Taking things for granted.
 

I'm currently in D1 on DL142. The person across the aisle, upon sitting down says to no one in particular, "Wow! This is amazing! I never thought I'd ever get to fly in first class."

Those of us who get to do it often enough that we start complaining about it should probably take our injuries with a grain of salt.

+1
 

Couldn't agree more. 👍🏼

Everything is a matter of perspective. It's a matter of how far you want to go in that perspective. Your two hour delay due to weather or MX and missing an "important meeting" is insignificant in life compared to a malnourished kid starving in Africa who's been forced to be a child soldier. There's some comedian who has a routine about how it's odd that people complain about flying because we should be amazed that you can now fly across the country in a few hours because it's a journey that used to take months or years and the people you started the journey with weren't necessarily the people you finished the journey with because people would die or be born during the journey.

What perspective one should take is of course, a matter of opinion and one which is directly and indirectly debated throughout the forum (as evidenced by frequent comments of "first world problem" in many threads).

So true. Mother taught me long ago I could get worked up over lots of things in life. However she told me that before I do so, I should consider the issue from the viewpoint of someone less fortunate. Unless it's something they'd get worked up over, it's probably not worth the cost the higher blood pressure will cost you. Try to follow that rule with everything. However sometimes it's easy to forget what's your normal isn't what's normal for the vast majority of humans.

I know some people whose first statement would probably be how this isn't even first class, only business and would be shocked someone could make such a mistake.

Or state "it's not first class it's 'Delta One'" or start claiming some form of "shena" must have happened because it's clear a "kettle" was up in the premium cabin and it's obvious "kettles" don't belong in the premium cabin ever, even if they pay for it. ;)

To me it becomes a matter of HOW one registers complaints. We can't all just be pushovers about everything simply because our canceled flights or poor customer service aren't comparable to human trafficking or war crimes, but it certainly would be nice if more people took the grand scheme of things into account with their tone and/or behavior.

What type of thingz do you usually complain about?!? :)

You should have said . . . .

This ISN'T first class! If you'd read FlyerTalk, you'd know that!

;) :D ;)

That "some comedian" is Louie CK. The theme is "Everything is amazing and people are miserable."
I consider every first class upgrade an exciting luxury. I've been flying for years but always at my own expense as a freelance performer and competitive athlete. Getting Gold status means spending about half my salary on Delta. I'm sure there are people on these forums who have worked very hard for their sense of entitlement to first class, but if I ever achieve their level of wealth I really hope I keep my perspective and remember that everything is amazing. Even if the plane is late, the ride is bumpy, the luggage is slow to come out, and the snacks are not exactly what your heart desires at the Sky Club.

Don't forget the "FCM/ToD/Buy-Up" and "non-revs," a couple of more vilified targets regarding upgrades. (I once flew next to a UA elite who ranted about non-rev upgrade, the whole flight, back in the sticker days; incidentally this same discussion is ongoing at the UA forum).

Yeah, it's easy to lose perspectives. I agree.

Here's the Louis CK clip. The airplane rant starts around 3:50, but it's all hilarious. I couldn't agree more with his observations.

...but did you get a PFB
 

About 5 years ago I hit Platinum for 2 years then Diamond for a year after that. Prior to that time I was happy to get upgrades and while aPlat got a little pissed when I didnt. Now as a lowly Silver i've gotten a couple short upgrades but really dont care all that much anymore
I would like one on my flt to France next week but it wil never hapen.

I posted this in another thread but it is somewhat applicable here. Ive been diamond on delta for the last three years. I had come to expect the treatment that I was receiving and, while appreciative, took it for granted. This became clear to me a few weeks ago;

I had to make what I called a "tour de Canada" and was in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto all in a 5 day span. I had to fly Air Canada between each city since Delta or Skyteam had no presence that I could find. It was an eye opening experience. No special line, no early boarding, no preferential seating, no nothing!! On one flight I was literally the last person to board and had a middle seat in row 344(slight exaggeration).

So, I am now SUPER appreciative of all of the benefits that come with my diamond status and enjoy every perk. It really put things in perspective for me.

I've said it before but I'll continue to say it again, because of the way many on here knock even low level status. Flying an airline as a true no-status pax in Y reminds me why I will do what I can to keep even FO status on DL. My experience on HA in HNL and OGG and BA at LCY when flying Y being the worst cases. I realized that compared to DM status, FO status doesn't receive that much, but many of the benefits that take flying from "miserable" to "tolerable" are made available to FOs.

And while some on here say it's like a Sasquatch citing, occasionally FOs even get upgraded. ;) My wife picked up FO status for the first time late last year and now "brags" about getting upgraded quite frequently on SEA-Pasco, WA - she's only missed one UG on the several times she's flown that route this year (she did get a reality check flying SEA-ATL and MSP-SEA earlier this year though where she was a few pages back on the GIDS screen though. :p )

I'm constantly amazed by the complaints I hear from other travelers. On one recent flight I was upgraded to first and sat next to a woman who grumbled about everything, the selection of beverages didn't suit her, she couldn't eat any of the snacks offered, etc. she made me want to tell her to shut up and bring something that suited her requirements
Now I will say that if something reaches a certain point I will complain but I'm an adult, I plan ahead and I don't expect the airline to cater to my specific needs. I expect them to get me from point A to B in a reasonable approximation of the ticket they sold me and for the TAs,GAs, and FAs to be courteous but beyond that.....