Originally Posted by
platbrownguy
In ordinary situations, all of this sounds like good advice meaning just say again to the FA: "My seat is 1D, someone else is in it" and let them handle it.
But in this case, (1) it was delayed and it sounds like OP had a legitimate personal interest in not causing a further delay (if in fact they were literally about to close), and (2) it's possible based on the facts related by OP that the upgrade was in fact a glitch. OP: were you #1 or #2 on the list? If you were #2 and weren't expecting to have any chance of getting the upgrade, isn't it possible that #1 on the list actually had a companion listed (i.e. the teenager) who might have appeared lower than you on the list but who was entitled to #1's status? If so, the GA may have asked #1 (mom) whether she wanted to split and if so who (i.e., mom or teenager) was getting the upgrade, and the GA may simply have made an error trying to clear teenager into #1's seat. So OP may well have spent time delaying the flight only to realize that the FA's (likely uninformed, perhaps flippant) remark about a glitch was in fact true. All of that would be in my mind if I were in OP's shoes.
The op interacted with the FA. in the time it took him to do that she could have had a solid answer as to who was sitting in the seat from her mobile device. so unless she lost the thing, there would be no meaningful delay. The last time I had a reason to do this the FA had pulled up the seat assignments that showed who was where in a single second. It's one of the tools they have on the device.
if there was some error and the FA saw the teen in 14b and the op in the F seat, I dont think there would be any delay, the kid would get kicked back to the back and the op would settle in his seat. and push comes to shove, one of the other tools on that mobile device is to allow the FA to text the gate agent directly.
if it matters enough to you that you go to the front to ask whats going on and THEN write a FT thread about it, you might as well be willing to invest 30-60 seconds of time to see it through. If not, dont even bother to ask the FA about it and keep your original seat.