NordsFan

What the agent actually said is of some importance, as I fail to see what an AC employee would have to gain by being so explicit in giving an explanation to a status/rev pax about why they could not be accomodated in J....wouldn't such a statement be an admission that the agent hadn't applied correct protocol for UG priority, thus exposing herself to an audit of her management of the flight if someone lodged a complaint ?

It does not bother me one little bit to see airline employees using their travel benefits if protocol was followed. I have sat in the back many times because I was out of certs/eCredits, ineligible fare, reward ticket, etc. and it never crossed my mind to check out who was sitting in J "instead" of me....

I have also shown up at the gate on the run from a late inbound flight after boarding was complete and having been offloaded. The two AC cons who had been assigned our Y seats were pulled off the plane at the very last minute and we boarded just as doors closed. The gate agent and concierge did it on their own with no prompting from me and said, "you are SE, the seats are your first. We crossed paths with the cons on the bridge as they came back up to the gate and they smiled and said "Them's the breaks".