Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
I saw about a half dozen people move up to BE on my most recent international flight. According to the seat map, the BE cabin was perhaps sixty or seventy percent full shortly before takeoff and then a bunch of people just moved up. When we arrived, I even asked a DL staff member at ATL whether a certain three seats near me were supposed to be empty or full and the person told me that they were empty according to the seat map on DL's computers at that time, after the flight.
It seems strange that the FAs allowed it, given how much DL emphasizes "protecting" the "integrity" of the BE cabin. I could easily imagine BE passengers being upset at seeing this.
OT but at the risk of letting the dogs out...I've seen this happen on an international flight and it was nonrevs who moved. The flight had a weight & balance issue such that they wanted to minimize weight in the forward cabin for takeoff and landing. The captain, GA & on-board leader discussed it and as nonrevs were cleared they were told the procedure to follow - sit in coach until cruising altitude, then moved to a designated seat in J.
Of course I can't say that's what happened on your flight, simply providing some context having seen it happen before.