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FA permitting a "self upgrade" to MCE/exit row after boarding door closes

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FA permitting a "self upgrade" to MCE/exit row after boarding door closes

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Old Nov 21, 2017, 9:30 am
  #166  
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Originally Posted by serfty
Comfort plus on DL is a separate booking class. W is different from all other fare buckets. Specific overhead storage bins are reserved for C+ PAX. On longer domestic flights it comes with complimentary Cocktails.

That is completely different from AA's MCE and should not be compared.
Yeah, I don't get why that makes the two products so FUNDAMENTALLY different such that on one they won't let you move there after the door closes, and on the other they do. And to be technical, Delta's comfort plus is only a separate booking class on domestic flights, not international. Should they therefore thus have different policies? That argument doesn't make any sense.

I think there are just differing fundamental viewpoints about this topic that no amount of justification with respect to the argument of either side will solve. Like any number of social issues that are increasingly fracturing our country. But hopefully not as bad.
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Old Nov 21, 2017, 1:10 pm
  #167  
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Originally Posted by cmd320
Except that isn't what's happening here at all. Go to the store and pay for a regular sized bag of M&Ms then try to walk out with a king size bag. That's a more accurate comparison.

AA needs to outline an actual policy regarding MCE and then enforce it. Every other airline that offers an extended economy product does this.
I have only seen it where an airline has a Premium Economy product, not where the airline is just charging differing amounts for advanced selection of seating within the economy cabin . MCE is just a name given to some of the economy seats

If AA was allowing upgrades to Premium Economy cabin , that would be different
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Old Nov 21, 2017, 3:09 pm
  #168  
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Originally Posted by Dave Noble
I have only seen it where an airline has a Premium Economy product, not where the airline is just charging differing amounts for advanced selection of seating within the economy cabin . MCE is just a name given to some of the economy seats

If AA was allowing upgrades to Premium Economy cabin , that would be different
Both UA and B6 will charge people who self-upgrade to Y+/EMS on board the aircraft. DL obviously has C+ set as a separate fare class.
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Old Nov 23, 2017, 12:22 pm
  #169  
 
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I've had two experiences on the king of the nickle dimers Ryan Air. Other than the fact that I paid a 'significant' amount more to sit in the exit row, I had one flight that the FA activity asked people if they wanted to sit in the other 11 empty seats in the exit row.

I mostly paid for the ability to select my seats and have access to the exit row and the first couple of rows in the cabin.

My feeling is that if Ryan Air doesn't have it's FA's actively taking money for those seats you are not going to see it on AA or others
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Old Sep 9, 2019, 4:24 pm
  #170  
 
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UA has humorously weighed in on this topic.
A passenger in Economy tweeted UA complaining FA's would make him pay extra if he sat in the Economy Plus section despite a couple of rows there being empty and his row was packed after the doors closed. UA's Twitter response was.

"Hi, Krunal. Economy Plus seats do carry an extra charge and letting customers move to those seats is not fair to the customers who did pay for the upgrade. ^BA" ... "The customers who choose to pay for Economy Plus are then afforded that extra space. If you were to purchase a Toyota, you would not be able to drive off with a Lexus, because it was empty. ^BA"

Why is AA the only carrier of the big 3 that allow squatters from Economy into MCE free of charge?

Source: https://thepointsguy.com/news/flying...youre-onboard/
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Old Sep 9, 2019, 4:48 pm
  #171  
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Originally Posted by rjw242
Neat. How many 500-mile upgrades or SWUs do you use each year to get into MCE?
I normally use double or triple the number required.
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Old Sep 9, 2019, 4:57 pm
  #172  
 
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Originally Posted by Oakshadow
UA has humorously weighed in on this topic.
A passenger in Economy tweeted UA complaining FA's would make him pay extra if he sat in the Economy Plus section despite a couple of rows there being empty and his row was packed after the doors closed. UA's Twitter response was.
"Hi, Krunal. Economy Plus seats do carry an extra charge and letting customers move to those seats is not fair to the customers who did pay for the upgrade. ^BA" ... "The customers who choose to pay for Economy Plus are then afforded that extra space. If you were to purchase a Toyota, you would not be able to drive off with a Lexus, because it was empty. ^BA"
So, someone actually believes UA economy is a Toyota, and UA economy plus is a Lexus? I'm pretty sure a Chevy Aveo gives you more room than UA economy.
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Old Sep 9, 2019, 6:23 pm
  #173  
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Originally Posted by Oakshadow
Why is AA the only carrier of the big 3 that allow squatters from Economy into MCE free of charge?
Probably because AA is picking its battles with its FAs, with whom it already has major problems.
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Old Sep 9, 2019, 7:31 pm
  #174  
 
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Originally Posted by joe_miami
Probably because AA is picking its battles with its FAs, with whom it already has major problems.
Exactly. And with its customers. One less thing to argue/confront/have an altercation/delay the plane about.

As a fellow passenger with a lot more on my mind to ding AA (or any other airline) for this, its not really something that strikes me as an issue to worry about.
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Old Sep 9, 2019, 7:46 pm
  #175  
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Sort of surprised that AA hasn't copied DL yet and made MCE a separate class of service like C+ is.
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Old Sep 9, 2019, 8:06 pm
  #176  
 
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Originally Posted by cmd320
Sort of surprised that AA hasn't copied DL yet and made MCE a separate class of service like C+ is.
AA had mostly eliminated MCE except exit rows and bulk heads. Yest on a 738 - the first three rows are MCE, but this is a reduction from the past.

On international flights - MCE is spread all over the cabin and on the 77W the only few rows are the middle seats in the back part of the aircraft - except bulk head.

AA has done little to differentiate MCE - like UA has for E+ and DL for C+. UA sells E+ even for in flight upgrade. AA lets people on Basic Economy tickets move up - and they know they can and they buy BE seats.

AA wants more seats - and doesn't worry about trying to sell MCE.
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Old Sep 9, 2019, 8:12 pm
  #177  
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However, AA was the airline that tried the "more space throughout coach" failed experiment and discovered that most coach passengers will not pay anything extra for more legroom.
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Old Sep 9, 2019, 11:51 pm
  #178  
 
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Is E+ free for elites on UA? I’m a lowly Gold on AA, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an entire row of MCE empty let alone 3, and rarely even see anything but middles empty in AA MCE
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Old Sep 10, 2019, 8:09 am
  #179  
 
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Originally Posted by GoPhils
Is E+ free for elites on UA? I’m a lowly Gold on AA, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an entire row of MCE empty let alone 3, and rarely even see anything but middles empty in AA MCE
It happens on RJs at off-peak times. I've been on Saturday morning flights where every elite got upgraded to F, leaving entire MCE section empty. I didn't see whether they allowed anyone to move into MCE or not.
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Old Sep 10, 2019, 8:19 am
  #180  
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I've seen times when there's been one person in each row of MCE and the remainder of the a/c completely full. You see this on non summer Saturday afternoons and evenings and early Sundays when there are probably fewer elites traveling. I think we will see fewer MCE seats, particularly given the number of Group 9 paxs that end up in MCE.
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