jimrpa

I don't understand the relevance. I've never read the thread as I find the phrase "gate lice" to be obnoxious and ... self-righteoous I guess.

PTravel

I don't recall anyone saying they were going to do that.

When I shoot candids, it is always with the intent of photographing a given individual. It is absolutely legal and, of course, absolutely ethical. If you are in public, you have NO expectation of privacy and anyone can take your picture.

I don't take, "family snaps." I shoot photographs (and make videos), and my candids are frequently of specific individuals. As an example, you might like to look at this video I did of Hong Kong. Please tell me why you think it is unethical:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6VBmcRLIqg

NoStressHere

I think I read everything, but have not seen where the OP BOARDED at the 15 minute mark.

Being in the gate area means what? How does the agent know?

The fact that the agents were somewhat coy and not dealing with the OP lends something to what may have happened. Maybe in the gate area? What kept the OP in the gate area waiting to be the last to board?

Something is missing from this story.

TheMoose

Agree, something is missing. Why would you get the boarding pass four hours early and be the last person to board for a confirmed FC seat? Is it possible they were listening to headphones and missed the boarding calls? Were they in a restaurant/bar/bathroom? Engrossed in an intense phone conversation?

Just because you're "in the area" doesn't mean your seat can't be given away. With online/mobile check-in these days, the agents have no way to even know if you're in the airport. If you were on a connecting flight I suppose they could know if you boarded that, but they would have no way of knowing if you're in the gate area or even still in the airport (maybe went outside for a smoke?). Who knows. And generally if they're going to "give away" your seat, they make at least a couple PA calls (we've all heard these if we're trying to standby for an earlier/later flight) before giving away your seat. Missing information indeed.

weezl

To clarify (again):

I was at the gate and watched the entire boarding process from about 30 ft away. If I don’t board 1st when I am upgraded, I wait until the end so I don’t get stuck in a stuffy jetway. That is why I was the last one in line. I was not under the 15 min cutoff and there was not a final boarding announcement yet, and I was not playing any games with anyone. Or trying to see how close I could call it. I simply stepped into the end of the line that was boarding.

When my BP was scanned, it was taken after the GA saw that the seat was gone. By the time the other GA found me a seat, they were in enough of a rush and clearly unwilling to discuss the issue with me further such that I did indeed fear retribution if I escalated the issue further right there at the gate. I did not want to risk being denied boarding because of uncooperativity, especially after I saw how nasty the GA was when she refused to show me her badge.

There was a sponsor for these miles, I did not want to complicate the issue further at the outset of my post so I apologize for not being more transparent there. The sponsor also gave me silver status at the time of the upgrade. I don’t think this had any bearing on what happened. I did indeed fly in Biz the 1st leg so the 12.5 K miles were correctly deducted and not returned to the sponsor.

If I had thought of taking a pic with my cell it would have likely gotten me in trouble with that nasty GA and I would not have been quick enough to think about stealing the pic without being obvious; I would rather have likely wanted to flaunt the camera in the hopes that this would cause them to rethink their attitudes (and this would likely have gotten me bumped off of the flight).

I really would like to know just why this happened (and why DL is so stingy with their compensation). But I am hesitant to give a DL lurker my info (via PM) lest retribution run wild. I will consider this only if: 1) FTers think it is a good idea, and 2) the DL employee promises that it will remain in strict confidence.

fttc

My point is that someone who bought stolen goods will be dragged into the mess as a witness whether he wants or not.

So if you are sitting in a BE seat that someone else believes is his, taking a picture of you in that seat (whether you like or not) provides the strongest record he has to validate/advance his arguement if it's indeed his, and he's entitled to that proof. BTW, I do believe "S" in this case, which makes such a photo even more important. The GA will plead ignorance later, and deny that even happened, and there is little proof otherwise.

As you mentioned, someone may very well object to that. So to avoid confrontation, people will do it discreetly. That's called "under cover". People do it, a lot of times for the right cause, not just police.

Now I don't condone posting those kinds of pictures on the internet with one sided stories to get even. Unfortunately, there is very little that can be done for real innocent people caught in the crossfire. That's the price to be paid to have free speech in this world.

fttc

weezl, in my uneducated guess, I'm not sure why there would be much retribution. You have already contacted multiple regular DL agents.

You can PM them your flight number and the original BE seat. They may be able to find out who sitted there during the flight. However, if you want to do it, you better do it fast since those detail data will disappear quickly. Besides, a lot of people on this thread want to know what really happened too.

underattack

Weezl: sorry for what happened to you at the gate. Even if there was some kind of emergency causing the loss of your seat. I would have expected more of an explanation. And sorry for the poor treatment on flyer talk. I guess airline attitudes rub off on some frequent flyers.

StayingHomeIsBetter

If candid photography were illegal, the FT "gate lice" threads... which I find offensive... might just go away.

weezl

I agree for this incident but who knows what might happen in the future, my FT handle would be tagged for life.

mvoight

Why didn't you just buy the bus ticket, and ask for a refund for the delayed flight? It isn't always possible for AA to give vouchers for such things as buses.

mvoight

I can't wait to see how the lawsuit turns out
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/nev...cv01186/74845/

apolloms

aww come on, don't get mad because FTers are taking your picture at the airport waiting for the breezeway to open

majorwibi

Dont want your info only the flight details but if you are too paranoid to realize I'm trying to help flush out if you got screwed I'm not sure how else to help you.

FWIW everything else posted on this forum about what has happened to you is PURE SPECULATION as no one has actually looked at the flight details to see what happened.

I'm not an employee just married to one so I can promise anything I do (or have my wife do) wont be tracked back to you ...

majorwibi

How exactly is it poor treatment when historical posts have shown that when someone fails to post flight details there tends to be more to the story than what is posted. Its not poor treatment to not take the OP at his word when he has left out some of the most pertinent information about solving the problem.

Your reference to airline attitudes is a backhanded personal attack and while not directed at a person is a violation of the TOS of FT