I admit this is sort of a strange question, but hear me out please. Here is the scenario:
My best friend has asked me to come along with he and his 2 children to Thailand in November (SFO - HKG - BKK RT). The 3 of them all share the same last name and mine is of course different. My thought was to cash in miles for 2 business class seats under his childrens name and then purchase 2 economy tickets under our names so we can get AA miles. The thought was to change seats with the children (they are 13 and 10) once on board.
I have actually done this before (3 years ago) with no issues whatsoever. I happened to mention this to the AAdvantage desk when checking availability and they quickly told me it would not be allowed on CX. They explained about the manifest matching who is sitting where and with the new security procedures in place since 9/11 that changing seats is not allowed, especially between cabins of service. I'm not questioning any security procedures at all, but I am asking you all (the CX experts) what you think? Being that they are my friends children, if we explained this when checking in, would they allow it or not? Thank you for your feedback.