Lots of good and valid points made here. My 2 cents, for it's worth: I fly 125K+ miles every year with AA. No, I don't expect something for nothing. I also don't think my $75K in annual spending on AA is nothing; there aren't many pax that contribute that much revenue to an airline. Sometimes I do expect AA to go the extra mile for me. When they toss the occasional upgrade my way, I'm very appreciative. When they make a fare exception or find me an award seat at the last minute, those kinds of things don't go unnoticed by me.

I don't think anyone here is saying that every F or J seat should be filled by pax over employees, no matter what the pax paid. But I do think it makes a great impression on an elite FF when the gate agent hands them the occasional upgrade. As for the argument that "you got what you paid for, so be happy and shut up," all I can say is, I can fly many airlines and get what I paid for. It's the airline (or any other business, for that matter) that sometimes goes above and beyond what is required that will get my $ on a consistent basis.

On occasions when F or J have many open seats, it makes a certain sense to move a few of your best customers into those seats. That doesn't mean pack the cabin with $198 ticket buyers. It means maybe a few elite members and maybe a few employees. I for one, wouldn't want to see the F cabin fill up with cheap-ticket flyers when I've payed big bucks for my ticket; no more than I want to see the cabin fill up with a bunch of employees who know each other and socialize the entire trip. Both instances degrade the value of my ticket. But in an otherwise empty cabin, a few from each group would make a lot of sense.