But not necessarily if by themselves in Y?

This is what I have done the last two times flying with AC. I bought two J seats so we could sit together.

I'm sorry but age is immaterial to this question. The child was in Y. By AC's policies it couldn't be alone if it was 6, so unless they screwed up big time, it was with a parent / guardian / responsible person.

The fact the child moved up to the front and took a seat made them TARGET #1 of Flyertalk and Persona-Non-Grata as far the majority of this board is concerned.

If AC couldn't upgrade pregnant lady who was fearful to go to the bathroom (hah, lets ressurrect that thread), this child has no reason to be in the front.

Pay for the damn ticket, use upgrade credits, points to upgrade, or get back to your seat like everyone else. UNless the kid has no arms, no legs, is colour blind, and lost his pet donkey the week prior, I have zero compassion for saying "sure, go enjoy an upgrade for free".

Next thing you know, this 6 year old kid will taking pictures on his cell phone, posting J selfies to instagram and ruining things for the rest of us. Trust me... if his dad is paying for J, I wouldn't be surprised.

And yes... 99% of FT'ers agree... I'm a dick.

Then I'm a 1%er too. I paid significantly more for a seat in Y and would rather not be interrupted by someone's kid who is up there for free. What level of entitlement does someone need to have to bring their children into the forward cabin without paying the fare? The true "dick" in this case is the parent.

This thread continues to attract self-entitled a-holes like bees to honey. Can we just lock it already?

Who's self-entitlement is greater and who is the greater "a-hole?" The passenger who has paid for a premium product and reasonably expects it not to become a free babysitting service for someone else's children or the self-absorbed parent who is too cheap to spring for a more expensive ticket but instead sneaks their kid into the premium class without paying?

The decision to permit a parent to self-upgrade their child affects everyone. If you let one parent do it then you have to let everyone do the same regardless of age or behavior.

This thread perfectly defines why AC takes the art of discretion out of the hands of front line employees, to the level that it can.

Good on SD fo sending the kid back, when this situation presents itself with us, we do one of the following.

Adult takes J seat and another adult sits with kid. I was once upgraded travelling with my ten year old, very simply turned down upgrade and sat with my kid. Not difficult decisions here people. Kids are now 13 and 11 and are fine in Y by themselves.

There's discretion and there's discretion.

My opinion is (and likely always will be) that the system should be good enough that the employees don't need discretion.

But until that happens, discretion needs to be reasonable.

Upgrades need to happen at the gate, except for extraordinary circumstances (like "do we have a doctor onboard?"). I don't care if you're AC*SM on a full J fare, who is somehow sitting in Y. You should have dealt with it at the gate. blah blah YBYL blah blah. I have complained to the SD about people crossing the curtain on a couple occasions. It's always been dealt with to my satisfaction. It's disruptive (and you can't dispute this - the fact that I noticed it means it's disruptive).

Isn't that what this thread is about? Differing opinions about what is reasonable? Some of those opinions appear to be rather firm.

Seriously?

Last I checked, this was a fairly interesting discussion with some differing viewpoints.

Respectfully, if one doesn't like the conversation, one can find a different one.

And if you don't think someone helping himself or a family member to something they did not pay Air Canada for doesn't affect the rest of us, I beg to differ. It might not affect you, it might not be any of your business, but it affects Air Canada and it affects all of us who pay for a product or service for which we are entitled.

But sure, feel free to throw some sand. FT is great therapy if nothing else. :D

Hilarious. That kid who was up front visiting dad was devaluing your precious J seat! Oh my god, the humanity!

Seeya FT, I'm done.

Oh darn, I know, I know I said I'd written my last word on this topic. Leave it to 24left to pique my interest with a comment. Rather than launch into a rebuttal, I'd like to ask questions about the above quote.

How does a child moving forward to sit, merely sit, beside Dad in J affect a fellow passenger in that cabin? How does it alter your "product or service": the experience, the space, the use of on-board amenities, the business-class benefits, the miles accrual, the time spent en route, the attention from staff or the ability to purchase that same product in future? One may begrudge somebody receiving a product for which they didn't pay full price, but my question here is: why?

I'd venture that - unless the kid raided the Kit-Kat bin (!) - it would difficult to point to a tangible diminishment of another passenger's current, in-the-moment experience.

No way. I don't believe it.