Originally Posted by
SuperFlyBoy
Maybe your father was the politest one at EWR - that's why they gave it to him...
I know the EWR staff well (not that I fly them very much), and they usually follow protocol, but as humans they might have reacted to pains in the a** who might have been demanding/insisting on the upgrade.
I guess this could be the reason. I detest the folks who hound the check-in/gate-staff for the upgrades.
Personally, I should admit that I've done it once (not hounding - just persistency), and that was just because I had already gotten the confirmation email from JP multiple days in advance, so I found it ridiculous that they weren't going to honor the email. After all, the miles were being taken from the account as well. Either way, a few persistent (but polite) requests to the check-in agent, station manager, and gate staff went a long way!