Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but I think this is the best place for me to put this...
Flying ORD-JAX this afternoon on an A319. I had confirmed my u/g a month ago with a CR-1, but my bandmate who is a 1P was waitlisted using e500's. He was #2 on a list of 3 with 2 F seats showing open. I immediately noticed that persons #1 & #3 had the same last name (or at least the same first three letters of their last names). I told my buddy that I hope she (the GA) doesn't skip you and give it to the duo. I decided to keep my eye on things...sure enough, about 20 minutes till boarding I notice a man & woman who are obviously "together" approach the counter, speak with the GA and then remain hovering there.
~2 minutes till boarding and although standby px have been called for seat assignments, there had been no calls for u/g's even though the screen still showed the same thing. I decide to cue up for F boarding, and the suspicious couple is first in line at the podium. About that time I see the GA hand over two F BP's to the couple and then immediately call for F/GS/1K boarding.
My bandmate was standing out of line but nearby and I turned to him and delivered the bad news. He's still new to all of this so he wasn't being proactive at all. I actually felt like I let him down because I knew this was gonna happen and I didn't intervene although I'm sure there wasn't much I could've done.
I really disliked the sneaky way in which the GA (appeared to have) handled this. She made no announcements and then dropped the bomb right as she began boarding which left no time for anyone to approach her and inquire. I realize that I can't say that he got skipped with 100% certainty as I don't know all of the details, but I am pretty sure that he got hosed.
The couple sat in front of me in 1C/1D.
The irony was that two days ago flying ORD-LAX a different band mate was flying with his wife (1P/3P respectively) and they were waitlisted in a somewhat similar situation. However he chose to withdraw the request when he saw that she wasn't gonna make it.