Time traveller

The only way I think this can happen is that the person is an AA employee and knows the purser and other FAs personally. They sometimes will put non-revs in F if the cabin is empty, but otherwise if the passenger is a paying Y passenger, the story doesn't add up.

IflyonAA

I once was op-upped at LHR on a flight to ORD. Instead of issuing a new BP they simply wrote the new seat assignment on my existing BP. I was questioned by FA but was allowed to sit.

On a 777 or a 767 flight I'm 99% sure they do not do a head count.

ijgordon

I'm not sure they actually do. I've bought an extra seat several times over the last couple of years (mostly on DL, but recently on AA). If the FAs do a count, and if they're not aware that there's a passenger with an extra seat, the count will be off. Now, I do make a point to mention to whoever is scanning the BPs that we have an extra seat, but it rarely seems to register. And in these cases I've been pretty attuned to watching the FAs in expectation that if there does seem to be an issue, I can let them know and prevent any unnecessary delays. But I haven't seen them counting. Now, I guess it's possible that (1) they can count empties so subtly that someone watching to see them count can't even tell, and (2) when they come up one pax short, the GA is fully aware of the extra seat.

Of course this is for domestic Y. I would fully expect a seat count / manifest verification in international premium class for both service delivery and to prevent interlopers.

Steve M

Yes, really. They would assume that the extra passenger in F is the same as the missing passenger in Y, and that the gate upgraded them for whatever reason at some point after the manifest was printed. That would be the normal course of things when a passenger got moved between cabins after the manifest was printed: one cabin would show an extra passenger, and another a missing one. That, combined with the purser or other FA having personally seen the boarding pass (and not realizing that it was for a different flight) provides a complete explanation. I'm not saying it happened that way, as I wasn't there. But it certainly could have happened that way.

Upgraded!

While I still don't believe the story, here is one other scenario, which IMO, seems more plausible in that it doesn't require the "perfect storm" of events in order to work:

Perhaps someone did realize what happened and the FA who directed the roommate to his seat said "oh yea, that's my friend" because they were too embarrassed to admit that they hadn't actually looked at the BP closely enough to determine it was for that particular flight?

If there are unwritten allowances for a FA to op-up a friend/relative/co-worker then perhaps this particular FA felt that this would be the path of least embarrassment where the roommate would get an F seat he didn't pay for and the FA wouldn't have to explain why the BP wasn't checked more diligently.

milkchug

I have seen on at least one occasion a person being escorted from first class to the last row of the plane. That really is the walk of shame, even on a 737.

jpzeller

Sounds like my American Eagle flight from SAN to LAX Saturday. Woman sat down in the first row like she owned it, and didn't appear the least bit flustered when caught.

I've also seen in tried (in J) LHR-ORD. FA was all over it, and was surprisingly polite about ejecting the doofus ("But I bought a $500 upgrade at the gate" while showing his boarding pass for 36F or something.)

MiamiFlyer

Have done about 60 TATL's, all in J. A few times, the F/A's have asked for a BP from someone who shouldn't be there. Don't think I have ever seen anyone get away with it, although I have heard the most ridiculous excuses. Where I have seen people get away with it is on the late night transcon 738 flights. The cabin goes dark, someone from Y uses the F/C restroom, and then (if there is an empty row) simply sits down in F. Once the F/A noticed, but the other two times it went unchallenged.

FlightNurse

Steve, lots of communication happens between the purser and GA, if there was a last minute upgrade, the GA would let the purser know of this. The manifest is the bible of the flight. If on the manifest shows 3 in FC and there are 4, trust me the purser would be all over it. It basically comes down to showing a BP....

cxn

On an AE flight yesterday. Saw someone 'move up' to first during boarding. After takeoff the FA went up with the manifest and asked for the boarding pass. PAX was booted to Y.

beckoa

"Have you ever flown in First Class? No? Then you don't know what you're missing"

On WN to boot.

Sounds fishy to me...

SDQBound

A few weeks ago I was sitting in J from MIA to CDG. A gentleman boarded with his wife, and, as he entered the cabin, he looked at me and told me, in a very unpolite way, that I was on his seat. Of course, the FA would check the BP of 25 yr old guy and not the gentleman's BP. To their surprise, I was in my seat, and Mr. "You are in my seat" was sitting a row behind.

After landing, the gentleman and his wife engaged in a conversation with me and apologized, stating that they always fly in row 2 and not row 3.

I'm pretty sure I ruined someone's story and that if I would have been in the wrong seat, I would have been in this thread too, as many passengers were already looking at me as if I was getting busted.

ESPECIALROB

Yeah! I enjoy watching passengers attempting a self-upgrade and then getting busted and sent on the "walk of shame" back to Y.

ijgordon

Maybe we should start a thread for this? Would love to hear some!

ETA: For entertainment purposes of course. I would never try this myself! Too much dignity.

MiamiFlyer

After almost 4 decades and a couple of thousand flights, there are dozens/scores of stories. Unfortunately, I have forgotten most of them..