Jed

I flew LHR-MAD this morning on the 777 with my wife and 2 children. Had booked Club Europe and was told upon enquiry the gold line before the flight, at check in, at the lounge at at the gate that the F cabin was closed off without any passengers. The check in agent mentioned that they needed to keep it closed for 'trim purposes'. I am of course aware that on these flights, F will only be used to seat people if the loads demand it.

On board, the CW cabin was around 2/3 full. There was no one seated in the F cabin. There was a group of 5-6 ladies towards the rear of the CW cabin who were part of a hen party ( this was obvious as they were dressed as such and had arrows pointing at the 'bride' etc, who was wearing a full bridal dress). They weren't loud at all, just very conspicuous. I was seated in the front row 10, so overheard one of the ladies asking the crew before doors closed if the group could have a photo with the captain on the flight deck. This was granted and the group made their way back to the rear of the CW cabin.

About 5 minutes later, all 5-6 of them were invited to sit in the First cabin. I asked the CSM if we could move up too, but was flatly denied. I said that was unfair. The CSM gave a variety of reasons and became more vocally aggressive during our 2 minute conversation. These reasons ranged from:

"This is the only time they will ever get to sit up there, whereas I am sure you will have plenty of opportunities in the future". I'm not sure how she deduced this. OK, granted someone might have been terminally ill, but I doubt it.

"They've had a bit to drink and are up for a good time, so we thought we'd move them to keep the cabin quiet"

"The captain has asked for them to be seated there"

"I make the decisions regarding who sits where on the aircraft"

The gentleman across the aisle from me heard all of this.

I felt that the CSM became aggressive with me because she was spotted doing something not entirely correct and her way of dealing with my concern was to become authoritarian. She said she asked the captain and he had said only the hen party could be moved. She did apologise later in the flight, but by then the damage had unfortunately been done. I think this was a pretty unprofessional show from the CSM (happened to be Mixed Fleet) and if the captain was involved, then it was a pretty unprofessional performance from him too. BA customer service is investigating with the said individuals' line managers.

(ultimately I'm aware I did sit where I paid to sit, so I would suggest there is little point reminding me of that or the fact that the captain's decision on where to seat people is final)

Come on BA, this is a commercial aircraft, not a nightclub.

V10

It was absolutely none of your business.

Sorry.

MPH1980

So - basically - someone else had some good fortune and you're annoyed you didn't get it?

Can I help you

Not a good performance, I'm sure the CSM had the Captains approval but this was not handle at all well.

muscat

Moral of story: next time you fly wear a wedding dress

seattle29

I don't really see the problem here. It's only a short flight anyway.

madfish

So you are annoyed because somebody was moved to a better seat and you wanted the same! As for the deduction that you are more likely to sit in F then they would have access to your CUV score so would have some understanding of your status.

smokie36

Sour grapes.

i hope the ladies had a great time!

windowontheAside

I can see that it's annoying to see someone else getting a perk that you had hoped for, but ultimately I can't see you have any comeback at all.

The CSM should not have got annoyed with you, but the conversation shouldn't have been allowed to develop into multiple exchanges between you. I don't think this reflects particularly well on either side.

Jed

Yes I am.
There were plenty of seats free up there.

It is against BA policy for the crew to 'upgrade' people just because they feel like it. That annoys me.

The 'captain's decision is final'. Absolutely true where decisions are concerned regarding safety. Doesn't sit well with me in this instance. I don't actually know if the CSM just told me the captain said that to end the matter in the hope that I would just take the 'captain's word' as gospel.

Most airlines don't do this sort of thing

Scots_Al

You paid to fly CE, you got a significant upgrade to CW, but you're upset that a few other people, clearly celebrating a significant event (but by your own admission not loudly) got more of an upgrade than you.

Have I missed something?

The CSM probably couldn't believe the petted lips were out.

CCayley

Why do you wish to restrict responses to those from people who will sympathise with you? As I read it, you bought Club Europe tickets and got to sit in Club World seats, which most people would consider something of a result. Not content with that, though, you rang in advance and asked to be seated in First Class seats, and when you were refused you asked again (at check-in), and again (in the lounge) and again (at the gate) and again (on board). And now you have complained about the crew for saying no!

With the greatest respect, you do seem to have an extraordinary sense of entitlement. If the crew did something nice for some others, but not for you, so what? Why be so churlish?

kaizenflying

I think everyone would want to sit in F so the CSM or CSD was right to manage it and deny you access. No is hard to swallow sometimes but it sounds like a reasonable decision on this one.

Padmeister

If they were on a hen party why would you even want to upgrade with them anyway?

Can I help you

As said it wasn't handled well and the Captain would have approved this move but I'm beginning to see the sort of attitude that you may have displayed which I personally feel doesn't show you in the best possible light.