My Colleague Was Bumped from Upgraded F Seat by a Celeb
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Malibu, CA
Programs: AA CK / Marriott Worthless Ambassador
Posts: 1,158
My Colleague Was Bumped from Upgraded F Seat by a Celeb
Mods, feel free to move this as it’s a downgrade story, but a particularly funny one...
Flight is LAX to DFW. My co worker and I are both CK key and fly this route often. Our upgrade percentage is about 50%. Rarely do we get upgraded ahead of time. Last week my colleague is upgraded 24 hours ahead of time. He has a boarding pass and everything. We get to the flight. We are greeted by CK gate staff. We board. He takes his seat. Just when the plane is nearly full a FA or GA- not sure - comes up and says: “I’m sorry, I have some bad news.” First off, I would have thought my house burned down or something- poorly phrased, though, yes indeed, not good news.
He proceeds to say there has been a “mix up” and someone has this same seat. My colleague, who is not like me and is fairly laid back, aquieces and agrees to take the economy exit row seat. They shuttle him away.
Then who walks onto the plane? Neon Deion Sanders strolls in and takes that exact seat.
I would have been furious, but I’m a complainer. My colleague took it in stride and sent a polite complaint to AA.
They gave him 7500 miles, which seems low for kicking you out of a seat that you had a BP for?
I told him he should have gotten his confirmed BP signed by Deion and sent that to AA.
He proceeds to say there has been a “mix up” and someone has this same seat. My colleague, who is not like me and is fairly laid back, aquieces and agrees to take the economy exit row seat. They shuttle him away.
Then who walks onto the plane? Neon Deion Sanders strolls in and takes that exact seat.
I would have been furious, but I’m a complainer. My colleague took it in stride and sent a polite complaint to AA.
They gave him 7500 miles, which seems low for kicking you out of a seat that you had a BP for?
I told him he should have gotten his confirmed BP signed by Deion and sent that to AA.
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: PHL, NYC
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Downgrading a CK member after being seated would indicate there were no other lesser statuses and the cabin was full of paid F tickets. Otherwise, might the GA have gone to the lowest elite on the totem pole? I guess not totally out of the question on heavy routes, and it wouldn't be the first story of a complimentary upgrade being rescinded.
#4
Join Date: Apr 2017
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Posts: 1,852
Mods, feel free to move this as it’s a downgrade story, but a particularly funny one...
Flight is LAX to DFW. My co worker and I are both CK key and fly this route often. Our upgrade percentage is about 50%. Rarely do we get upgraded ahead of time. Last week my colleague is upgraded 24 hours ahead of time. He has a boarding pass and everything. We get to the flight. We are greeted by CK gate staff. We board. He takes his seat. Just when the plane is nearly full a FA or GA- not sure - comes up and says: “I’m sorry, I have some bad news.” First off, I would have thought my house burned down or something- poorly phrased, though, yes indeed, not good news.
He proceeds to say there has been a “mix up” and someone has this same seat. My colleague, who is not like me and is fairly laid back, aquieces and agrees to take the economy exit row seat. They shuttle him away.
Then who walks onto the plane? Neon Deion Sanders strolls in and takes that exact seat.
I would have been furious, but I’m a complainer. My colleague took it in stride and sent a polite complaint to AA.
They gave him 7500 miles, which seems low for kicking you out of a seat that you had a BP for?
I told him he should have gotten his confirmed BP signed by Deion and sent that to AA.
He proceeds to say there has been a “mix up” and someone has this same seat. My colleague, who is not like me and is fairly laid back, aquieces and agrees to take the economy exit row seat. They shuttle him away.
Then who walks onto the plane? Neon Deion Sanders strolls in and takes that exact seat.
I would have been furious, but I’m a complainer. My colleague took it in stride and sent a polite complaint to AA.
They gave him 7500 miles, which seems low for kicking you out of a seat that you had a BP for?
I told him he should have gotten his confirmed BP signed by Deion and sent that to AA.
#5
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Join Date: Jul 2003
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Doesn't this fall into the Dr. Dao UA incident category? CK has a bp issued 24 hours earlier (I assume he checked in at T-24) for a FC seat, the GA must have scanned his bp and let pax board the plane, he is now seated in the seat listed on his bp. It would be interesting to see how the scenario would have played out if the pax refused to vacate HIS seat?--being dragged off the plane AND a few million $ richer.
#6
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Join Date: Dec 2004
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Mods, feel free to move this as it’s a downgrade story, but a particularly funny one...
Flight is LAX to DFW. My co worker and I are both CK key and fly this route often. Our upgrade percentage is about 50%. Rarely do we get upgraded ahead of time. Last week my colleague is upgraded 24 hours ahead of time. He has a boarding pass and everything. We get to the flight. We are greeted by CK gate staff. We board. He takes his seat. Just when the plane is nearly full a FA or GA- not sure - comes up and says: “I’m sorry, I have some bad news.” First off, I would have thought my house burned down or something- poorly phrased, though, yes indeed, not good news.
He proceeds to say there has been a “mix up” and someone has this same seat. My colleague, who is not like me and is fairly laid back, aquieces and agrees to take the economy exit row seat. They shuttle him away.
Then who walks onto the plane? Neon Deion Sanders strolls in and takes that exact seat.
I would have been furious, but I’m a complainer. My colleague took it in stride and sent a polite complaint to AA.
They gave him 7500 miles, which seems low for kicking you out of a seat that you had a BP for?
I told him he should have gotten his confirmed BP signed by Deion and sent that to AA.
He proceeds to say there has been a “mix up” and someone has this same seat. My colleague, who is not like me and is fairly laid back, aquieces and agrees to take the economy exit row seat. They shuttle him away.
Then who walks onto the plane? Neon Deion Sanders strolls in and takes that exact seat.
I would have been furious, but I’m a complainer. My colleague took it in stride and sent a polite complaint to AA.
They gave him 7500 miles, which seems low for kicking you out of a seat that you had a BP for?
I told him he should have gotten his confirmed BP signed by Deion and sent that to AA.
#7
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#8
Join Date: Apr 2017
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Posts: 1,852
Doesn't this fall into the Dr. Dao UA incident category? CK has a bp issued 24 hours earlier (I assume he checked in at T-24) for a FC seat, the GA must have scanned his bp and let pax board the plane, he is now seated in the seat listed on his bp. It would be interesting to see how the scenario would have played out if the pax refused to vacate HIS seat?--being dragged off the plane AND a few million $ richer.
OP’s colleague paid for a Y seat, and that’s precisely what he flew in. So even beyond the legalese, OPs colleague (or OP) would have had no grounds to even be remotely annoyed about this.
#9
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#12
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It’s not his seat. It’s AAs. They expressly reserve the right to change seats per the CoC.
OP’s colleague paid for a Y seat, and that’s precisely what he flew in. So even beyond the legalese, OPs colleague (or OP) would have had no grounds to even be remotely annoyed about this.
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 17,460
Different kettle of fish.
And as someone suggested, I would have asked Sanders to sign my BP. Worth at least a couple of drinks at a sports bar.
#14
Join Date: Apr 2017
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Posts: 1,852
It’s a shame the public cares more about protecting their absurd sense of entitlement than they do about the actual rules.
#15
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I doubt there was a mix-up, just Deion showing up at the last minute and paying $$$$ for a paid F seat, so the last upgrade was bumped. It happens.