Just got in from flight #1802 EWR to LAX and I am still fuming. Was with a travel companion returning from vacation. I am Gold elite. We were both upgraded and had boarding passes for first class next to each other. Boarded the flight. Right before pushback, a service agent comes on the plane and tells my friend to leave first class and go to a random seat in coach. At this point, we are unable to find 2 seats together. If they had not upgraded us, we would have been together.

Can CO take your seat away without compensation once you are ticketed and on the plane? This seemed quite outrageous to me. Someone said something about a full fare passenger coming on---- but why did that person come on the plane with less than 5 minutes from pushback? Especially in light of the fact that we had boarding passes and were settled in on the plane.

I want to take the position that this is the same as a bump and we should get the compensation for the one seat. Is this too crazy of an argument to try and make?

I will be calling the we-care line Friday. Does anyone have any idea what type of response I will get if any and/or what I should ask for? It certainly devalues the whole point of the elite program if they can take an upgrade away once you are in the ticketed and in the seats.

As an added bonus for me --- the person who came on the plane cursed me out since I would not give him the aisle seat which I was ticketed for. If it was not 9-11, I was about to tell him-- he might be able to buy a first class ticket-- but class can't be bought, but I could tell he was the type that would have flown off the handle so I just thought it

Thanks for letting me vent. Any advice and/or comments on this would be appreciated.