretted it.

Interesting. In one case, we have a CEO making a comment resulting in an employee quitting. In another case, we have a CEO not making a comment and an employee quitting.

The only time I ever traveled with my boss (about 15 years ago), I got upgraded. He took it well, and just called me "lucky". Later in the boarding process, they just told people to take any empty seat, and my boss took that opportunity to grab the seat next to me. The crew never said anything, but my boss and I joked for quite a while on that one.

So all we've learned here is that it doesn't matter what your boss says or does, some people will quit. Or is it that you should never travel with your boss if you already hate your job?

I've been the boss, with the higher elite status, getting the upgrade. And I've given it to my junior colleague.

Wouldn't on a transpac, though! :D

I've only had it happen to me once. My boss at the time and I were good friends so while he teased me on the way by, I knew it wasn't a problem.

When the door was shut, the seat next to me was still empty. I told the FA that my boss was in the back and if they could find it in their hearts to move him up my life would be considerably better. They did!!

Bad news is that we worked all the way home and the FA's teased me every time they walked by. I told them next time put a pretty woman next to me <G>.

I told them next time put a pretty woman next to me <G>.

LOL - i'd have to agree. . .

WOW!

My experiences are completely different. I would never consider sitting in a class higher than that of my superior. To me, that would be like making my mom/dad/girlfriend sit in coach while I enjoyed first class. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for my boss, and to me, that would include trading seats.

I was EXP and he was Platinum, but there was never a situation where I was upgraded and he was not. If it would have occurred, I would have insisted that he take the first class seat.

On my last job, I was responsible for our travel. I made sure that my boss always had the better of available seats when selecting online. I would feel uncomfortable the entire flight if I were in a better spot. Of course, in retrospect, I should have given him the worse seat and then switched when we got on the plane. He probably never realized that all the good seats were by design.

I did use my upgrades (3) on a flight when we were both Platinum and decided to upgrade at the gate since he did not have enough “coupons” in his account.

One of the reasons I was able to attain EXP is because my last boss allowed me to fly AA even when it wasn't the lowest fare. Of course, the reason I was able to fly at all is because I had a job, and he was responsible for that.

It just seems that the boss deserves the preferential treatment. Now, I have my own company. I would expect the same treatment.

Sam

If the boss was a jerk, I would want to be as far as away from him/her.

If the boss was a reasonable person, I'd be all for attempting to offer him/her my seat even.

How about if you were a extreme FF and your boss flew once a year on co. business?

Would you still pass up your upgrade even w/ your Deep Vein Thrombrosis? :p

Hmmm never thought about this. All but 2 of my bosses I have had I would have sent cargo if they let me. Of those 2, 1 always had status so wouldnt be an issue. The last is tricky to answer, he used to be my boss and we are now business partners, I do enjoy his company, so having him in F wouldnt be bad I guess. But I dont think I would sit in coach so he could be in First. If I couldnt upgrade him to First I guess we would both being going coach.

I think the trick on all this is also remembering how you got status...if you are an elite because your company paid for all the trips (or their clients did) it seems a little selfish for you to take a better seat than the person who essentially got you the status. I guess they should be in the same class you are in, but not the seat next to you *smile*.

I had a tough as nails female boss for a while who used to make a big production of upgrading me to the seat next to her. She never showed emotion other than rage to those of us who worked for her but once seated together in first class, she'd have too much to drink and cry on my shoulder about the owner of the company.

I quickly learned that there are often benefits to being smashed shoulder to shoulder with strangers in coach. I had to start scheduling onto very incovneient flights and routings to avoid flying with her and having her upgrade me.

I work for myself some the situation you desrcibed are never an issu,e but if I was upgraded and my "boss" were not, well tough luck. I am in a bit of aew though it wouyld help cause the end of a job for some people... Thats a bit petty prolly on the bosses part for making you feel uncomfortable...

-Vincent

I skied with my boss once and took her on a trail that kicked her butt. She is good but had not told me she had tweaked her knee so I simply took her on a trail I knew that she would be able to do (I knew the mountain so she said to show her) and only later did she indicate it sucked for her. I said "so it IS good to whine and complain then, because if the roles were reversed, I would have!" We laughed and she got me back by making me buy the margaritas later.

we get a long as friends but if we flew I suppose it would not matter. She has status anyway and I do not right now.

So this seems to be the right thread for this week's Dilbert. I'm not linking this as I believe it's against their TOS... but Mon and Tues were about flying with one's boss.
Mon: http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20050711.html
Tues: http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20050712.html

I'll leave it for someone else to post today's to one of the hotel threads.

I gave our CEO my upgraded first seat, once flying ORD to LAX. He attempted to upgrade, but my status (and a few other non-related flyers) trumped him. Did not hesitate, as my rationalization is all my miles are earned on "his dime".

He was quite appreciative, and went out of his way to thank me a week later, which was the next time I ran into him.

My first ever upgrade, my boss was in the back of the bus. Sitting there with my cocktail (this was a decade ago) as he walked the aisle past me made it that much better. :)

But he was a good guy, and we both travelled enough for elite status, so he knew how it worked, and there was no problem.

The only time I traveled with my boss to a meeting, we were both booked in Y, but I had a bunch of 500-mile upgrades and requested an upgrade for myself.

I felt a little bad, and since we needed to go over the meeting a bit, I went ahead and upgraded him to the adjacent seat in F. :eek:

It was a short hop, and it was useful for both of us to get a little work done. More comfy and better food too... :D

Depending on your boss it might have given you quite a boost on the corporate ladder if you immediately stood up and said "Mr. CEO Type, you have worked so hard for this seat, I'd be honored to give it to you".

Funny story (in retrospect)...

A couple of years ago, our in-house travel department was training a new agent and letting her practice by booking and cancelling dummy reservations in Sabre. At one point, they apparently pulled my profile as I had (as I heard it later) an "interesting profile" with very specific seat, meal, and upgrade requests. They apparently picked a flight that some of our team were traveling on and practiced "adding" an additional traveler to an existing reservation.

Well, at that time I had a standing upgrade request in my profile for AA... and it also happens that they did not cancel my reservation although it was never ticketed.

So fast forward to the day of departure when the president of our parent company and one of my colleagues are traveling DFW-PHX. Colleague was Platinum, president merely Gold. Since my ticket hadn't been issued (but I had been assigned a first seat), they were paging me in the gate area. As colleague tells the story, this is what transpired:

President approaches counter and wants to know why I am being paged (remember, I'm not "actually" on the flight and they are trying to figure out why I'm going to Phoenix). Agent tells him that I have a reservation and they are trying to locate me to issue the ticket. He proceeds to say "I'm the president of her company - where is she sitting?" They reply "she has a seat in first class" to which he replies "remove her from that - we are on the upgrade wait list and have more seniority".

Agent laughs and tells him that isn't possible (and Platinum colleague is next on the list after me for an upgrade). President tells colleague "if she gets on this plane in first, she is fired". Of course, I'm at home asleep (its 5:45 am) and so I don't check in for the flight. Colleague pulls his own name off the upgrade list. And President doesn't clear. Apparently they checked first twice just to make sure I didn't board after they did - and he repeated to colleague several times that he would fire me if he saw me in first.

Irrational (we had no policy against upgrading with ones own upgrades) and I'm glad I don't work for those folks anymore. (These folks were the same ones that I found out took upgrade certificates that an airline sales rep had dropped by with instructions to give them to myself and another frequent flying colleague.) I realize it was their company (although now its mine) and yet I don't think bullying employees is good for morale!

I made a policy to never sit in a better seat than a person who can make my life difficult. The list included bosses who do not understand the airline upgrading system and any clients. One time, my project team was traveling first when I realized that our client was in coach. I gave my team the option of down grading to coach or take the next flight. All three of them decided to take the next flight.

I used to be a boss long time ago, before the days of computerized upgrading. While I tried hard to travel alone, once in a while I had to be in the same plane as a co-worker. When that happens, I always try to have my companion upgraded as well.

Here is my favorite upgrade story. Only once in my life I was offered an upgrade on a transatlantic flight, Brussels to Dallas on AA. I took a gamble and refused the upgrade unless if my travel companion was also upgraded. Both of us were holding business class tickets. It worked. It was the first time he flown first over the pond. He was amazed that I would give up a first class seat for him. It is amazing how much harder people will work for little considerations. I got a lot more out of my co-workers with the upgrades than they did. I used to have great teams doing amazing projects.

I've had some bosses I would have enjoyed seeing sitting in coach while I enjoyed FC. However, I probably wouldn't have felt comfortable enough with the situation to ACTUALLY do it. If I had status because of the company or because of my job, I'd never accept an upgrade in front of the boss, and I'm pretty sure I'd offer it to the CEO or owner.

I used to work for a company that let us make our own travel arrangements. My coworkers and supervisor had no idea how to get decent rates and always ended up in crummy hotels with inflated rates. Nobody had negotiated rates for us so that wasn't an option, either. My coworkers would come back from their trips complaining about how the company didn't allot enough money for a decent hotel. Nobody understood how I had such a pleasant experience in a great hotel without spending a fortune until I showed them how to use Hotwire.

Of course, this was long before I found FT and discovered the magic of REALLY knowing how to travel. (which, admittedly, I'm still learning to implement) :D

GG

This would have to be reason number 22 that I'll probably never get very far career-wise inasmuch as I would happily take an upgrade to F whether my boss would be with me or back in Y.

I don't begrudge my boss the perks of bossdom... namely the more expensive lifestyle that he can afford with his position. He ought not begrudge me mine. If he feels slighted, he's probably way too insecure with himself to be an effective boss anyway. In that case, the odds are I won't stick around working for him long enough to care whether or he not he was miffed about me leaving him in Y.

Business politics isn't my thing. Don't expect me to feel bad that you can't enjoy the perks of F just because you spend your money and leisure time on golf and I spend mine on mileage runs. :)

That's my .02.

Edited to add: this does all go by the wayside if a client or other business partner is involved, however. I do play business politics in those cases.

he's probably way too insecure with himself to be an effective boss anyway. .

What a very true statement this can be.

Several years ago, I was upgraded to first class on a flight from BOS to DEN on UA. I arrived at the airport and realized that my boss was also on the flight, albeit in coach. I told him that I was in first class and asked for his ticket, saying that I would try to get him upgraded too. I brought to the podium and told the agent my sad story. She promptly upgraded him. I brought the ticket back to him and said, "Sorry". He never even looked at it.

When first class was called, I got up and said, "Come on". He said that only first had been called, so I told him to look at his ticket. It was like a kid at Christmas!

Unfortunately, the flight was diverted to ORD because of weather and we had to switch planes and both of us ended up in coach for the ORD to DEN trip.

Business politics isn't my thing. Don't expect me to feel bad that you can't enjoy the perks of F just because you spend your money and leisure time on golf and I spend mine on mileage runs. :)

Second that. I've been upgaded several times while my boss sat in Y. He just gives me a sneer as he walks past me and my vodka tonic in F. Of course, the reason I get upgraded is that I fly sooo much while working for HIM. All the while he doesn't fly much at all, so he understands the perk.

I agree that it is good for business politics. When I flew with my team a lot, I used quite a few upgrade stickers putting my subordinates in F with me. My rule was that they got upgraded if I flew F until they had enough status to decide on their own whether or not they wanted to upgrade themselves. (About half did, the other half would save their earned upgrades for personal travel.)

I agree its good for business politics to upgrade folks you have to work with - and in my scenario above, I would have most likely offered to upgrade the company president using my status on the wait list - or downgraded to sit with the others (although I had no idea they were even on that flight - which I wasn't "really" on). What was distasteful to me was him repeatedly making the comment about "firing me" to my colleague.

My wife went on a business trip U.S - Rome with her boss. When they arrive in Rome she discovers that the boss (who had traveled very little and never been out of the country before) evidently considers travel expenses to be the absolute worst form of evil, and is proud to have selected lodging for them that does not even rise to the level of an average hostel (I am not exaggerating). If I recall, the per-night rate was about $10-15 or so. The next day as they begin to discuss plans for lunch, the boss pulls out a bag of peanut butter sandwiches. During the trip, when free time offers opportunities for sightseeing, the boss wants nothing to do with it. Evidently it's somehow disloyal to the employer if you are able to enjoy yourself while traveling on business.

Now, you'll all think, "man, she should've quit rather than work for such an oppressive organization." In fact, the organization is a truly wonderful place to work. They have some reasonable standards of what constitutes excessive expenses, but they also have codified minimum standards, and the boss in question had to violate company policy to achieve her nefarious goals.

So anyway, the one bright spot of the trip for my wife was that a dear friend of hers had recently moved to Rome, and my wife would be able to briefly meet up with her friend at the airport prior to departure, because the friend worked there. As a matter of fact, the friend worked for the departing airline, and upgraded my wife for the return flight.

My wife says her boss didn't even make eye contact with her as she boarded and saw her there in a seat "worth" several thousand dollars, but we imagine the moment must still feature in some of her most horrifying nightmares.

Happily, my wife does now have a different boss.

A few years ago I joined a startup company and the CEO was my immediate boss (only 10 or so in the company - very flat managemet team :)). We went on a trip and flew Y out. We had a great repore, during the trip he gave me a bad time (kidding) about something - I think it was because I booked us on a farily early flight on the return and he wasn't a morning guy. Anyway I told him just for that I'd upgrade myself to first and enjoy the flight even more, when he stayed in Y. I did, he did, we continued to have a great repore and all was well (until the .com bust).

Bruce

Depending on your boss it might have given you quite a boost on the corporate ladder if you immediately stood up and said "Mr. CEO Type, you have worked so hard for this seat, I'd be honored to give it to you".

Oh how the young can be so innocent ;)

...as alot of us FF's get upgraded there as well. In both cases flights and hotels, I'm at the front of the plane and in a suite cuz I spend all my time on the road. I have flown up front, while the boss sat in back, and I have had a suite while the boss was in the cookie cutter room, without a single feeling of remorse whatsoever. I've earned it.

FC upgrades, suite upgrades and premium car upgrades, very deserving for us road warriors. If a Dilbert boss cannot figure that out then he/she does not deserve our loyalty.

...as alot of us FF's get upgraded there as well. In both cases flights and hotels, I'm at the front of the plane and in a suite cuz I spend all my time on the road. I have flown up front, while the boss sat in back, and I have had a suite while the boss was in the cookie cutter room, without a single feeling of remorse whatsoever. I've earned it.

Considering that I've never invited a superior to see my hotel room (since all my superiors were male), they never really had reason to know about what type of room assignment I got. ;)

Considering that I've never invited a superior to see my hotel room (since all my superiors were male), they never really had reason to know about what type of room assignment I got. ;)
...and thats usually me :D thus everyone, including the boss gets to revel in the opulance that I inhabit. They also raid my mini bar which gives me more hotel points when I check out. Its wonderful how life works :)

You have a F seat, board last.... No big deal, they will find a spot for your carry-on. Tell the Boss you were way in the back, after you figure out where he was.... or upgrade him with stickers if you like him and think it will clear.

Similar issue,

we are allowed to fly c or F (on intercont.)... Sometimes some of the team (boss or others) take a Y ticket to save money....

If it happens, that I realize that one of them is in Y and I c... I wait till everyone has boarded... avoids stress... I am last on first out ... no problems..

That being said, when you travel with your upper mangment, and you get upgraded and they don't purchase a First ticket, do you feel bad?When I used to work for a company years ago, that happened to me. I was upgraded; my boss was not.

We both laughed about it for quite a while afterwards, to the point where it became an inside joke. He was a cool boss. I truly enjoyed working for him.

In fact, I asked him if the situation were reversed, would he have handled it differently, and he immediately replied “No way — I would have done what you did!” We laughed!

It is a shame that the company for which we both worked was so mismanaged by executive management that my boss and I (as well as a few other employees who remained at the company that survived the many massive employee layoffs) basically shut the lights on the last day, as we bacame the last “casualties”...

Generally, when I fly with my superiors (which is not very often), they usually have at least the same or higher FF status as I do, and they get upgraded before me. However, many years ago, I was an associate at a law firm, and I was traveling with a partner and the client on a CO flight. On the return flight, at the gate, I asked the GA whether they could upgrade the 3 of us to first. The GA glanced at her computer and told me, "Sorry, first is full." I went back to tell the partner and client that there was no room in first. A few minutes later, they paged me up to the desk and told me that they were upgrading me, and gave me a new seat assignment in first.

The partner and client asked me why they had called me up, and I told them that I had been upgraded. The partner was incredulous, but the client seemed amused, if slightly perplexed. At the time, I was mid-tier on CO, but I think both the partner and the client had top-tier FF status. The partner went up to the desk to ask to be upgraded, but the GA told him that first was full. As the partner returned to where we were sitting to report that he was unable to secure an upgrade, they announced that first class passengers could board. The partner glared at me, silently communicating that I had better not sit in the front cabin without them.

I hesitated for a few seconds, contemplating whether I should offer to switch seats with the partner or with the client. Partly because I wasn't sure whom to offer the first class seat to, I decided to keep the upgrade for myself, said "See you on the flight" and boarded the flight. I think that the partner was upset as he glared at me again as he passed me in first on the way to his seat. The client didn't appear upset, but did joke with me afterwards that I had a lot to learn about client relations.


On another trip, I was traveling with a paralegal to handle a document production. The paralegal had not done a lot of traveling; and I advised him to join FF programs and hotel frequent stay programs. He seemed skeptical, but I explained the benefits and how one could earn free flights and free stays, and get free upgrades if one achieved elite status.

After working at the client site all day, we checked in at our hotel around midnight. We were both tired; so I suggested that we get some sleep and meet for breakfast at 6 am to compare notes before going back to the client site. Then we went to our respective rooms. As I was unpacking, there was a knock at my door.

When I opened the door, the paralegal, looking bemused, announced, "I think they made a mistake." I asked, "what's the problem?" And he asked me to come look at his room. I followed him to his room; I walked in to one largest suites I've ever seen. Not one of those "junior suites" but a huge 3 bedroom suite with living room and kitchen, with a fully stocked bar and a jacuzzi. It was quite impressive.

My jaw dropped, and I exclaimed, "why would they give this room to you when you're not even a member of the hotel's loyalty program?' He shrugged his shoulders and asked, "Do you think I should go down and tell them they must have made a mistake?" I shook my head. He then half asked, half stated, "Maybe they mixed up our rooms and meant to give you the suite?" I wasn't sure whether he was offering to switch rooms, but I immediately responded, "You should keep the room and enjoy it." Unfortunately, he didn't really get a chance to enjoy the suite because we checked out the next morning early -- around 8 am. But at least he can always tell the story of how he got to stay in a suite.

Thankfully all my superiors are frequent flyers as well. They understand how upgrades work. I work for three partners in a large consulting firm (one partner is SFO, IAH and the other in ORD). I am actually one of the lowest on the food chain which then translates to cheap bill rates. I don't mind travelling so I am shipped coast to coast a lot. The partners all know I am fanatical about FF stuff so they understand I play the game and would never be ticked that I got a better room or seat than they did. I also pass along whatever info on their program I can.

I guess I'm in a pretty good place. I almost never travel with my boss and when we all need to go somewhere, we usually take the corporate jet (no miles :( )

Since I usually fly HP, where upgrades are automatic, I'm not sure how I'd handle this.

In a former life, my boss and I needed to do LAX-JFK. He had our assistant book his ticket and I booked my own. I worked the system a bit and found an F ticket for the same price as his Y ticket. I told him what I'd done when we got to the airport and were talking about the price of the tickets (both really high, to be fair). His response was "at a boy! I knew you were smart.", so no hard feelings.

Mallthus

I almost never travel with my boss and when we all need to go somewhere, we usually take the corporate jet (no miles :( )



You'll have to excuse me if I don't feel too sorry for you :p :D

If you guys like this thread, you'll also enjoy In Your Face...I'm in Biz/First (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99761).
An oldie but a goody! :)

I had an international flight from IAD -> ZRH where I burned a SWU to get into first class. With some messup on my boss agenda he ended up on the same flight in an economy middle seat (at least E+).

He took it very well since it was our secretaries and his own screw up. He came to visit me to get a new laptop battery after he run out of juice.

I am still employed with the same company :-)

In my group we all fly a lot so know the game - a few times, others have been upgraded and I haven't and the one time I got upgraded (LHR to NRT) and my boss didn't, he couldn't handle it and ended up buying an upgrade,,,

I'd never give up my upgrade as I think I've put the miles in and spent plenty enough time away from home. If one of my staff offered their upgrade to me, I'd wonder what was wrong with them!

I've flown on the same trip as my boss, he's a big spender 1K on UA (but not UGS), I asked him if he wanted to fly CO with me, and he said he'd rather take UA. ok, whatever. He was flying on a rather expensive unrestricted ticket.
he did SFO-BOS, I did OAK-IAH-BOS with a tour in IAH.
I called him when I got to BOS, he was hungry and pissed off because they stuck him in E-, and I was in first the whole way on an S (super cheap) fare.

he was amused, and I told him he should be pissed off at his travel agent, he was and he made them rebook him on a flight that they could confirm first on the way back.

my colleagues know I'm a nut about this stuff and most of them come to me now when booking travel.

Perhaps employees today are not as gungho as in the past, but I believe Miss Manners / Emily Post type of books state to never fly in a higher class than your superior. :D

Luckily for me my boss is EXP himself.

If you guys like this thread, you'll also enjoy this one (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99761).
An oldie but a goody! :)When deciding whether to click on a thread, I always find the topic title helpful. ;)

In this case, it is "In Your Face...I'm in Biz/First."

My last boss and I used to travel together frequently. At the beginning he was a 1K and I was a 2P. On my first flight as a 1K, we flew from San Francisco-Singapore. Since I requested an upgrade further in advance than him, I had confirmed upgrades prior to reaching the airport, while he was on standby. Luckily he was upgraded and seated next to me on the first leg SFO-NRT. However he was not upgraded from NRT-SIN. To make matters worse, one of the directors of the institute we were visiting was flying on a paid C class ticket and upgraded to first. Of course he was happy to be able to come back to business class to visit us, but my boss lost some face when I was in business and he was in coach. At the time, I didn't trust our mutal assistant to make upgrade requests for me, and therefore I took care of it myself, while the boss let our somewhat incompetent assistant to take care of it.

Anyway, my boss acted noble about the situation, but was POd underneath it all. I vowed never to upgrade myself again while he was in coach. Several times, while we were both standing by for upgrades on international flights, I offered my upgrade seat to him if I cleared and he didn't--of course he declined the offer and luckily it didn't happen again.

Also, we always bought business class tickets to asia after that. I still hesitate to buy business class tickets to europe from san francisco since I always get upgraded and they are exhorbitantly priced.

When deciding whether to click on a thread, I always find the topic title helpful. ;)

In this case, it is "In Your Face...I'm in Biz/First."

Ok, I edited my post.

My employer holds a retreat for the lawyers every year, usually at a destination too far to drive to. In the scheme of things I'm midlevel -- I'm mostly treated as an owner of the firm (which I'm not), including for retreats, but with status somewhat below the actual owners. One year we were going to (IIRC) Palm Springs. Several of the owner-partners and I were booked on the same non-stop flight on United, all in coach. (The firm doesn't pay for anyone to fly first class.) We got to the airport. No plane was at the gate. It soon became clear to me that there would be no plane at the gate for hours to come. People waited. Before the flight was cancelled, I rounded up two of the owners who were with me and said, "Let's wait upstairs," and took them to the Red Carpet Club. I settled them down with drinks and went to talk to the concierge. She could not get us on any other UA flight to Palm Springs that day but said that Alaska had a flight going to Palm Springs leaving in about an hour, and that coach was full but there were still three seats in first class. I went back to my two employers and asked if I could borrow their tickets. I took our three tickets to the concierge and traded them (with the help of the company credit card) for the three F seats on Alaska, then went back to the employers and said, "We have seats on a plane leaving in an hour," not telling them that we were going to be in F. They were surprised and pleased to see their seats when they got on the plane. Strictly this is not an upgrade story, since I (actually, they) paid for the seats, but it's something that worked out well as we got to the meeting on time and in comfort.

The other upgrade story is from another company retreat, when I had gold status on Alaska. One of the junior lawyers was 6 months pregnant. I used the free-upgrade policy to upgrade her and me at the airport. We (and one owner who understood upgrades) sat in first while eight or ten of the owners and employed lawyers rode in coach. We waved cheerfully as they all got on board after us. My theory was, if you have a talent for getting upgrades, why hide it?

I gave my upgraded seat to my boss and I seat on the empty row at
the back

We couldn't figure out why a summer intern with no status kept flying in F while the rest of the non/low-status workers were sitting in the back of the plane. After the summer, he told us that he always asked the travel department for a seat next to one of the partners on the same flight because they had "important work" to do. Of course, the partners sit in a paid F seat. Unlike many of the other stories in this thread, this innovative summer intern now has a permanent position.

So now that I've read all the tales of evil bosses who get mad at you for taking your upgrade, here's one about a guy who may be the best boss ever:

When I started my current job, I had higher CO status than my bosses, so of course got upgraded much more frequently. The thing is, I'm pretty short (5'2"), so I find coach fairly comfortable and feel guilty taking the upgrade away from someone taller on short hauls. Well, on one of my first flights with the new boss, I tried to give him my upgrade. What followed was a long lecture on how we're not a hierarchical firm and I shouldn't feel obligated to give up my seat just because he's more senior. For weeks, he refused to take my upgrade. The situation finally resolved itself when a secretary from our office traveled with us one week, and I offered my upgrade to her. As soon as my boss realized I wasn't offering the seat to him because of his job title, he felt fine taking it from then on.

Another story relevant to this thread:

A series of fortunate coincidences landed me on a business trip with some high-ranking execs from my company (including the head of my division and the head of North America), and being pretty low on the totem pole I was dying to impress them. All of us being frequent travellers, we of course hung out in the main terminal until almost boarding time, and were quite disheartened to find ourselves in an hour-long security line. Luckily, we were at a Delta hub, and I just happened to have my CO Platinum card with me. I flashed it at the agent at the elite line, and then mentioned that "they're all with me" when she tried to stop the execs from following me past the big wait. Boy, the looks on their faces was priceless. I earned some big brownie points with that one.

wow, what a varied response from people. It have been interesting to read what and how people react. WOnder what other things we can pull on bosses :)

Deleted

I had a friend who worked for a European company in the US, and he'd travel over once or twice a year to check in with the home office in Germany. His boss would go with him more often than not.

One time, the boss had an upgrade clear for his TA flight, leaving my buddy in the back. Nowe, the boss knew that they ahd been flying about the same amount, and it turns out that my friend had no clue that he was elite and could upgrade if he asked for it.

So, his boss sat down with him and taught him the basics of being a good FF. What the status meant, the whole deal, how to upgrade. Talk about a good boss.

Although an interesting thread I must say that I am very surprised and concerned about alot of people's attitude :rolleyes:

This "I've earned it and I don't give a crap if my boss sits in coach" attitude I find quite troublesome. At the end of the day the boss is a colleague which means you should treat him with respect.

I've often declined an upgrade (as we couldn't get upgrades for both) so I could sit together with my colleague or boss. Likewise my boss/colleague would do the same for me.
I'm not saying this is how everyone should do it but I treat my colleagues the way I would treat my friends or my family... with respect. You should try it - it will often "pay off" as you will get the same in return.

Having said that, none of my colleagues or superiors have a problem with sitting in different classes. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we all clock more than a 100K international miles a year and therefore know the drill. But at the end of the day I guess it's all about attitude, company culture, common sense and respect for each other.

If people actually say they are going to quit their jobs if the boss feels uncomfortable about sitting in a different class then that says more about that person than the boss :rolleyes: It seems like a lot of people don't like their jobs or their superiors. It certainly sounds quite awful. My advice: Do something about it instead of playing childish games.

Just my opinion - but maybe I am too naive with regards to how things work in the big corporations. But then again I work for a Global 500 company and 50% of my job is politics. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.

Although an interesting thread I must say that I am very surprised and concerned about alot of people's attitude :rolleyes:

This "I've earned it and I don't give a crap if my boss sits in coach" attitude I find quite troublesome. At the end of the day the boss is a colleague which means you should treat him with respect.

I've often declined an upgrade (as we couldn't get upgrades for both) so I could sit together with my colleague or boss. Likewise my boss/colleague would do the same for me.
I'm not saying this is how everyone should do it but I treat my colleagues the way I would treat my friends or my family... with respect. You should try it - it will often "pay off" as you will get the same in return.

Having said that, none of my colleagues or superiors have a problem with sitting in different classes. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we all clock more than a 100K international miles a year and therefore know the drill. But at the end of the day I guess it's all about attitude, company culture, common sense and respect for each other.

If people actually say they are going to quit their jobs if the boss feels uncomfortable about sitting in a different class then that says more about that person than the boss :rolleyes: It seems like a lot of people don't like their jobs or their superiors. It certainly sounds quite awful. My advice: Do something about it instead of playing childish games.

Just my opinion - but maybe I am too naive with regards to how things work in the big corporations. But then again I work for a Global 500 company and 50% of my job is politics. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.

Straight to the point ^ .I agree 100% :)

Slightly "off-topic" because technically it doesn't involve an upgrade, but maybe an amusing story nonetheless:

A couple years ago my boss, I, and another senior lawyer in our office had to travel to a country around what used to be called "Asia Minor" for an important (to our client) negotiation. We flew Lufthansa, on what was supposed to be a three-day trip.

As it turned out, the negotiations kept getting extended for “one more day” and each day we’d ask the secretary where we were to cancel the current reservations for the first flight out the next day and get us new ones for the first flight the following day. This went on long enough that we were beginning to wonder if we ought to call the hotel we were staying at “The Minnow” (“. . . a three-hour tour . . .”), but finally the negotiations ended and we were “really” to depart the next day.

Now, you must understand that the city we were in, while not exactly Paris or Rome, did have some attractions but by now we were heartily sick of it and looking forward to getting out and back to our offices. Not only had the work had piled up in our absence, but we had only planned for a three-day absence which had now stretched to over a week (not only “planned for,” but also “packed for” . . . you don’t want to know about the underwear situation!).

The next morning we were up at oh-dark-thirty and off to the airport for a departure scheduled for very early in the morning. My traveling companions both had status but with other airlines not in the Star Alliance; I, however, had Senator status with Lufthansa’s Miles and More (and that year was 1K on United as well), so while they went to check in at the Economy counter, I headed for the Business Class counter. When I showed my ticket, the lady behind the counter punched the computer keys for a while, and then looked up worriedly and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Counsellor, but we have no record of a reservation for you on this flight.”

“Well, there should be one,” I said, “but this is a full-fare ticket, can’t you get me on anyway?”

At this she became even more visibly distressed. “I’d love to, sir,” she said, “but we’re overbooked as it is. And the flight this afternoon is also overbooked. The earliest I can assure you a seat would be on tomorrow morning’s flight. However, (she added, seeing that I was rather crestfallen at this news) let me ask the manager if he can do anything.”

She went into the back office, and while she was gone my boss and our other lawyer came up where I was waiting at the counter and related that they were told they didn’t have reservations either, and to come back the next day. What apparently had happened was either that the secretary had forgotten to make the new reservations, or else that she had called in so often for reservations for us that we wound up not taking that the local Lufthansa agent had simply quit entering them into the system -- “Boy who cried ‘wolf’” and all that.

The CSR shortly returned with a distinguished gentleman, who said to me, “I am sorry, but we are quite overbooked and . . . ” at this point he saw my Senator card lying on the counter, “Oh, you’re a Senator! Well, for a Senator I’m sure we can do something,” and he proceeded to talk with the CSR, “Give him a boarding pass (Would you like aisle or window, sir?) and if we have to deny boarding to someone else so be it.”

My boss had an expression like the heavens (or a tunnel to the other place) had just opened, and the manager, noticing this, asked me, “Are they with you?”

“They are,” I confirmed, and he said to the CSR, “Put them on, too. They’re with the Senator.”

The CSR clicked away and sure enough, out came three boarding passes. The manager took them and handed them to us, and then gave me a pass for the Elite lounge run by the national airline of the country we were in, saying, “I’m sorry, we don’t have our own Senator lounge here, but you can use the <such and such> lounge.” Then he looked at my companions, and said, “Here are passes for you as well. After all, you’re with the Senator!”

As we sat in the elite lounge, waiting for boarding call and drinking coffee (although I was seriously thinking of something stronger, considering how close we had come to having to wait an extra day), my boss and the other senior lawyer started commenting, “After all, we’re with the Senator!”

That catchline remained a running joke in the office for over a year, but you know, I didn’t get any more grief about why I was putting miles on a “foreign” airline instead of putting them all on United.

If I wanted to get fired on the spot, I'd sit in biz or first when traveling with the boss. Even if I paid for my own ticket, the owner of our company would be irate if I (a manager) were to sit in the same or a higher class than she.

Don't even get me started with the single-class aircraft syndrome - let's just say, no one is happy if mama's not happy.

I don't even let her know when I am able to UG with miles or elite status - I'm just not willing to deal with the unwarranted disapproval rating.

I'm a "loner" when it comes to travel; I rarely travel with others from my company. I can think of four segments where I did -- we were both in coach on one, both upgraded to first class on two others. On the fourth segment, I upgraded while my colleague sat in coach, but it was no big deal, since we were peers.

But this thread reminds me of something that came up on one of my very first business trips. I was AA Gold at the time, but I was headed to Fargo, where AA doesn't fly, so I ended up on NW, and signed up for their FF program at the airport on my outbound trip. When I checked in at the kiosk for my return trip, the kiosk spit out BPs with very low row numbers that said FIRST on them. I was very certain that I had booked coach seats, so I was very confused. While I was sitting at the gate, staring at my BPs and trying to figure out what was going on, I was shocked to see a couple of execs from the customer I was working with. They were from a different office, and they were also heading home on my flight, so they came up to say hello. Now I was totally confused as to what I should do. It turned out that my seat was indeed in first class, so that's where I was sitting when the execs walked past. I told them that I had no idea how I had ended up in first (which was the truth), but they just laughed and said I had done great work for them, so I deserved it.

At the time, I was new to the whole frequent flyer game, I didn't know that I'd get a first class seat until I showed up at the airport, and I didn't know that my customer would be on the flight until a few minutes before boarding -- so I was very poorly equipped to handle the situation. Today, if I knew I'd be flying with a customer (or my boss, for that matter), I would call the airline ahead of time to cancel my upgrade request. It's not worth any potential ramifications, just to sit in crappy domestic first (I'm a 100% domestic traveler) for an hour or two.

I've been fortunate to have bosses who don't get upset over upgrades. With few exceptions I prefer not to travel with my colleagues and my friends/family know that if available I will take the upgrade :) (I usually give them drink tickets/headphones)

Several years ago I was traveling with my boss to AZ and was running late to the airport. I called my boss enroute and he said that we could just fly out the next morning if neccessary. I told him that I was 10 min away and we should still take the flight. I got to the gate just as they called final boarding. He was in the last row and I had gotten upgraded to first. "He just looked at me and laughed and said it figures" I sent him my ice cream sundae :cool: and went in the chatted in the back with him for a while.

Its a joke with my team that I always get upgraded in airplanes/hotels/car rentals. I have had bosses that if I traveled with I would decline an upgrade simply because of their "issues" I worked for one woman who I tried never to stand next to since she said I was intimidating since I was so much taller than her :rolleyes:

Ok, I edited my post.Thank you. :)

At my last company, both of my immediate bosses were both UGS Titanium. They're the ones that if the flight is cancelled, United arranges a private plane. I do enjoy when I'm flying with a colleague (or even better a client) and can upgrade them. I had a client a few months ago who happened to be on the same flight as me. I offered to the GA to exchange my upgrade for him, but there was room, so he got the upgrade as well.

On one of the first trips for my new job I ended up spending time with one of the company execs. He asked me what status I had on the carrier we normally fly and I told him that while I had Plat on TWA a few jobs ago currently I had nothing on this carrier. He said to remind him when we got home to call the carrier and get them to give me elite status. While the phone call didn't help the corporate travel coordinator was able to work some magic and make it happen. Having the status is important even in economy as the seats can have very different amounts of legroom. Recently I was travelling with a colleague and while we both had Y tix they had a seat that had much more legroom. There was a seat free next to mine and one next to theirs. They don't need the legroom and the airline wouldn't move me since I didn't yet have the status so the colleague moved back to sit next to me.

Personally I'm one of those people that save miles for family travel. Anytime that someone gets upgraded I'm more than happy for them and can't imagine bearing a grudge. If I were using points to upgrade myself I'd ask if the person wants to be upgraded as well with my points. Travelling is uncomfortable enough for everyone that if it can be a but less so then it is well worth it.

bump....anyone else have anything???

I recently started at a small company, my boss doesn't care. We are going to SFO in sept and i offered to upgrade him on my flights, but he'd rather fly non stop then change planes like i am doing.

Chris

This past May, my project lead and I were flying to London, both in business on the same flight, and I upgraded my segment with a VIP and did his as well, to avoid any bad blood. However, we were returning on different flights, and for the week before his flight, he kept bugging me to upgrade his return flight, at least three times a day. Finally I gave in to get him off my back, even though whining and sniveling is a personality trait I find annoying. So now I've learned to avoid that mistake again, flying and upgrading with anyone in a superior position. I will even fly out of the way to ORD to LHR to avoid this situation again. Waste of two VIPs, but live and learn.

This past May, my project lead and I were flying to London, both in business on the same flight, and I upgraded my segment with a VIP and did his as well, to avoid any bad blood. However, we were returning on different flights, and for the week before his flight, he kept bugging me to upgrade his return flight, at least three times a day. Finally I gave in to get him off my back, even though whining and sniveling is a personality trait I find annoying. So now I've learned to avoid that mistake again, flying and upgrading with anyone in a superior position. I will even fly out of the way to ORD to LHR to avoid this situation again. Waste of two VIPs, but live and learn.

If I were the boss, I would be happy for my subordinate and would never take an upgrade if offered. If the subordinate, I would probably offer, but would try to avoid the situation entirely.

I was once on a flight from LHR-SFO with my boss on the same flight. Going to the airport, I knew I had a biz upgraded seat and he didnt. I excused myself saying I have some shopping to do and for the rest of the day played cat and mouse. I went to the SQ lounge even though we were on UA since I knew he would be at the RCC. I boarded last to aviod seeing him at the gate. Since the first two rows on biz are to the left of the entrance to the flight, I never saw him for the rest of the flight and I deplanned first upon landing in SFO.
It was funny to hear him repeatedly ask me my row number the next day since he supposedly went round and round coach class looking for me :D

Though neither of my 2 bosses would expect it or begrudge me sitting in first, I'd offer either of them my upgrade if I got it and they didn't. I'm very much a junior guy, but I read FT and know the system better than anyone else at the company (I think.) I also just respect them a lot and would be pleased to give them the upgrade.

I know everyone doesn't bosses as cool as mine, so I consider myself very lucky. I do think it's based on personal relationship, because at my last company I don't think I would have offered my boss my upgrade. I respected him businesswise, because he was (and is) wicked-smart, but personally I didn't have as much affinity for him.

I had one occasion where the upgrade requests went the other way.

Back when I worked for one of those big, ginourmous, international companies, I was traveling with two colleagues. We had no clue about status or perks. At the airport, we ran into a fast rising senior manager (who soon went on to become a fast rising senior partner). A bit of idle chit chat, and he invited us into the DL Club. We were awed and amazed that such nice places existed, and also that he would invite us in.

On boarding, he took our boarding passes and went to the gate agent and asked if we could somehow get upgraded to F with him. No room at the inn, but just the thought that he tried was a very cool thing to do.

Not exactly my boss, but I have been elite since before I was like 5 years old and so by the time I got to high school I was even more elite ;) and was reading FT. So during my four years of HS I went on several trips with various clubs that involved air travel. Of course I wanted upgrades, so it was a little funny that every time we flew somewhere myself and a compainion would watch the rest of the students, teachers and parents walk back to coach ^ :p They were cool with it though, it they had a problem I would had just sat in Y.

I was just in my boss's office and we were talking about some upcoming travel I have (vacation) and he reached into his briefcase and pulled out 3 RCC passes and a few drink chits! Not exactly an upgrade, but this is the sort of thing that would make me awfully happy to give him any of my upgrades. Not that he needs them, since I'm only a 1P to his UGS. :cool:

Had a great experience years ago. My boss was in charge of sales in the US and I was the world outside of the US. So, of course, I had more miles and higher status - though we rarely flew together. One evening I ran in to him at the World Club in SEA both on our way to MSP except he was on an earlier flight than me. I went up to the agent got switched to the earlier flight and was able to bump my boss up as a companion. Great experience to walk back to him in the club with two F boarding passes - we had a great flight and I got many brownie points. All this said I've also sat in F with the same boss in coach - he never made an issue of it - he believed that I flew all the miles I should get all the perks.

I dont think domestic first class is a good enough experience to risk upsetting a CEO for a few free drinks.

As the boss, I have always seen corporate travel as an opportunity to get to know colleagues better, so we try to sit together. If I was upgraded and a collegue was not I would decline the upgrade for a short flight. It it was a long haul flight it would be no issue - we would all be in the same class (nromally C).

I sacked one of my European PR agencies after a trip where they sat in First class and I was in business (after that trip I looked at their invoices and decided they were over charging).

I also though it was bad manners to over indulge themselves when their client was being sensible with expenses. If they had downgraded themselves to business they would have kept the contract.

At the time, I was new to the whole frequent flyer game, I didn't know that I'd get a first class seat until I showed up at the airport, and I didn't know that my customer would be on the flight until a few minutes before boarding -- so I was very poorly equipped to handle the situation. Today, if I knew I'd be flying with a customer (or my boss, for that matter), I would call the airline ahead of time to cancel my upgrade request. It's not worth any potential ramifications, just to sit in crappy domestic first (I'm a 100% domestic traveler) for an hour or two.

I had a very similar experience, except I had no status, and I'm guessing I was upgraded just out of the gate agent's loving kindness (I use a wheelchair). I was flying with 2 colleagues (both senior to me). And of course, because of the wheelchair, I was pre-boarded.

I felt bad about flying first with my senior colleagues in coach (one of them was in Row 30+, very miserable), but really didn't know how to handle it.

Ive never had to worry, our CEO taskes the company Jet

I've gone far (miles) and far (days) out of my way to avoid this exact situation.

My boss is one of those guys who would SAY he has no problem with it, but who would use it for ever more.

For this reason I've taken un-needed connections and advanced trip start / delayed trip completion to make certain to avoid identical flights.

Fortunately, boss is quite loyal to LH - and me to UA. The majority of our opportunities to go together are SFO-MUC. Much as I'd love the non-stop LH (at least I'd love the non-stop part of it), I've never once taken it. Far as the boss is concerned I 'prefer' UA connections in LHR or FRA.

Once we had a close call when I was booked on UA 900 SFO-FRA. The boss was on LH 454 which departs within minutes on the same route. The two flights were even sharing a gate lounge in SFO. LH was oversold and he was on the list to jump over to UA. Would have been very uncomfortable as I had a D fare upgraded to F and he had a last minute Y. Fortunately LH found him a seat and I avoided having to trade my suite for E-. . .

Lihu'e 1k

I had a boss once who couldn't figure out why none of us had status on whatever airline we had to share with him. He always sat up front, we were in the back. It was worth it not to be with him. We could save our upgrades for trips when we wouldn't have to share first with a jerk.

I am not "the" boss, but rather "a" boss. My boss flies the corporate jet usually, but for the rest of us grounded in the reality of TSA, lines, and BoB I have been generous in that I have come up with the following policy.

1. When a video conference or placeware meeting will do avoid the expense.

2. If under 500 miles than its Y for the trip.

3. Whenever possible use Midwest Express's signature service (all domestic F) type seats.

4. Anything over 1000 miles A Fares or QUP or fares are acceptable.

5. Trans-Atlantic / Pacific discounted business on carrier of your choice.

Since instituting this possibly we've actually saved money, and everyone seats in the front when it counts. We've reduced our trips by 100 percent, and still accomplish our goals. That being said one of my employees just got married, and I gave them 200k from my Membership Rewards accounts for their honeymoon. I wouldn't have a problem with a coworker seat in F while I sat in Y. But I think its best if everyone seats up front on long hauls. I usually shave off one day in hotel expense and gain a day in productivity.

Crazy?

We've reduced our trips by 100 percent, and still accomplish our goals.

So you stopped flying??

No, last year we had 980 trips. We've had 1100 conference calls instead, and only about 140 trips although we've more than doubled our revenue. I guess the 100 percent is misleading.

I am not "the" boss, but rather "a" boss. My boss flies the corporate jet usually, but for the rest of us grounded in the reality of TSA, lines, and BoB I have been generous in that I have come up with the following policy.

1. When a video conference or placeware meeting will do avoid the expense.

2. If under 500 miles than its Y for the trip.

3. Whenever possible use Midwest Express's signature service (all domestic F) type seats.

4. Anything over 1000 miles A Fares or QUP or fares are acceptable.

5. Trans-Atlantic / Pacific discounted business on carrier of your choice.

Since instituting this possibly we've actually saved money, and everyone seats in the front when it counts. We've reduced our trips by 100 percent, and still accomplish our goals. That being said one of my employees just got married, and I gave them 200k from my Membership Rewards accounts for their honeymoon. I wouldn't have a problem with a coworker seat in F while I sat in Y. But I think its best if everyone seats up front on long hauls. I usually shave off one day in hotel expense and gain a day in productivity.

Crazy?

Not crazy at all.
Seems like a great travel policy to me - I'd work for you anyday! ^

My personal policy is to get the cheapest possible ticket whilest sitting up front, whether for work or pleasure.
Usually this involves me having a cheaper ticket (thanks to my bag of tricks and status) and sitting up front, while other colleagues sit in back on more expensive tickets.

I save $ on hotels often by staying with friends/family.

Last week I was in Houston with the rest of my team, including my boss. He got in about 4 hours before me so we each rented a car. He left me a voicemail saying got stuck in a small piece of crap and he was ticked off about it.... Well, when I showed up and walked to my Presidents club parking spot was a brand new Jag with 124 miles on it.... I called him on my hotel and told him come out and see the piece of crap they gave me.... He gave me a lecture about getting upgraded when your boss doesn't!!!

We are pretty good friends though, so it was all in jest!

But, I did enjoy rubbing it in his face a little! :)

Another reversed situation this past February. YYZ to CDG with AC SE boss. Going east overnight he used his last SSWU for me to sit up front and get some sleep.

On the way back he was up front and I in back, but AC Y is comfortable enough for a day flight. I was exhausted enough to sleep most of the way in any event.

His extensive travel keeps me employed.

I am not "the" boss, but rather "a" boss. My boss flies the corporate jet usually, but for the rest of us grounded in the reality of TSA, lines, and BoB I have been generous in that I have come up with the following policy.

1. When a video conference or placeware meeting will do avoid the expense.

2. If under 500 miles than its Y for the trip.

3. Whenever possible use Midwest Express's signature service (all domestic F) type seats.

4. Anything over 1000 miles A Fares or QUP or fares are acceptable.

5. Trans-Atlantic / Pacific discounted business on carrier of your choice.

Since instituting this possibly we've actually saved money, and everyone seats in the front when it counts. We've reduced our trips by 100 percent, and still accomplish our goals. . . .

Crazy?

If only all were as rational and fair minded.

It's good to know there are such rational exceptions out there! I have no doubt your policy is reflected in the productivity and loyalty of your staff. Kudo's.

LIhu'e 1k

I go out of my way to schedule travel so I am not on the plane with colleagues (either employees or my boss). With the amount I travel, it is an added hassle that I do not need.

The few times I have been in this situation, I have offered my seat to the boss and was direct about it. They are usually taken off guard and say no. I don't insist after that. I hope they enjoy coach...

I go out of my way to schedule travel so I am not on the plane with colleagues (either employees or my boss).

Ditto here. I don't like to fly with colleagues/supervisors. Except when I have the opportunity to work with mr. ok. I like to fly with him; not only is he a great seatmate but he even totes my luggage for me. :)

I don't like to fly with colleagues/supervisors.
That's why I love to be my own boss! :D

bump for more fun facts

Well this was a case of a former boss rather than a then current boss. But I was in F and he was in Y and the look on his face was priceless - what are you doing up there?

You could have easily defused the situation before boarding by joking that this was the benefit of never seeing your friends, wife and kids. It would have been easy to make the situation seem unawkward.

I have no doubt that my current boss would switch seats with me if SHE was upgraded and I wasn't, just to keep me happy and working. Afterall, I am the one flying all the time and she isn't. If we were both sky warriors though, it would be different.

Similar thread in the NWA forum a while back... (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=615570) :D
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