Lol! Sure, that’s one way to look at it.

If I were AA, though, I’d take the whole scenario into account, including the mystery of why the check in and seat assignment disappeared, the rude actions of the gate agents, and the ridiculous confusion about boarding with no mention of the downgrade, the advice to deplane, the closing of the door during the subsequent discussion with the GAs, and the lies about no confirmed seats being available on later flights, with only an offer of standing by for Y! You should have heard these GAs! They were shouting at him and one even called him crazy (see my OP).

Honestly, my CK status (and his EP status) saved him because I was able to get through to a CK agent who stated she’d be willing to help an EP. It got him rebooked without having to get on a standby list, and it got him back into J without having to go on the upgrade list. As I said above, nice service recovery. He still didn’t find the subsequent 6 hour layover at DFW and the frustration of the entire incident to be so fantastic. Apparently the Flagship Lounge was pleasant enough, though.

Maybe they know he’s a high spend EP, so they were more willing to help. In the end, the assistance was the right thing to do, and I’ll still be loyal to AA, because they generally help me and my family in instances like this.

Service recovery aside, though, the dropped seat and agent behavior remain very disconcerting to me.