I am no "goody goody"--but the thought of being "caught" would make me so apprehensive that I'd be too nervous to enjoy any of the benefits.

David on a United SH!TTLE flight, the benefits of First Class are a pack of prezels and two beers if you are REALLY fast, and if they still have any loaded late afternoon, and if there was any ice to put them in and keep them cold. You might be able to live with that luxury!

Row #1 on a 737 has not legroom, and row 2 doesn't recline much. And that's all she wrote on a 737!

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~ Glen ~

Merry, on nearly every BA flight I am queried first at the check-in line and then again on on-board. Admittedly, the staff is quite apologetic when I produce a 1st class bp, and tend to overcompensate for the duration of the flight, so I don't mind. Still I've never been asked on Dick's Upper Class.

I wish the airlines would check FC boarding passes when boarding.

I for one, wouldn't be insulted at all.

I witnessed someone getting caught doing this the other day.

I was in F on a flight this friday from SJC to LAX. A passenger who was just boarding noticed a friend/coworker/acquaintance sitting in F with a empty seat next to him. The person continued on his merry way to Coach.

After the flight took off, the coach passenger came up to F and sat down next to his friend. After a few minutes, a FA came up to the person and politely informed him that they were about to begin the coach beverage service and that he needed to return to his seat. He made some feeble argument that he didn't care for any beverages since it was such a short flight and that he "just needed" to talk to his friend. The FA again politely informed him that he needed to go back to his seach in coach. If they wanted to talk, his F friend could go back to coach and sit with him.

The "F thief" heed and hawed about having tried to upgrade at the gate etc. and that he would have paid for an F seat if their was space (F was only half full). The FA informed him that if he wanted, the FA could process the difference in price between his ticket and the F price. They made such a fuss and decided to pay the F, "just to show the FA that they weren't trying to steal a $%^&*()# F seat!) The difference in price was processed by credit card on the spot. The coach guy then went back to his seat in coach and brought his bags up to F, making all sort of noise and a stink the whole time, slamming the overheads after moving his bags.

Oh well, he was probably a privlidged/spoiled kid when he was young who got whatever he wanted and couldn't believe that he had to pay for an F seat.

It is now considered santimonious to view theft of service as stealing?

You are receiving a service for which you have not either (1) paid or (2) been invited. That is stealing.

The response from the folks in the forum would naturally raise the same ire as if you asked your cable guy what he thought of someone hooking up an illegal converter.


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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

It's confession time. When I was just a lad of about 20, I was returning from Munich to JFK on DL. I had run terribly late for the flight and the gate agents were shutting the door as I ran down the jetway. As I walked through First, my bags began to slip and I just made to an empty Biz Class seat before I dropped everything. Two FAs rushed up, one took my bags from me and said she'd find a place for them, and the other gently pushed me into my seat, said to strap in because we were pushing back, and handed me a glass of champagne! I knew right away they thought that was my seat, but I just couldn't bring myself to stand up and tell the truth. That was my first flight in Biz ever and I was totally hooked! :-)

To this day I feel guilt over that flight, so I hope the DL gods will forgive me for my transgression! Now, as a tried-and-true road warrior, I hope I've repaid my sins over time...

jAAck, I wasn't soliciting confessions but all contributions are cheerfully accepted.

There must be a special subcategory; the "I'm taking the first available seat (which just happens to be in First or Biz) because they told me to and we've just got to push back from the gate" upgrade.

Been there, seen that.

hmmm...I think that if you physically seat yourself in a higher class cabin than your boarding pass indicates, and you should be required to pay the difference on the spot, but only if you truely knew that you were not supposed to be in a higher class cabin. I do know that some people don't fly often and do not realize the cabin classes. If a person honestly makes a mistake, and the FA realizes this, the FA should just ask the person to return to their assigned seat.

When I do get to fly first(rarely these days)I always leave my boarding pass on my arm rest until well after departure so the FA will have no doubt I am in my assigned seat.

aubie, me too, when i board, i announce my seat number to the FA standing by the door that greets us, and smilingly, she/he points me the way....
then i place the boading pass on the beverage tray....

Aubie: I think you are right. The moment the airlines compensate you on the spot for down-gradings - passengers who sneak up a class should be made to pay the difference

Oh, hang on a minute - wouldn't that mean that some people with economy tickets would board, look round and see it was too busy in Econ for their liking and then move to Business happily payming the difference. What a pleasure that would make the boarding process....

Nick

One time, I had a seat in first class, confirmed. However, I boarded last and just told my wife 'Just take those seats' in the bulkhead. Apparently the lady across the row heard me, balked at the flight attendants, who then asked my wife and I for our boarding passes.

Of course since we were meant to be in first, it didn't matter. I would never sit in first unless I was meant to be there. I think the lady felt very embarrassed since she tried to make nice talk the whole flight...

Personally I don't think it's right for someone to take a first class seat if they don't belong there, but I also don't think it's right for another passenger to turn them in. It should be the FA's duty to check the manifest and reconcile. It's only a few rows of seat -- shouldn't be so difficult!

Interesting topic for sure. This March I was flying NW from AMS-JFK on a 747. The entire business class section in front of the Economy section was empty. I think they did not have that many passengers in Business and moved everybody to First since the whole sections was clear; or maybe they had seated everyone in another section upfront. It was not an equipment change (the original booking said 747 though individual configurations may be differnet). Incidentally economy was packed.

You could clearly see the empty cabin from your coach seat since the curtains were not drawn. From my seat in economy the film screen in business offered the best view of the movie!

I was wondering why NW did not move some passengers over from economy to business (just for seating); they could have kept the same food/drinks service. There were no business class passengers anyway, and a lot of passengers were connecting via AMS from flights from Asia. I personally had another 8 hour flight from DEL before the AMS-JFK connection. Would have loved the extra space and the chance to relax rather than being stacked in coach, which did not have a single empty seat. I think NW lost a chance to earn their travellers goodwill here. On AA I know of cases (3 cabin 767 on domestic routes), where all the elites are seated in the business section on coach fares, since they do not normally sell business seats on those segments.

Makes me wonder what would have happened if I had sneeaked in to snooze in the business class seat. After all it was not that I was expecting better service of anything, just a little more space on the 20 hour journey. Would it have been unethical or was it justifiable?

Even if Business is completely empty, upgrading yourself is still stealing, and anyone who intentionally does so should be prosecuted IMO.

It's like eating food at an eating establishment which is about to be thrown out (includes employees). If you didn't pay for it, you can't consume it, simple as that.

I'm sure it happens. I see it all the time. While coach may be cramped, by stealing an upgrade, you make the process inefficient. You want to fly first class, then make a few mileage runs to become an elite member.

On the other hand, I am guilty of letting my wife sit in FC in my upgraded seat while I go back in coach. I don't think that is stealing, though, because the FC seat wass rightfully mine and I just traded with someone else. I have never just had one of us sit in an empty seat.

It is not only wrong (not a mortal sin, but still wrong) but makes the blood of those who witness it boil. This seriously contributes to the tension of travelling.

On a side note, what do people feel about the morality of moving to a better seat in the same price range at a sporting event if the seatholders leave midway through?



[This message has been edited by BoSoxFan45 (edited 08-28-2000).]