Originally Posted by
canadiancow
The big issue is knowing whether or not the seat is actually empty. They could be in the bathroom, visiting someone at another seat, etc.
If you're confident it's actually empty, just refuse to sit down until it's occupied. In these situations I don't even care if I get the upgrade, but SOMEONE deserves it.
Basically don't believe the GA :/
Sometimes it helps to be really clear what you want, and why you're waiting. But it sounds like you did that, and were still given incorrect information. You can try to see the boarding count by zone on their screen, as in your situation, there should have been 2 left in zone 1 (you two) and 0 in zone 2. Zone 2 can mean many things, but if it's not 0, there's a chance PY hasn't boarded full yet.
Yes, it was empty at boarding, and remained that way the entire flight. The count went down to 23, and based on overhearing the guy talk to the FA, there was never anyone in the seat.
I also didn't care if it was me sitting there or not (I'd prefer it to be me of course, but there were higher priority people on the list). I just don't like seeing the seat empty after that many people were on the list.
I was very clear with the GA what I was looking for, and he understood that. The first GA dismissed my question about being "boarded full" and just said "it's full", but eventually she removed me from being boarded so I was back on the list.
Also frustrating as I had already used credits on a connecting flight, so any upgrade on 123 would've been at 0 additional cost.