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J Passenger insists on sitting in F: A DYKWIA Story

J Passenger insists on sitting in F: A DYKWIA Story

Old May 31, 2017, 4:21 pm
  #1  
gpy
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J Passenger insists on sitting in F: A DYKWIA Story

Hi Flyertalk! long time lurker and random commenter, but this is my first thread. Thank you all for providing so much insight - I am now considered the travel guru amongst my friends and it's all because of you I've now planned an even bigger, better trip to Asia this Fall using everything I've learned!

On to the story...

This is a story about a DYKWIA situation I've never experienced before. My husband and I were flying ICN-JFK in F on the A380 and we were super excited as it was our first real international F. We had boarded first and were poking around our seats (me in 1J, Mr.GPY in 2J) and there were 4 other passengers (in 1A, 2A, 2D, 3A) so we had a side of the plane all to ourselves. The FA had warmly welcomed us and was getting our PDBs.

As we were busy acting like kids on Christmas morning a British woman with a cane and a very noticeable limp boards and takes the seat behind us. Within seconds an FA comes and very politely asks for her boarding pass and lets her know that business is up the stairs. The woman says she knows but she doesn't EVER climb stairs and it would be impossible with her leg and she MUST sit in first - look! cane! she can barely even walk! There is a lot of back and forth as the FA (and another FA) explain to her over and over that they understand and they can help her up the stairs but that she can not sit in First. Mrs.DYKWIA refuses to move and says had she knows business was only on the upper level she would have paid for first and that they should have told her at check in since it was "obvious" she had trouble walking. At this point I went back to exploring my seat and she was escorted out of F back towards economy.

We had an awesome flight. Had some champagne, some red, Mr.GPY cracked open the JWBlue, we took a field trip to the bar upstairs where made friends with Mrs.2D. It turns out her husband is a KE pilot and she was flying with her mother in law in 2A. Her husband was sitting in coach with their sons and let her have the other seat in F. What a husband! I slept fitfully for 6 hours since it was too warm, but all in all - it was amazing.

When we landed in JFK J passengers had already starting coming down the stairs but were being held back so we could get off first. We made our way through immigration, picked up our checked bag and as we headed to the taxi line someone raced by us - why, by some miracle Mrs.DYKWIA had been blessed by the angels in heaven during the flight and no longer needed her cane to walk! Hallellujah, praise Jesus! She jogged past us without the slightest sign of a limp so she could cut us in the taxi line. I would like to say I didn't make a slightly snarky comment to Mr.GPY just loud enough to be overheard...but I would be lying.
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Old Jun 1, 2017, 5:25 am
  #2  
 
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Originally Posted by gpy
Hi Flyertalk! long time lurker and random commenter, but this is my first thread. Thank you all for providing so much insight - I am now considered the travel guru amongst my friends and it's all because of you I've now planned an even bigger, better trip to Asia this Fall using everything I've learned!

On to the story...

This is a story about a DYKWIA situation I've never experienced before. My husband and I were flying ICN-JFK in F on the A380 and we were super excited as it was our first real international F. We had boarded first and were poking around our seats (me in 1J, Mr.GPY in 2J) and there were 4 other passengers (in 1A, 2A, 2D, 3A) so we had a side of the plane all to ourselves. The FA had warmly welcomed us and was getting our PDBs.

As we were busy acting like kids on Christmas morning a British woman with a cane and a very noticeable limp boards and takes the seat behind us. Within seconds an FA comes and very politely asks for her boarding pass and lets her know that business is up the stairs. The woman says she knows but she doesn't EVER climb stairs and it would be impossible with her leg and she MUST sit in first - look! cane! she can barely even walk! There is a lot of back and forth as the FA (and another FA) explain to her over and over that they understand and they can help her up the stairs but that she can not sit in First. Mrs.DYKWIA refuses to move and says had she knows business was only on the upper level she would have paid for first and that they should have told her at check in since it was "obvious" she had trouble walking. At this point I went back to exploring my seat and she was escorted out of F back towards economy.

We had an awesome flight. Had some champagne, some red, Mr.GPY cracked open the JWBlue, we took a field trip to the bar upstairs where made friends with Mrs.2D. It turns out her husband is a KE pilot and she was flying with her mother in law in 2A. Her husband was sitting in coach with their sons and let her have the other seat in F. What a husband! I slept fitfully for 6 hours since it was too warm, but all in all - it was amazing.

When we landed in JFK J passengers had already starting coming down the stairs but were being held back so we could get off first. We made our way through immigration, picked up our checked bag and as we headed to the taxi line someone raced by us - why, by some miracle Mrs.DYKWIA had been blessed by the angels in heaven during the flight and no longer needed her cane to walk! Hallellujah, praise Jesus! She jogged past us without the slightest sign of a limp so she could cut us in the taxi line. I would like to say I didn't make a slightly snarky comment to Mr.GPY just loud enough to be overheard...but I would be lying.
Haha, great story. Good on the FAs for sticking to what's right. Ignorance shouldn't be an excuse for things such as this, especially when there are other ways around it (such as getting help up the stairs). Don't the ICN jetways for a380s have a ramp to the UD anyway?
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Old Jun 1, 2017, 10:12 am
  #3  
gpy
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Hm, I'm not sure if there's a ramp to the UD. The last time we flew out of ICN was in 2009 and it wasn't on the A380. That would certainly make sense though!
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Old Jun 1, 2017, 11:07 am
  #4  
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Originally Posted by eeflyer
Don't the ICN jetways for a380s have a ramp to the UD anyway?
Yes they do.
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Old Jun 6, 2017, 9:09 am
  #5  
 
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Great story and good for the FA to stick to what is right.

Now, I may have a similar situation coming up.

Soon, my wife, me, and a new born (no seat) will be on F. My 3 year old daughter will be on J with her own seat with grandpa and grandma.

Being only 3-year old, I think she will be on our laps most of the time anyway. In addition, she is a daddy-girl and will go where I go . I am not sure if she will stay in J with grandma while I seat in F.

I am hoping the FA will allow her to seat at F with me during the flight. Do you think that is possible?

Anyway, I am prepare to switch seat with one of the grandparent and seat with her in J.
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Old Jun 6, 2017, 4:29 pm
  #6  
 
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Originally Posted by youarewbd
I am hoping the FA will allow her to seat at F with me during the flight. Do you think that is possible?.
Possible? Very small chance. Should they? No.
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Old Jun 6, 2017, 9:06 pm
  #7  
gpy
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I would guess not, particularly if there are other guests in F who may not be fans of toddlers in F, much less those without a ticketed seat. You could trade with one of your in laws? Though I'm sure that's not ideal

The woman in 1A was very elderly and was traveling with a companion who was in economy. The woman could barely walk or feed herself and it would have been much more helpful for the companion to sit next to her but that was not allowed so I'm guessing they are quite strict with the rules.
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Old Jun 7, 2017, 7:50 pm
  #8  
 
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Originally Posted by gpy
Hi Flyertalk! long time lurker and random commenter, but this is my first thread. Thank you all for providing so much insight - I am now considered the travel guru amongst my friends and it's all because of you I've now planned an even bigger, better trip to Asia this Fall using everything I've learned!

On to the story...

This is a story about a DYKWIA situation I've never experienced before. My husband and I were flying ICN-JFK in F on the A380 and we were super excited as it was our first real international F. We had boarded first and were poking around our seats (me in 1J, Mr.GPY in 2J) and there were 4 other passengers (in 1A, 2A, 2D, 3A) so we had a side of the plane all to ourselves. The FA had warmly welcomed us and was getting our PDBs.

As we were busy acting like kids on Christmas morning a British woman with a cane and a very noticeable limp boards and takes the seat behind us. Within seconds an FA comes and very politely asks for her boarding pass and lets her know that business is up the stairs. The woman says she knows but she doesn't EVER climb stairs and it would be impossible with her leg and she MUST sit in first - look! cane! she can barely even walk! There is a lot of back and forth as the FA (and another FA) explain to her over and over that they understand and they can help her up the stairs but that she can not sit in First. Mrs.DYKWIA refuses to move and says had she knows business was only on the upper level she would have paid for first and that they should have told her at check in since it was "obvious" she had trouble walking. At this point I went back to exploring my seat and she was escorted out of F back towards economy.

We had an awesome flight. Had some champagne, some red, Mr.GPY cracked open the JWBlue, we took a field trip to the bar upstairs where made friends with Mrs.2D. It turns out her husband is a KE pilot and she was flying with her mother in law in 2A. Her husband was sitting in coach with their sons and let her have the other seat in F. What a husband! I slept fitfully for 6 hours since it was too warm, but all in all - it was amazing.

When we landed in JFK J passengers had already starting coming down the stairs but were being held back so we could get off first. We made our way through immigration, picked up our checked bag and as we headed to the taxi line someone raced by us - why, by some miracle Mrs.DYKWIA had been blessed by the angels in heaven during the flight and no longer needed her cane to walk! Hallellujah, praise Jesus! She jogged past us without the slightest sign of a limp so she could cut us in the taxi line. I would like to say I didn't make a slightly snarky comment to Mr.GPY just loud enough to be overheard...but I would be lying.
Great story, thanks for sharing!

In regard to the bold, I have found that if you are very polite but very firm, they WILL turn down the temperature. I cannot understand why they keep it so warm - standard seems to be 27 degrees C. More than once I have been able to get them to turn it down to 22. Which is hardly cold, but is bearable. I actually travel with a small batter operated fan just in case.
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Old Jun 7, 2017, 9:14 pm
  #9  
gpy
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Great tip! We have 4 upcoming F flights on KE so I'm definitely going to try and get them to turn the heat down. We just bought USB fans after reading this tip elsewhere. They'll also come in handy in some of the Asian hotels where the AC is controlled by the building. I love Asia but the lack of AC really can get to me after a while.
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Old Jun 8, 2017, 10:32 pm
  #10  
 
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Originally Posted by gpy
Hi Flyertalk! long time lurker and random commenter, but this is my first thread. Thank you all for providing so much insight - I am now considered the travel guru amongst my friends and it's all because of you I've now planned an even bigger, better trip to Asia this Fall using everything I've learned!

On to the story...

This is a story about a DYKWIA situation I've never experienced before. My husband and I were flying ICN-JFK in F on the A380 and we were super excited as it was our first real international F. We had boarded first and were poking around our seats (me in 1J, Mr.GPY in 2J) and there were 4 other passengers (in 1A, 2A, 2D, 3A) so we had a side of the plane all to ourselves. The FA had warmly welcomed us and was getting our PDBs.

As we were busy acting like kids on Christmas morning a British woman with a cane and a very noticeable limp boards and takes the seat behind us. Within seconds an FA comes and very politely asks for her boarding pass and lets her know that business is up the stairs. The woman says she knows but she doesn't EVER climb stairs and it would be impossible with her leg and she MUST sit in first - look! cane! she can barely even walk! There is a lot of back and forth as the FA (and another FA) explain to her over and over that they understand and they can help her up the stairs but that she can not sit in First. Mrs.DYKWIA refuses to move and says had she knows business was only on the upper level she would have paid for first and that they should have told her at check in since it was "obvious" she had trouble walking. At this point I went back to exploring my seat and she was escorted out of F back towards economy.

We had an awesome flight. Had some champagne, some red, Mr.GPY cracked open the JWBlue, we took a field trip to the bar upstairs where made friends with Mrs.2D. It turns out her husband is a KE pilot and she was flying with her mother in law in 2A. Her husband was sitting in coach with their sons and let her have the other seat in F. What a husband! I slept fitfully for 6 hours since it was too warm, but all in all - it was amazing.

When we landed in JFK J passengers had already starting coming down the stairs but were being held back so we could get off first. We made our way through immigration, picked up our checked bag and as we headed to the taxi line someone raced by us - why, by some miracle Mrs.DYKWIA had been blessed by the angels in heaven during the flight and no longer needed her cane to walk! Hallellujah, praise Jesus! She jogged past us without the slightest sign of a limp so she could cut us in the taxi line. I would like to say I didn't make a slightly snarky comment to Mr.GPY just loud enough to be overheard...but I would be lying.
My god, I really hope she heard your comment. Let her know people are onto her bs.
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Old Jun 8, 2017, 10:52 pm
  #11  
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The NYC-Florida flights are known for their miracle cures, with people using wheelchairs to board early and then sprinting off the aircraft at the destination, but this is the first time I heard of this phenomenon TPAC. The attempt to use the faked disability to get a free upgrade to FC is creative too. I'm glad it didn't work.
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Old Jun 9, 2017, 2:11 am
  #12  
 
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Even in Y, which I always travel, I have had no issues telling them I am too hot and ask to turn the cool air a bit stronger. They have always apologized, checked the temperature, brought me a glass of ice water, and turned the air on for a bit.
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Old Jun 9, 2017, 4:22 am
  #13  
 
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In a sense they are turning the "air" OFF...not on... ambient air temp at altitude requires heating before being introduced to the cabin......
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Old Jun 11, 2017, 2:19 pm
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There should be a KE DYKWIA thread...
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Old Jun 11, 2017, 4:46 pm
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Originally Posted by trooper
In a sense they are turning the "air" OFF...not on... ambient air temp at altitude requires heating before being introduced to the cabin......
Actually thats not how the air system works on airplanes (except for the 787). In a simplified way the air is fed into cabin from engines (engine bleed air). That air is at approx. 250 degrees when it exits the engine, so it needs to be cooled down to ambient temperature before it could be used in cabin.

Google/wiki ''Environmental control system'', its quite interesting.
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