When I was in the airline biz, I sat on an agent grievence board. The agent in the hot seat had booked 3 phoney pax in First Class to London. He was smart enough to use another agent's computer while it was unattended. He was flying with a buddy to London who was going to stay several months. Just prior to last call, he went to a computer at an adjoining gate and released those 3 seats. He cleared, along with his buddy, for first class.
CO keeps records on all BusinessFirst seats to determine how many are bought for $, for points, comped, using certificates, etc.
When the analyst noticed this activity, they really investigated.
Needless to say, the agent was not as smart as first thought. The knew which computer he was sined on then the phoney pax were booked, and where the attended computer was located. They knew where the computer was located that canceled the rez.
Adding to all of this was the complication that another airline had cancelled a London flight and wanted to buy 3 First Class seats. The lost revenue was noted.
Well, our friend was not so smart, he lost his job.
He applied for NJ unemployment. The unemployment commission denied his application. In addition, the commission urged the airline to seek reimbursement for the lost revenue (about $5700.)
Do they track first and business class seats: YES.