Originally Posted by samtheman

if the screen doesn't say preferred customers and you dont see anyone else in the preferred line, then you are intentionally taking the risk of confrontation if the agent doesn't say "next preferred customer".

maybe the confrontation is unreasonable, maybe u did have the right to go first... but the person in the general line has a valid argument themselves: "the agent is standing under a screen that says all passengers, the agent said 'next customer', i've been waiting the longest, therefore i'm next". i'd buy that argument.

i would advice only taking advantage of your elite status when its explicit you have the right to do something so that no one else gets pissed of. in this case, both you and the other person had valid arguments. therefore, its not too surprising an argument ensued.

but... if there's only one agent... that means the line was probably short anyway. so your net gain was minimal. at busier airports or busier check in counters, you'll probably have multiple agents and at least one helping elite customers. so this question really only primarily applies when the wait is short. therefore its somewhat trivial (although i'm sure there are exceptions)