MSP-PDX act of kindness last night - the story and the REAL story
 

I have to give a big thumbs up to the guy with the 1B seat assignment last night who gave it up and traded places with the senior disabled Vietnam vet who was assigned to 10B. It was a very selfless act of kindness, and quite a few people seated in FC took note and made it a point to tell the FAs.

The older gentleman boarded early at the "extra time" call, and I guess he just got distracted and took the first seat available. Or so he would have you believe.....

When the rightful owner of 1B boarded, it was like "The Bookstore" episode of Seinfeld where Uncle Leo is shoplifting. ( I'm an old man. I'm confused! I thought I paid for it. What's my name? Will you take me home?) Between gathering all his stuff, getting his cane and trying to remove his carryon from the overhead, I think the rightful owner just gave up and said "just stay here, I'll take your seat in 10B". Nevertheless, a nice gesture.

Unfortunately, I happened to be chatting with older veteran prior to boarding. He's as lucid and aware as anyone half his age. He had a paid coach seat and after 2 attempts (with separate agents) he was not at all happy that they would not move him to an EC row with more legroom ("no respect for veterans, they want $39, they should treat military with more courtesy, etc"). I didn't have the heart to say "you want EC, you pay for EC". Looks like he ended up getting it after all.

So in that context, watching his Uncle Leo act took on an added level of amusement for me. To his credit he pulled it off. The guy who got downgraded back to 10B got some extra karma chips (and about 3-4 free drinks). Our disable Vet got to ride in first class on a coach ticket. And everyone else in FC got a feel-good moment.

Looking forward to my AARP card a little more now....

That right there... that's the attitude I have a problem with.

As with all of these threads, IBTL.

Disabled vet or not... The guy is total pile of s**t. He's a con-artist, plain and simple. And the fact that he uses his military service to pad the scam is the sickest part of all. It makes me wonder how many times he's gotten away with this and how else he's conned people.

I have never met this guy, and I hate him.

But good karma to the guy who gave up his seat.

Pretty pathetic of the guy for pulling this stunt. I feel for the guy who thought he was doing a nice deed (and kinda was), but was really falling for a trick.


Too bad, because it's stories like this that make people less willing to give people the benefit of the doubt and makes them (understandably) jaded.

I hate hearing stories like this for the reason that they make me far less likely to give up a seat under similar circumstances in the future if that situation presents itself.

Then again, MSP-PDX is just long enough that I'd likely think twice anyway. Especially when a downgrade to a middle seat is involved. The tough thing about such a situation is that there's really no way to stand your ground without looking like a complete @**hole.

As far as karma is concerned, I hope the old coot/con artist finds himself consigned to 45E on a 757 and next to a customer of size on a CRJ in a window seat for the rest of his flying days.

I hate to ask, but is there any confirmation that he's really a Vietnam Vet?

He had a jacket that prominently displayed some sort of crest, the date of 1968 and Vietnam vet - I just assumed it was some sort of veteran's association. Would seem to be alot of work (and a source of uncomfortable questions from real vets) if it weren't authentic on some scale.

Right, wrong or otherwise it was still a pretty comical exchange knowing what I did about the back story. The generous offer to switch seats isn't diminished simply because it was done under questionably false pretenses.

Its not as hard for people to fake as you think.

There is a guy who stands on the corner down the street from me who used to have a sign that said "Vietnam Vet..." -- he looks to be at least 10 years younger than me and I'm sure I have lead a less stressful life. I had a high lottery number in '72-73 so I was always skeptical. In the last couple of years his sign changed to "Disabled Vet" so I am guessing he got called on it enough to change his sign.

Anywhere but a street corner I am a soft touch, Anybody willing to do what the OP posted would not be above falsely claiming to be a veteran. ''

Once I was traveling with a friend who spent about 6 years in Vietnam when there was somebody on a street corner claiming to be a Vietnam vet. My friend ask the guy a couple of casual questions and it became clear he was not. After that - for better or worse -- probably worse -- I do tend assume the worst about people standing on street corners.

To me it is sort of like people who never miss a chance to tell you how smart they are -- if they really are that smart there is no need to tell me every five minutes :)

This is an example of why I have given up on being nice:)

As a Viet Nam combat infantryman, stories like this really irritate me. I feel that nobody owes me anything for the privilege I had of serving my country. Unfortunately, there is a small minority of veterans who blame their problems, etc., on their military service instead of their own short comings.

Wow. Great -- if deeply irritating -- story. It's like he knew to play off pro-veteran sentiment, after that that bizarre five minutes hate directed at Delta last winter when they dared to wheel a disabled vet to his assigned seat in coach. (Remember that bizarre blow up?)

And yet another reason to board early.

I also think the Southwest effect contributes to some of this nonsense. One old fart was incorrectly seated in row two from RDU to DTW years ago and when asked to move replied, "I thought I could sit anywhere!"

Another time a twenty something on crutches taking a short flight from IND plopped into the last row of first and said in a sad voice, "can't I just sit here?" before he was shooed away.

And my personal favorite (unlike the other two examples) was the man on a US Airways flight who, when being dismissed from the F cabin exclaimed, "I always fly first class."

I once evicted someone who boarded late just before me from my 2B seat. His boarding pass was something like 34E, so his protest to the FA that he thought it was his seat was laughable.