mkjr

if some dude wants to board before me to get to his seat for is 15.5hr flight to HK, go for it dude. enjoy the extra seat time. i, however, think that the $7,500 for my HK J ticket entitles me to have a bathroom that gets used in a way that it's not occupied 100% of the time.

tkelvin38

or from the posts here at FT. There is a lot of arrogance and self entitlement expressed here usually based upon opinion rather than a factual basis. Oh, sorry.

tucsnaz

Sorry but I have to disagree with you. At least with AA the EXP's I've encountered are the most considerate of the bunch. They fly the most and "get it" as more than one reservations agent has shared with me. While there may be some bad apples not ALL elites are the worst.

luv2ctheworld

I think the stories you heard were based on what everyone does, highlight the most harrowing ones. That means the worst ones are the ones that stick in their minds. Do most of us recall the normal, easy flights? Typically no, we recall the ones where we got delayed or cancelled, or suffered from poor service.

By this very nature, posters/elites who complain here may very well have had a majority of good service, and just wanted to air that one particular bad one.
It's a similar version I believe when a F/A remembers the elite(s) who made it miserable.

I don't doubt that some elites do get an unreasonable sense of entitlement, I see it when I fly so the F/A's must get a ton of it. However, I see just an equal amount of clueless leisure travelers yelling and complaining why they can't just get to their destination, without regard for the rules, weather, and effort put in by the employees. Worse yet, because they don't fly enough, they don't handle service disruption well and start blaming everything and are just as unreasonable.

YXUFlyboy

He may have a point about the lavatory, but that's not the fault of people travelling in first class; that's the airline's problem. If you don't like it, tell the airline.

As for the argument about removing services from economy and adding them to first class, that's a silly argument. If you pay for service, you should receive it. It's not the passenger's fault they are getting better service, they are paying for it. If you think your economy experience sucks, then fly a different airline.

I remember once I was flying back to YYZ from MCO and I was waiting in the AC Executive Line. All of the passengers were bypassing us while I we were waiting for service (there were two attendants servicing the regular line and no one in executive). I think some folks may have rolled their eyes, but we did ask for service because I paid for it with my ML Club Card. Again, if you pay $400 a year extra, you can check in early too! You get what you pay for.

This is coming from someone who (by the way) has never flown in executive/first/business class and probably won't until I hit AC*P or AC*E this year (and has an upgrade.)

WRCSolberg

Well its not just hearsay, I've experienced it myself. EXPs that think they can cut in line because they have a cute little black card, elites that think alcohol *should be* free to them in domestic Y, general attitude, etc. I have to agree with Elliot at least somewhat, I think the smugness and the arrogance some elites possess is created by the system. Are all elites like this? Of course not. Are the majority like this? No. Are some of them like this? Yes. You also see it in certain people here on FT, but I'm digressing.

ECOTONE

In all honesty, I've heard all of this before....from my mother! It all boils down to one inescapable reality. A biz traveler like myself spends in a year what roughly 125 "average" travlers spend over the same time (figuring that I spend ~$2k/week on air travel) - who in their right mind would expect an airline to treat us all the same?

KNRG

Same? No. All treated well? Yes.

The minute perks between a Business Select fare and a discount or regular ticket on WN are pretty obviously slim, and to many, probably not worth it. But the BS pax are happy, the other pax are happy, and no one can tell them apart once they're on the plane.

It's a matter of treating everyone properly, which is where some legacy airlines are starting to fail. As mentioned, you have the be elite to get any sort of decent treatment on many airlines.

That said, anyone else see the irony of this thread being in the least likely forum for one of us WN-fans to venture?

WRCSolberg

You essentially have to be an elite to maintain the status quo. It's the not the elites baring the brunt of the cuts, it's the non-elites. I tell you what, if I weren't an elite with AA, I'd be flying WN in a heartbeat.

AndDee

He is a columnist and not a journalist.

There is the explanation

redbeard911

I'm not elitist, I'm just better than everybody else.

Chris Elliott is an example of the greening of journalism...all trash gets recycled.

icurhere2

Wow - I'm sorry he feels this way, as he quoted me in one of his 2003/2004 US News and World Report articles . . . not elite now (but was at that time).

BravoZulu

I don't show up here that often.

Mr. Elliott is not an idiot. In this situation, he is merely an entertainer and a good one at that; he communicates well and enjoys a following. A journalist would have the facts; sometimes Mr. Elliott is a journalist. Entertainers report stories and anecdotes; sometimes entertainers are commedians and we get to smirk, if not laugh, at what they have to say. For every flamer on a flight, there are hoards who are civil. For a rare bad experience with a flight, there are just too many good ones to report. Good news doesn't sell papers. I do not believe that Mr. Elliott was very entertaining to this audience on this story. Perhaps creating class warfare sells to the masses; but that's why he plies his trade elsewhere.

Elites and high-revenue passengers are deserving of special treatment commensurate with their investment (whether that's a paid First or Business class seat or the thousands of miles they fly with an alliance); they generally know what to expect in terms of consistency, timeliness and efficiency. That said, there is absolutely no excuse for rude and arrogant behavior (such people are embarassments to their parents and, frankly, their parents are to blame for their upbringing); sometimes we have to look at the camera to see how badly we behave - it's the "all about me" syndrome.

The once-per-year or infrequent traveller is deserving of a timely and quality experience as well. The more that she/he/they invest(s) in understanding traveller obligations and the terms and conditions of carriage, the better the experience. When they show up late to the airport, when they are not familiar with the security and boarding processes, when they don't know that they cannot transport their clothes closet with them in plastic bags, when they purchased the super discounted airfare and did not realize that the 4-hour flight only came with peanuts and a soda (I know that they are working on a change to that as well), then they did not invest the time and energy to have a quality and timely experience. They should not be rude or arrogant because of this either.

Airline staff (I'm not saying every single individual) are trying to do they best that they can; sometimes it is under trying circumstances. Some treat guidance as rules; some treat rules as guidance. They are not the same and, when there are inconsistencies from experience to experience, they need help to understand the difference; sometimes it's a coverage issue or a training shortfall, sometimes it's a short fuse at the end of a long shift after coping with many flight disruptions with an uninformed public. Whether it's a need to use the facilities or whether it's an unknowing customer is in the wrong line at the wrong time or whether there's no coverage for the elite checkin line, there is pressure to get it right and to keep the timeliness and quality and consistency and . . . the good humor. They should not be rude or arrogant either. We are buying a service and they are providing one; but the client is not always right and there may not be enough time to work it out before the flight is closed or about to land. Sometimes we are not privy to circumstances, but just see what is obvious; sometimes we have to be treated like cattle and we all know how much we don't like that feeling.

Casual travellers become elites and elites become casual travellers. Aspiring to elite level and living out of hotels is not for everyone. Achieving elite status comes with a cost; elites are, therefore, entitled to the benefits. Some elites are more equal than others. So, if a last minute Platinum bumps a last minute Silver waiting for an upgrade, there is yet another incentive for the Silver to become a Gold or Platinum or purchace a full fare coach far in advance. You can pay your way into the club. If a Platinum doesn't get upgraded because someone purchases a last minute First or Business, then there is an incentive for her/him to purchase a more expensive seat. If I wanted to sit in the Box seat rather than in the bleachers or on the lawn, then I think that I am entiled to pay for it and get a little better service. If I (or my benefactor) purchased a Club seat with attendant service and private facilities, then I believe that I am entitled to them. Seat envy makes a lot of money for the service provider; is that bad?

Frankly, there is a difference between a $300 and and $3000 ticket; there had better be otherwise there won't be a $3000 client to subsidize the $300 clients. There is a fundamental difference between the treatment of a Platinum and a once-per-year traveller otherwise some other provider will create the difference. Likewise, there is a difference between good service and bad service, both are appropriately rewarded with loyalty behavior. Those are facts.

Do I now qualify as a journalist? No, still not as good as Mr. Elliott the journalist or the entertainer. I'll just keep working on my status.

Happy 4th to all; still smiling.

stsarvet

Christopher Elliott has never heard of "You get what you paid for."

By the way, I always fly economy except one time upgrade.

spartacus

That's not the French Revolution, that's 'History Of The World: Part III'

I had to laugh when it occured to me that their is a disease at MSNBC of people named Chris...Chris Elliott, Chris Matthews...

I would rather have the actor Chris Elliott. Remember when he was 'The World's Most Dangerous Man' on Letterman?