Hi,

I'm a kettle in that I only travel about 2-3 times per year. I also usually pay the $25 to check my bag. So, guess what, I'm not competing with you FTers for overhead bin space.

I'm not a kettle in that I hate to wait in line. While I fly infrequently, I've been flying since 1975. I know what to do both at the screening point and getting on the plane and I'm considerate of other people.

I have not read FT's mission statement. However, after being an appreciative reader of this site (mostly for the tips on buying travel gear), I have a sense of who the FTer is. If we want to get snooty, I consider there to be a big a difference between many FTers and me (beyond my being a kettle/infrequent flyer).

1. As an infrequent flyer, when I want an upgrade, I pay out of my own pocket. That means my own money, post tax. I have paid for both F and Y tickets. I pay for E+ out of pocket.
2. It seems to me that most of the snooty FTers are not actually paying for their own tickets in the way that I do (paying my own post-tax $). Instead, as consumers, all of us are paying for their upgrades because their companies are either paying for J or F or their companies are paying by letting the employee use the miles or something else. Where do the companies get the $ to pay for the FTers ticket? The consumer.

I get as annoyed as the elite, platinum statused FT when some moron takes extra time at the screening point or gets in the line for "elites" or paid F/J. However, for the average FTer, please consider that, probably, that kettle contributed to your being able to sit in F or J in some indirect way.