SxMan

I believe on some carriers, they just put an amount through their credit card machine and charge the passenger for the difference in fare.

Carolina2Cali

Oh man I would love to have stayed to see what happened. P.S. No chicken pic... you must pay the chicken tax! Lastly... dying to know how the how was... did they instruct him on how to stand, how to pick up the left foot, then the right?

Full disclosure, over a decade ago I slyly used the new app technology to do a last minute seat plan check on Delta and self upgraded to a fully open row of premium economy or the + version of economy, domestic USA flight, and I felt ok with it and never got in trouble. It was just more space and also meant I didn't have to rub arms with my random seatmate(s) - so you could even argue it caused CONVENIENCE to 3 of us. But now I recognize that what I did was wrong. THAT SAID, first is a whole 'nother level and in some small way there was in inconvenience, the OP or another flyer would potentially have to ask him/her to move when they needed to use the bathroom, etc. Plus, yes, they'd absolutely be stealing the food and alcohol by sitting there, and potentially an amenity kit. I know, pennies, but still. I love to shame the people who use the 10 items or less lane when they have like 30+ items and the cashier doesn't say anything (unless it is obvious there's a situation like a mom with too many children hanging about and she's desperate and I realize not all emergencies or disabilities are visible) - I will vocally start counting them very loudly 1 by 1 and even wonder if I misread the 10 items or less sign, aloud. Some people will find this immature and .....y and snarky, other people find it glorious. It is what it is. If I follow the rules (which clearly once upon a time I did not) then so shall you! No one made him buy that airline ticket.

OP did at least mention this fella got his meal last, so at least they made sure the legit pax got their first choice first. Ha.

Genius1

Next time I'm going to bring some plastic cutlery pilfered from Pret.

SonicStar817

Quite amusing. My experience with self upgraders on a BA flight resulted in the aircraft returning to the gate, the police being called and them getting booted off the flight.

VSLover

tell that to passenger 8C on the return! 😂😂

i saw my first self-upgrade yesterday but sadly only on the avanti service from birmingham to euston. in first and they check tickets, woman told to move back, she doesnt. different crew come by and she orders a nice large glass of white wine. almost done drinking and first guy comes round again and tells her to move it. she makes the motions to collect her stuff. slowly. few mins pass and guy comes round again asking if she would like to pay for the drink and seat otherwise get a move on. and the woman mustve easily been in her 50s. lol.

as for THIS tale, part of me wants to believe the staff interaction was because the seat jumper was actually a recent joiner taking what they felt entitled to, based on some of the staff meme accounts out there, some of these new joiners sound like something else with regards to staff travel!

Ghoulish

Because one pays a premium for exclusivity.

It violates the integrity of a premium cabin.

It's the entitlement that's disgusting, and let's be honest, why should I need to wonder what other social norms this nearby demonstrable jerk may violate on the flight?

I would've complained to the (passive aggressive) FAs 100% to remove this trespasser, as their behavior was also lacking.

Jed

Or with the cutlery he had procured from the F lounge

TTmex

Served with 2 cans of Heineken he'd stuffed in his bag when leaving the Flounge

Ghoulish

Checked bag stuffed with 40 cartons of cheap cigarettes.

USA_flyer

I've never personally witnessed a self upgrade but heard tale that one such chap was given the choice of paying for the seat or spending time with the old bill.

LondonAussie

I've witnessed a few attempted self-upgrades but usually the crew are fairly quick to tell them where to go. I think it's quite strange in this case they waited so long and wasted part of a meal service to make a point. Unless it was a crew meal perhaps?

What I wish they would challenge more is the people putting their cabin bags in the overhead bins above Club rows and then walking down to take their seat in row 10.

Jimmie76

As you mentioned GWR I had a similar thing to this happen on a train. This occured ages ago on a FGW train which you can tell because it involves a buffet there aren't (m)any of them any more and the old name. I've never been a FGW employee but I was present & I got the rest of the story after talking to the Train Manager whilst at the buffet.

There is a yob - for want of a better word - sitting in a shell suit in the 1st quite carriage of an HST shouting into his mobile phone (think Dom Jolly & Trigger Happy). This is early evening, and there are a few people (including me) in this carriage besides him, and one of them obviously very pissed off, goes off towards the buffet. The TM arrives shortly afterwards and asks to see Yobbys ticket, Yobby tells his caller he'll be 30 seconds, puts down phone says he will have to find it, "It's in my bag somewhere, come back in five minutes yeah". TM says that he needs to see the ticket now or he'll have to charge him the full price for a 1st Single for the entire length of his journey.

Yobby yells into phone that he'll call back, pulls large bag out of luggage rack and starts searching for the elusive ticket. Whilst unpacking the phone starts to ring, he stops to answer this, again yelling into the phone, but was quick (thankfully). TM at this point asks if Yobby actually has a ticket at all.

He rather tersely says that he does & a few minutes later he produces a 1st ticket and sits down again already on his phone again now repacking his bag. TM coughs and Yobby enquires as to the problem now (using language starting with the 6th letter of the alphabet), whereupon he is asked if he has the Senior Railcard that the ticket was bought with.

Yobby looks horrified and tells his caller he'll have to call him/her back TM says to get the bag and follow him, Yobby is not seen or heard from again.

When I went to the buffet to get a drink and some food, the TM was standing there so I enquired as to what had happened to Yobby. TM said he had threatened him with the Transport Police meeting the train at Oxford, if he didn't cough up the full fare for 1st, and explain where he got the ticket from (might have nicked it, so fair question). Turns out after his grandfathers funeral, he was round at the house saw the ticket and borrowed it Yobby was now seriously out of pocket because of the upwards of £60 ($120) he had been made to fork out for his unticketed travel.

He had then decided to leave the train at Oxford, despite having just paid for a 1st single to Hereford, as he now couldn't afford the return journey by train.

psusaver

"Self upgraded" = grabbed a higher revenue seat without paying for it, right?
Airline seat/classes are actually revenue generating. Grocery store lanes, whether 10 item or 30 item do not affect store revenue in any noticeable manner.

choosethedrew

The most shocking part of this tale is that BA over catered the CE cabin.

crazy8534

I'm not sure how I feel about this one to be honest.
It's a funny story but if it is completely accurate as recounted (not doubting you OP) then it verges very closely on unprofessional from the crew in my opinion.

They should be able to deal with a self-upgrader quickly and with minimum fuss.
It's a waste of food and a bit of over-the-top theatrics.

I know that makes me sound like Oscar the Grouch and I am honestly not like that (honest!) so I imagine that it was very context-dependent.
Also I feel unreasonably irked by the bit where the passengers in the row ahead of him tell him to get back to Y- just leave it to the crew to deal with would be my thought....