johan rebel

I witness that kind of behavior from time to time, albeit infrequently.

Of course one only notices the ones who sooner or later get caught. Some may get away with it.

On shorthaul KL flights it is common for the purser to do a quick J headcount as soon as boarding has been completed. This sometimes results in pax sitting in seats that should be vacant according to the manifest being asked to show their boarding card. In the majority of cases they turn out to have seated themselves in the wrong seat (but right class), intentionally or inadvertedly.

On longhauls the crew will often go around the cabin with a pax list to take meal or beverage orders before departure, which will catch trespassers out.

Another category of interlopers comprises of those who sneak into the darkened J cabin on night flights to snooze in a flatbed seat. It wouldn't surprise me if quite a few of those don't get caught, or are only noticed when the lights come on for breakfast.

As for those who simply take the first seat they fancy and then expect the rightful occupant to move, I never argue with them. It's the cabin crew's job to sort that out. If that means they end up upgrading me, so much the better.

Some pax of course make honest mistakes. Until United discontinued Global First, I would fly them across the pond. My favorite seat on both the 767 and 777 was 1K. In fact, I've never flown UA longhaul in any other seat than 1K. Except for that one flight when another pax beat me to it. I boarded the aircraft and, purely out of force of habit, sat down in 1K, after stowing my stuff in various lockers and compartments. Not much later, and to my embarrassment, a gentleman with a boarding card for 1K showed up. Fortunately, he accepted my apologies and was happy to take 2K instead.

Johan