My Colleague Was Bumped from Upgraded F Seat by a Celeb
Dec 18, 2017, 1:19 pm
#91
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Joliet, IL
Programs: HHonors Diamond, UA Plat.
Posts: 147
The sense of entitlement in this thread is strong. I'm an EXP. I was flying ORD-SAN on award tickets with my daughter on Memorial Day weekend this year. We were upgraded at the gate. We were boarded and in our seats. We were then informed that they had a late arriving paid F passenger and we would have to go back to coach. I don't know the full reason. I was very annoyed and let the agent know that, but I got up with my daughter and we went back to the MCE seats we were assigned and life went on.
The sense of outrage on display here is disturbing. The customer received exactly what they paid for. You'd have every right to be annoyed in this situation. I certainly was. But BFD. No one received any lasting harm. And if flying in F was of that much importance to you, buy an F seat.
Dec 18, 2017, 1:26 pm
#92
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: DCA
Posts: 7,769
I was very annoyed and let the agent know that, but I got up with my daughter and we went back to the MCE seats we were assigned and life went on.
The sense of outrage on display here is disturbing. The customer received exactly what they paid for. You'd have every right to be annoyed in this situation. I certainly was. But BFD. No one received any lasting harm. And if flying in F was of that much importance to you, buy an F seat.
Dec 18, 2017, 1:31 pm
#93
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Joliet, IL
Programs: HHonors Diamond, UA Plat.
Posts: 147
Now I am really confused. OP says their colleague just quietly acquiesced and went to the back, whereas you "let the agent know" you were "very annoyed" about the exact same situation. Yet somehow we get references to "lasting harm" and the OP's colleague being accused of all sorts of nasty things when they in fact acted in a less-entitled manner than you admit to acting yourself?
Dec 18, 2017, 1:41 pm
#94
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
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I fail to see anything "outrageous" about the idea that once one is upgraded they remain upgraded. A GA bending the rules to upgrade this guy is what is outrageous. Also, even if the unicorn contract that the NFL Network has with AA guarantees F/J availability on every flight it operates, it would not allow ticketing beyond the normal time parameters. There is no way that Neon Deion getting at the gate at T-11 minutes and demanding an F class seat is supported by said contact IMHO.
Personally, I think people buying a first class seat should be able to bump upgraders, even if they have a BP and have boarded, and I am in the class of people that do not EVER buy first class.
Dec 18, 2017, 1:42 pm
#95
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I fail to see anything "outrageous" about the idea that once one is upgraded they remain upgraded. A GA bending the rules to upgrade this guy is what is outrageous. Also, even if the unicorn contract that the NFL Network has with AA guarantees F/J availability on every flight it operates, it would not allow ticketing beyond the normal time parameters. There is no way that Neon Deion getting at the gate at T-11 minutes and demanding an F class seat is supported by said contact IMHO.
Last edited by mvoight; Dec 19, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Dec 18, 2017, 1:44 pm
#96
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
I have zero problem with that as long as AA does not market it a benefit. Just do what CX does, leave premium seats empty if unsold (and build world-class lounges maybe?)
Last edited by andersonCooper; Dec 18, 2017 at 1:53 pm
Dec 18, 2017, 1:49 pm
#97
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And therein lies the problem. Those pesky customers and their ignorance! We'll teach them a lesson, now won't we?!
People approach these things like matters of law. Oh, the CoC, let's wave that in everyone's face and pound the table; that'll show 'em. I rest my case, blah blah blah. Yeah, you win the battle, but have you lost the war? The $1M lifetime value CK walks - you're proud and list this on your CV, I'm sure. Mr. Parker gives you a promotion?
But these aren't legal problems, they are indeed marketing problems - a discipline which in fact addresses more than "sugarcoating" to avoid damaging "fragile egos". And they are, unfortunately for your bull-in-a-china-shop black-and-white worldview, more nuanced than the prosecutorial mindset you advance can support. AA's business isn't to uphold a legal standard passed down in its CoC, it's to maximize return for its shareholders. Doing so is a balancing act. And, given the resources placed on the AAdvantage program, likely supported by data which you and I are not privy to, I suspect that they believe said program, and its explicit and implied benefits, to be valuable. So, go ahead, off with your best customers' heads, it's just marketing after all. Maybe that flies in your lines of work, but not many others.
If it were me? "Mr. Sanders, I'm so sorry, but this flight is pushing back full. May we escort you to the Flagship Lounge while we arrange for the next flight out in an hour?"
People approach these things like matters of law. Oh, the CoC, let's wave that in everyone's face and pound the table; that'll show 'em. I rest my case, blah blah blah. Yeah, you win the battle, but have you lost the war? The $1M lifetime value CK walks - you're proud and list this on your CV, I'm sure. Mr. Parker gives you a promotion?
But these aren't legal problems, they are indeed marketing problems - a discipline which in fact addresses more than "sugarcoating" to avoid damaging "fragile egos". And they are, unfortunately for your bull-in-a-china-shop black-and-white worldview, more nuanced than the prosecutorial mindset you advance can support. AA's business isn't to uphold a legal standard passed down in its CoC, it's to maximize return for its shareholders. Doing so is a balancing act. And, given the resources placed on the AAdvantage program, likely supported by data which you and I are not privy to, I suspect that they believe said program, and its explicit and implied benefits, to be valuable. So, go ahead, off with your best customers' heads, it's just marketing after all. Maybe that flies in your lines of work, but not many others.
If it were me? "Mr. Sanders, I'm so sorry, but this flight is pushing back full. May we escort you to the Flagship Lounge while we arrange for the next flight out in an hour?"
Since AA has NOT done that, then I assume the company wants the agent to give the seat to the customer who paid for first class.
Dec 18, 2017, 2:15 pm
#98
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,317
The sense of entitlement in this thread is strong. I'm an EXP. I was flying ORD-SAN on award tickets with my daughter on Memorial Day weekend this year. We were upgraded at the gate. We were boarded and in our seats. We were then informed that they had a late arriving paid F passenger and we would have to go back to coach. I don't know the full reason. I was very annoyed and let the agent know that, but I got up with my daughter and we went back to the MCE seats we were assigned and life went on.
The sense of outrage on display here is disturbing. The customer received exactly what they paid for. You'd have every right to be annoyed in this situation. I certainly was. But BFD. No one received any lasting harm. And if flying in F was of that much importance to you, buy an F seat.
Late arriving F, weights and balances, broken seat, FAM, I've been moved for all of them. And some of them apply whether it's paid F or paid Y. It's the argument that AA is w within it's rights to bump you to the back if they can sell a new F ticket at T-11 minutes that I object to. Which of course is almost never as good as the seat you had originally (or could have chose at the time you booked paid F).
Last edited by beachfan; Dec 18, 2017 at 8:05 pm
Dec 18, 2017, 2:24 pm
#100
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
The agent is supposed to follow the C of C. If the airline wants the other behavior, they could change the C of C's to state once upgrade you must keep your seat. (or if you are a CK, you get to keep the upgrade... or some variation thereof)
Since AA has NOT done that, then I assume the company wants the agent to give the seat to the customer who paid for first class.
Since AA has NOT done that, then I assume the company wants the agent to give the seat to the customer who paid for first class.
Dec 18, 2017, 7:31 pm
#101
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
When I was 1K, UA overbooked the J cabin (764 on IAH-EWR) and they were offering $300 downgrade compensation and an E+ seat on a flight departing 35 minutes later. Surprisingly no one took the offer and the last minute overbooked J customer had to take the next flight. No clue if they downgraded someone on that flight or that customer took a seat in Y.