Assuming the poster that indicated the FA never talked to the passenger is correct, then something else for sure happened. Reason I say this is that: maybe the guy really did belong there. Sometimes the FA is working off an "old" manifest printed just before the gate agent upgraded a coach passenger. And if that is the case, a false arrest by 4 of NY's finest would look pretty silly.

I would guess there was something more to this....

But then again, the 'terrorist' may have indicated to somebody in the back he was moving up there and if anyone bothers him, he will 'take them out' which would account for the lack of interaction by the FA and the need for multiple officers.

DL runs a mixed bag of aircraft for the 16 R/T's they fly most weekdays on this ATL-LGA route. The aircraft depends upon the time of the flight and the loads.

767-200 - 18 F seats - 2 flights
767-300 - 24 F seats - 2 flights
767-400 - 36 F seats - 1 flight
757 - 24 F seats - 5 flights
MD-88 - 14 F seats - 6 flights

The FA's always have a passenger manifest that should be verified by a head count for the F cabin. I have been on several flights during the years where someone attempts to sit in F and is immediately challenged by a FA and moved back to where they belong in Y. This almost always happens during the boarding process, although twice I saw someone try to sneak up during mid-flight on redeyes. I don't doubt that this event took place, however there would also appear to be another part to this story. What were the FA's doing on this flight, rehearsing their stand up comic routines in order to transfer to Song?

This person was on a watchlist. Job well done. ^

There HAD to be some prior conversation between the FA and the passenger. For example, sometimes when I'm in my aisle seat and the window is empty (not often), I'll slide over for the view. And we've all been on flights when there are two people that want to sit together, and half of the other passengers accomodate them by shuffling around. In either scenario, if there was an extra passenger in F, it would be crazy to arrest somebody sitting in an unassigned seat without some inquiry.

I would say either the passenger was asked to move a couple of times and refused, or it was something along the lines of a lost or stolen ticket, maybe used with fake ID. If there were any overtones of a security breach, that might explain the arrest.

Does the OP have any more info? And was it really NYC (I don't think that's an airport code, although maybe a helipad someplace), or maybe rather LGA, JFK, or EWR? If JFK, could it have been the start of an international flight?

Years ago my boss used to wait till they were closing the doors and he'd grab a first class seat as the last person to board.

He never had a problem. I thought of doing it but couldn't stand the embarrasment if I was ever caught.

:td:

That's what I was confused about as well.

There were about 3 empty FC seats when we took off (the seat next to me was never taken). I honestly wasn't paying attention to the guy that snuck in because he snuck in on the last row to the right of the plane and I was on the left side row 3. He must have been in his 20s.

And it was ATL to JFK - these were the really nice First Class seats where they recline all the way down.
22 Feb 2005
500-Mile Upgrade Points
Redeemed: +0 points, Delta 172 (KX), Atlanta, GA to New York-Kennedy, NY

yes, well i know people who snuck into J class on LH from JFK-MUC, they were kindly asked to go back to Y, but nothing else

I find this quite curious as a former police officer. There is something more to this with the four officers. If it was a simple theft as the OP stated they would use two officers to escort the person off the plane. When I fly UA in first or bussiness they always call me by my name. Do they not do this on DL??I find this as a way to stop ppl from moving up.

I LIKE the "little Admirals Club", though not as much as The Wing. :D

Please continue to protect the overhead bins from coach class bin poachers so that I don't have to check their carryons for them. ;)

Bull.

And those responsible for these un-American watch lists ought to be tossed off the plane through the bulkhead.

They always call my wife and I by name. We have different last names and sometimes we flip the aisle/window seats from the ones we are actually assigned, and the FA will start to call her by my last name (or vica versa) until we clue her in.

Only once has this happened to me....I was flying from Atlanta, GA to Frankfurt, Germany, on Delta metal.

btw this is 8 or so years ago....

I was flying biz class....the first class cabin was empty, I think there were approx 6 seats, 1 was occupied, biz class was about 20 seats, about 10 were taken...the seat beside me was empty....


well about after 1 hour I decided to take a nap.....I am sitting in the window seat...I start to doze off & I feel something move my blanket....so I take my eye shades off & find, to my surprise, someone sitting there, says he didnt want to disturb me & just moved my blanket over off of his seat.....i was like ok.....introdued himself....we shook hands...about 10 seconds later, the FA shows up, Gents can I get your names & boarding passes.....I reach in to my pocket & meanwhile say my name...she said ok great....didnt even look at my boarding pass....looks at the other dude....was like sir u are in coach...he was like well, I thouhgt about buying a biz class, decided not to & now would like to upgrade & is willing to pay right there...I lost it...I started laughing.....funniest thing I ever heard....he was stubborn, said this seat is not being used & doesnt want to move & now wants a drink.....this dude had guts....well the FA walks away towards first class, very politely I may add....well the pilot appears, says sir, I am going to have to ask you to leave or I will be forced to arrest you & make an emergency landing....dude hops up & goes back peacefully, he was escorted by the pilot I may add......well the pilot comes back & is appoligizing to me like crazy...I am like dude...not ur fault some jerk tries to side step the system.....gives me his card, asks me if there is anything that I can do for you.....we even traded a few jokes...I told him if he wants to take a rest & let me fly the jet or something....we just chuckled

anyway, after he left, the FA comes over....Mr. RCC, I am so sorry, anything that I can do for you etc......same story was ever so nice.....blah blah blah blah.....

well now I land in Germany & going through customs.....guess who is a few lanes over in immigration yelling at the officer.....ya.....you guessed it.....well my officer was like what an idiot...I told him a short version of what happened on the plane....was like this dude is a really smart fellow

anyway....just my 1 experiece with the whole stuff...

thanks to the starter of this thread to remind me about this that I forgot!

Ric

Hot towel service and better food???????????????????

Apparently he bought a Delta coach ticket and went into the FC cabin of a different airline.