WOW!
My experiences are completely different. I would never consider sitting in a class higher than that of my superior. To me, that would be like making my mom/dad/girlfriend sit in coach while I enjoyed first class. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for my boss, and to me, that would include trading seats.
I was EXP and he was Platinum, but there was never a situation where I was upgraded and he was not. If it would have occurred, I would have insisted that he take the first class seat.
On my last job, I was responsible for our travel. I made sure that my boss always had the better of available seats when selecting online. I would feel uncomfortable the entire flight if I were in a better spot. Of course, in retrospect, I should have given him the worse seat and then switched when we got on the plane. He probably never realized that all the good seats were by design.
I did use my upgrades (3) on a flight when we were both Platinum and decided to upgrade at the gate since he did not have enough “coupons” in his account.
One of the reasons I was able to attain EXP is because my last boss allowed me to fly AA even when it wasn't the lowest fare. Of course, the reason I was able to fly at all is because I had a job, and he was responsible for that.
It just seems that the boss deserves the preferential treatment. Now, I have my own company. I would expect the same treatment.
Sam