orbitmic

On other threads, crew members always tell us that BA over-caters in J and F??

paulwuk

Perhaps off to 2K3K?

sammyh25

In Club trays are loaded to exactly 100% of booked loads, "hots" are loaded to 120/130% of booked loads, First is similarly catered, so no spares for uninvited upgrades!

LTN Phobia

This year alone on a mixture of airlines I saw at lease half a dozen attempts. All cases were spotted.

One of them was very funny. She tried to sit in the 1E seat in CE on a 767, unsuccesfully. You know how narrow they are! Surely her seat in ET would have been far more comfotable. The guy in D and I (F) were bemused and let the whole thing unfold, and the crew member found it bizarre and funny too.

nobbyclark

There have been threads on here before about 'self upgraders'. I used to fly AMS-LGW a lot and quite often, just as the doors closed, the same chap would move himself from just behind the curtain to any available aisle seat ahead of it. Always got away with it, too.

BOH

I have seen someone get away with it on a late night departure Air Canada YYZ-LHR and move into J from Y soon after take-off and the seat belt sign went off.

I reckon he was banking on the crew having done their head-count reconciliation in J just after the doors close when boarding is complete but then be less vigilant after take-off. As soon as he moved into the J seat he reclined the seat back to flat and pulled a blanket over himself and head. On the late night departures for overnight, about a third of J pax always seemed to do this to maximise their sleep time and therefore are saying to the crew "do not disturb".

The J cabin on their A330's was around 30 seats back then and ISTR that night about 20 were taken so a simple increment to 21 just went un-noticed, particularly as he took no meal.

And it worked for him.....good luck to him I say ^

Paralytic

I'm looking forward to the first report of a self-downgrader, when someone moves from a non-bulkhead CE seat to the ET exit row seat.

BOH

Already been sorely tempted to do just that and will admit to even checking whether an ET exit row seat looked free recently after boarding was complete when I was in 2C on a flight. I felt so cramped that the ET exit row looked positively welcoming.

Sadly the flight was rammed to I had to slum it and put up with CE

noFODplease

I have also tried this in my student days*, with Iberia: however since I was with a friend and we BOTH decided to try it simultaneously, it had little chance of success..

It was all bravado to the rest of our group but once we were behind the curtain and challenged (after about 10 minutes) by two very serious looking ladies with white gloves and Iberian imperiousness, it was all mumbling and 'can't find my boarding pass'. We scurried back rather quickly, though to this day I tell myself that it could have been an honest mistake in their eyes as we were just one row back though the curtain..

* disclaimer: 5 years ago

Arbeiter2

I did a self-downgrade from CW to WT on an overnight UVF-LGW sector, to let my then 9 year old nephew get a taste of the good life. It gave me the opportunity as well to learn new Y sleeping positions, such as tucking my knees up under my chin.

HarryHolden68

Earliar this year I found myself relocated to 5D from 1A in CE.

The girlfriend of Mr 1C decided that she could not stand 2 hours apart from him so moved from her assigned 5D into 1B as soon as the seat belt signs were off. The Purser saw this and tried to resolve the situation, but the couple failed to understand. The Purser was about to summon an Italian speaking CC from the rear when I offered to move to save a lot of heartache for the crew and the couple.

CE service has never been better.

Paralytic

I'd not call that a self-downgrade, in the same way I'd say your nephew did not self-upgrade.

jackowilkinson

I once accidentally did this. It was a genuine accident though!

Flying ARN-CPH on SK last year (I know, hardly sneaking from WT to F on BA12), I was using a mobile boarding card. I didn't realise, but SK had swapped the aircraft from a 737-700 to a 737-800 which meant everyone was re-allocated seats. (They look the same - how was I supposed to know!)

I was given a bit of paper and the gate agent said something in Swedish - to which I nodded, and screwed up the bit of paper. I took my seat as per mobile boarding card (05F or something).

Anyway, it turns out, 'Sas Plus' (which is kind of like CE but worse - much worse), was up to row 6. I knew I hadn't booked this, and eventually, when I guiltily declined the free sandwich I was offered by the CC, I unscrewed the piece of paper I was given. It was the size of a post-it note, and said on it only 18B. Presumably I had been reassigned a seat?

Anyway, the CC didn't notice, and it was an honest mistake - it's not like sneaking into 'Sas Plus' is desirable anyway. So I guess it's possible - but you didn't hear it from me!

KARFA

Sure, an "accident"

jackowilkinson

If you've flown 'Sas Plus' you'll know it was an accident