Some of this is a result of the Big 6 having been bitten by us: how many passengers have told white lies to make their cases more sympathetic to a CSR or gate agent? How many strategies are there on this board to get a little extra out of UA? The more they sense us "gaming the system," the less likely they are to allow front-line employees to make exceptions to the rules.

Of course, one reason for all of our scheming is that the Big 6 have made the system impossibly complicated. There are so many levels of service, so many types of tickets and fares, and so many rules that it's tempting to push the envelope to get what we want. In the end, it's both the bean counters and some bad apples among our ranks who have spoiled "old-fashioned" service for the rest of us.