Originally Posted by
mikebor
I don't think it was for weight and balance reasons because I asked him if the flight attendants would say something to me if I sat in a different seat besides the one I was supposed to. He just printed out a new boarding pass with me in first class and said enjoy, have fun. Still shocked but I thought maybe United does this a lot. Again no status at all.
I mean, I suppose it's possible that the gate agent was just feeling generous. My suspicion is that he was in the process of figuring out who to upgrade for W&B and you happened to be standing there.
Regardless, to answer your question, no, it isn't common.