uyflyer

All

I just want to rely my experience yesterday at EWR and the technique I used to avoid being screwed, with hopes that others may find it useful.
Briefly:

Flight 90 EWR-TLV, sCO 777-200. I reserved seat 8E (my favorite ) at booking. My boarding pass was also for 8E. As group 1 starts to board I got called to the podium and without explanation my 8E BP is taken away and I am given 10B. I asked the reason for this (it could have been a FAM although unlikely in 8E) or a broken seat. Was told that the seat was needed as "crew rest".---Umm, no, I fly enough sC0 777s to know that 8E is not a crew rest seat. I pull the united app, look at the upgrade list, and sure enough, a couple upgraded at the gate had now 8D and 8E (I know that they were upgraded at the gate because the app did not show any upgrades processed at T-4). Showed it to the GA and the answer is: no, people with a check mark next to the names are not upgraded, the ones below with no checks (and incidentally no seat assignments) are the ones upgraded..Umm, no. At this point the GA tells me that either I take 10B or I will not be in that flight. At this point I said fine, just put it in writing, both the explanation and the threat and I will happily take the seat and be on my way.
She tells me that she will not put anything in writing and repeats that I either take 10B or don't fly. During all these interactions she kept her badge turned towards her, so that her name was not visible and I did not ask for a name not to escalate an already bad situation. I did however request the presence of a supervisor (a red coat) and repeated my request for a written record. At this point the supervisor agrees that I was improperly bumped and restores my 8E seat. I was one of the last passengers to board, due to all this back and forth. As icing on the cake, once I was seated, the GA came on board and asked me if I was "happy" now.. The sad thing is that, had they asked nicely, I would probably have switched seats, just for good karma, even though it was clear to me that this was the GA poaching the 2 best seats in that cabin for what I can only assume where her (late upgraded) friends. But I would not do so under lies and threats.

Moral of the story, ask for a written record of the reasons why you are being moved. If it is not a legitimate reason, you may be made whole (sorts of) again.

Before anyone jumps with a "first world problems: being moved from a nice BF seat to a slightly less nicer one" comment: this is not about the seat. It is about the lies, threats and utterly unprofessional behavior of some GAs. I have been a 1K for the past 10 years, have about 1.6M biz and by early february will have about 30K miles this year, at least half of them in D, B or M fares. If this type of behavior is tolerated, I will be happy to take my business elsewhere and return to UA (maybe) if and when they clean house.

Safe travels to all

FriendlySkies

Send an email to Jeffrey to let him know about his rogue GA.

SFO777

First world problem or not, definitely complain to UA.

milepig

Rogue agent indeed.

I had a similar situation leaving MAN, but the GA called me up and asked if I'd mind moving a row back so he could accommodate a couple. I gladly said yes, but if he'd just tossed me a new BP I'd have been angry too.

aacharya

Exactly how a situation like this should be handled.

OP - did you talk with the passenger in 8D?

alexperi

As someone who travels the EWR-TLV route a lot in coach, and is always trying to use GPUs, and nearly always failing to have them clear the waitlist, I wish I had your problems... :-(

uyflyer

The couple for which the GA tried to poach 8D and 8E flew in row 9. I have no idea what happened to the person originally assigned to 8D. I did talk to the person that actually flew in 8D. He was also moved from his original seat to accommodate this couple, also with some BS story. I showed him the upgrade list and was quite surprised to learn that the story he had been told was false

edcho

-- I wish they didn't lie.

uyflyer

Sorry to hear that. I can guarantee that there were at least 5 people upgraded yesterday at the gate, as per mobile.united.com (including the GA friends, originally assigned to 10B and 9D)

y2k1jetta

The best weapon is to use your cell phones video or voice recorder and leave it on why any conversation takes place with anyone representing any company on services paid for. You can tell them that you are recording this conversation for our protection and my family's training material. But I usually do not tell until the food is served or the flight is over. It's not legal for court but it will make you feel better on a 12 hour flight and when the cheese is served with the whine, you can watch/listen to it over and over.

y2k1jetta

Ask me after you fly with your spouse/partner in FC separate seats and the GA moves someone for you two to sit together. Then we can chat. It's a 2 way street Mr. Elite. We have all been moved many times to accommodate something without being asked, but this was his 'favorite' seat. LOL.

SFO777

Spare me. Even you should know that there is a right way and this a wrong way to accomplish this.

uyflyer

Your "strategy" is illegal and will get you rightfully thrown out of the airport, escorted by 2 un-amused gentlemen dressed in blue. At least I am trying to be constructive, sharing a strategy that at the end worked and some may find useful. Feel free not to use it next time you are moved (or downgraded) or if you don't mind being jerked around by a GA to accommodate her friends.

y2k1jetta

It is not illegal. If you do not know the law then don't play 'My Cousin Vinny' with me. Please follow up with some legal briefings. It's good reading.

colpuck

If they were NRSA passengers this is decidedly not ok. the first rule of NRSA passengers is they take the seats they get. Next, if they were upgraded, they should have just asked on the plane.

An e-mail is justified here maybe with a little less drama.