When I was an EXP a couple of years ago, an Eagle flight attendant came to me and asked why I wasn't seated in First since I was EXP. I was flying on an Avios award ticket so no dice on the upgrade. No big deal since it was a super short flight (ORD-MSN). She invited me to go ahead and take any seat up front since there was only one other pax in First. I declined since it was such a short flight.