Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: London, ARN, HEL, ..... or MAN
Programs: BA GGL / GFL, Mucci Diamond!, HH Diamond, Radisson Premium, IHG Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 5,897
The action of the passenger as it happens neatly matches the definition of fraud under Section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006, based on the premise that the passenger knew that they were sitting in a higher class than that paid for, with no intention of paying the due fare for that cabin. In the case I described, based on the Gold tags on the passenger's case, it was not an innocent mistake.
Somewhere between the position of "it's OK, let everyone sit where they want, irrespective of the class of service they've paid for" and "arrest every passenger who innocently sits in the wrong seat" is probably the right approach.