Alvarez said the gate agent called his name and when he walked up to the counter for his upgrade, the agent said he was dressed too casually for first class.
Programs: UA 1K, CO Platinum, FlyingBlue Platinum, HHonors Diamond, UA JCB Card, Yodobashi Gold Card
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I've read several threads on FT about alleged dress codes in first class, and my understanding is that it only applies to non-revenue passengers, not paying passengers.
I don't see why the pax would have been denied the upgrade...sounds like another "GA making up their own rule" thing again...
The quote about being an RCC member is kind of silly...I'm not sure if there is even a way for a GA to know you are an RCC member unless you drop your maroon red card on the ground!
The quote about being an RCC member is kind of silly...I'm not sure if there is even a way for a GA to know you are an RCC member unless you drop your maroon red card on the ground!
To the 'outsider' of this world we have wrapped ourselves in, FF'ing seems somewhat mystical and everything associated with it must be connected. The reporter probably made that connection because Mr. Alvarez did not have his 1K card handy or the red card made better photo contrast than a black card.
I've read several threads on FT about alleged dress codes in first class, and my understanding is that it only applies to non-revenue passengers, not paying passengers.
I don't see why the pax would have been denied the upgrade...sounds like another "GA making up their own rule" thing again...
The quote about being an RCC member is kind of silly...I'm not sure if there is even a way for a GA to know you are an RCC member unless you drop your maroon red card on the ground!
I agree.... The RCC comment is a bit out of place.
I think the bigger question is why one would waste miles to upgrade On such a short hop!!!
Location: SF CA USA. I love large faceless corporations. And they cherish me in return (sometimes). ;)
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Very fishy story. Many (sometimes most) flyers in domestic Biz/First (heck, even International Biz or First) dress casually -- even far more casually than a tracksuit.
As for "upgrading using miles" on a short hop, I agree with others that he probably meant a 500-mile e-cert. IMO, this is perfectly reasonable, as these certs expire and (for most, except those of us who were able to sign up for the exception some time back ) just turn into dust. Use it or lose it, so why not use it? On the other hand, not everyone is savvy about how best to upgrade, etc., so maybe the unfortunate guy really DID waste his miles upgrading a short hop!
You presume he has 500 milers. If he travels that route frequently and upgrades, he would be using them up a lot quicker than he's earning them.
Meh, I am a long time 1P, making 1K for my first time this year and even I earn e500's quicker than I can spend them. I just happened to look at my balance at the beginning of October and saw I had 31 of them. This was after pretty normal use of them on a few ORD-DEN and ORD-LAS (Damn those Ted's still remaining in the system). So now I have resorted to burning two each way, every time I take my weekly ORD-DCA 612 mile trip. I may as well get some value out of them before the unknown in spring.
This guy could be in the same boat. We have no idea what his traveling consists of, but if he is looking at the end of the year and a stack of e500's in his account, "burn 'em".
I have to look the route up and see what he is flying though. Is it a regional?
How absurd. The guy does not look like a slob, he is just dressed casually. I’d rather sit next to him than some of the rif-raf I have seen in F.
I actually have no problem with UA enforcing some sort of F decorum. The question is though, "is there a published standard or is it subjective?" I groan every time I see a girl (actually occasionally a man as well these days) board while wearing PJ's. In C and F, the attire is generally better, but there are outliers that continually surprise me. It sounds like there may in fact be a policy against athletic attire for non revs.
A related question, as the RCC is a 'Club', is there a dress code for entry into the RCC that you have agreed to with your membership.
I am not an advocate for going back to the coat and tie days of airtravel, but I do like the idea of presentable clothing. It is not enough to say collared shirt because that eliminates acceptable fashion T's and such, but is it too much to ask that people show up to fly and not for a slumber party?
) just turn into dust. Use it or lose it, so why not use it? On the other hand, not everyone is savvy about how best to upgrade, etc., so maybe the unfortunate guy really DID waste his miles upgrading a short hop! 
