runarut

I feel your pain.

I looked like I was 14 when I was your age. Didn't look like a grownup until my mid thirties.

I've experienced similar bad treatment that, at the time, I attributed to age discrimination.

However, I'm not so sure anymore.

It is hard to know or tell with any certainty when people are treating you like a kid, providing bad customer service, or something else just as stupid.

Mrs runarut swears she gets different treatment by airlines because she is a woman. She believes that she is singled out because she is less likely to raise a fuss. (Underlying assumption is that women are less likely to raise a ruckus than men.)

Using her logic, young are less likely to raise a fuss than folks in their prime. Therefore, young are more likely to receive bad customer service.

My belief is that, in general, presentation (how you dress, talk, etc) has more to do with how you are treated than any other factor. Testing my theory is easily done at new car dealers. ;-)

In my life experience, the best solution is to focus on what you can change instead of trying implement change in others. There are things that you can do that improve the odds of good treatment. They can be difficult to figure out. The ones that work best for me required behavioral changes on my part. This doesn't require you to sell out and not be who you are. Think of it like driving a car. Can't drive the car effectively unless you understand the controls.

Also, different airlines have different rules for handling irregular operations. It may be that losing your seat was a matter of airline policy and not the arbitrary whim of a jerk gate agent. Study the forum for your airline to find out how best to position yourself during irregular operations.

Your only consolation is that when you get into your fifties, you may very well look forty as I do. I like looking young now. Sucked when I was in my twenties and early thirties.