But It's A Dry Rain

I've never seen so much chutzpah exhibited on an Alaska Airlines flight.
Flight 558 from Seattle to Palm Springs Friday saw a bleached blonde woman get on board with her much older companion. The pair obviously did not have seats next to each other but apparently both had middle seats. Nevertheless, they sat down together in 9E and 9F and "Paris" told her companion that they'd solve the problem by switching with the rightful seat owner of 9F.
A few minutes later, the 9F rightful seat owner came up and refused "Paris's" deal because it became clear that he would end up in "Paris's" middle seat. She then moved to 9B, her rightful seat.
I wish this were the end of this, but it got worse. After the plane was nearly boarded, "Paris" got out of her middle seat, walked back to the flight attendant at the rear of the plane and said that she WAS NOT going to sit in a middle seat.
Here's why Alaska Airline flight attendants earn their money. The poor flight attendant started walking from the front of coach to the back, asking loudly "Anybody willing to switch from an aisle or window seat to a middle seat? I'm buying all your drinks!"
He got no takers until he reached the rear of the plane, when a volunteer agreed to switch with "Paris." He took her middle seat, and she, happily, took a window seat at the back.
To his credit, the flight attendant had a sense of humor. "That's what you get when you marry for money," he said in an aside to the passengers near him.

beckoa

Great title and Props to the F/A ^

ANC RED-EYE

I hate it when people ask to switch from a non-middle into a middle and then go on to act like you're so insensitive when you decline. I hate it even more when they presumptively sit in your seat, and then act all put out when you decline to switch into their middle. What is with these entitled people, anyway?

tusphotog

By any chance, do you know if her "much older companion" was Alaska's #2 most important flyer?

golfingboy

Did she have a pitiful chihuahua covered in bling in her oversized purse?

BOB W

There is a word that begins with a "B"

hgdf

This is one instance where I'd appreciate it if FA got a little snippy rather than bend over backwards to accommodate someone with a princess complex.

Instead of going down the aisle asking for volunteers he could have just picked up the PA and sarcastically asked for volunteers to ring their call button if interested in switching to a middle seat. The fact that Paris didn't like her seat is not everyone else's problem. If she really can't deal with a middle seat, then she should have dealt with it before boarding the airplane.

Of course the FA did the right thing, and this reflects positively on AS. Still, I'd secretly like to see a FA go a bit Slater on someone like her.

BankerBoy414

"Paris" got out of her middle seat, walked back to the flight attendant at the rear of the plane and said that she WAS NOT going to sit in a middle seat.

That's a simple fix....the door is at the front of the aircraft on the left...you can see yourself off!

BW Flyer

This would be my wish, too ! ^^

beckoa

Oh... her comfort animal

Rather disturbing southpark reference has be made here

SeattleMadrona

I believe we all (AS Gold/75K) gain a huge benefit from being loyal AS travellers. I would argue that the "program" is vastly superior to most elite programs. AS needs to continue to reward it's best customers and almost always I feel that AS treats me like "that" person. It's also incumbent on the buyer to represent themselves in a manner appropriate to the service they are receiving, or better I hope.

Please, if you are that person who feels entitled to extra, or needs to publicize how important you are, rememeber where you came from and who you represent. We all earn allot of attention from the FA's and GA's. Thanks to all of you. Unfortunatley "they" probably do not visit FTalk.

Thanks AS for the great service!

ctporter

I totally agree about how nice AS/QX employees are, in fact, all during Dec I brought along chocolates for the crews as a thank you for the great service they gave me all year. I rarely see the same crew and yet of all my flights last year, there was only ONE FA that was less than stellar. (she was not bad, just not above the minimum required). I did have flights on other airlines (Hainan, Delta, US Air, and AA but those miles did not count for me) and the majority of the FAs on those flights were doing just the bare minimums.

CTP