Originally Posted by
Mike Rivers
So, one way or the other, it's about the money. As a retired occasional flyer, I pay less for my infrequent flights than I (rather, whoever was sending me out) paid for my frequent flights when I was working. Still, I found that when I used my miles to upgrade a full fare (paid by my employer) to first class, I wasn't treated quite the same as other passengers in 1st. On a flight with a meal, for example, I'd be among the last to be asked what I wanted to eat, and often they were out of my first choice.
Honestly, we hear all sorts of rants about how AA has bad service, doesn't understand so and so's status... and now we're supposed to believe that the FA's know who is on a rev ticket vs. upgraded. In all my AA flying (a lot), I've NEVER seen meals offered based on how someone got in the cabin. It's basically one direction - FEBO in the old days now flight direction.
The only airline that prioritized meal service that I recall was UA which, back in the day (I don't know about now) prioritized 1Ks over paid F which, I will say, p*ssed me off to no end.