"beat the system" Tip #33: sit beside an empty seat
 

I have a (good) friend who improves his chances to sit beside a free seat (on not full airplanes) by:

Having a second seat reserved (at his side) on his wife's name (with a full-fare-unrestricted-one-way-ticket), cancelling this seat just at the very last moment (later on cashing in the full-fare-unrestricted-ticket).

He says, that sometimes, when the flight is really full, and the free seat will "disappear" anyway - he/she might even volunteer for giving up the seat (and cashing in what ever they get for doing this favour to the airline ...).

As I said, I would never do this, but I can't controle my friends ...

(from the guerilla-handbook)

Like Rudi, I too have a friend who specialized in something similar (sorry -- this is only kinda/sorta on-thread to Rudi's post!)...

Friend would book three tickets for holiday weekends to Colorado/Utah ski resorts. He/she and two friends would spend Thurs/Fri afternoon/evenings at airport getting bumped from two or three flights on different carriers.

Friend said it was a great way to fly free...

Oh the h-o-r-r-o-r...

Rudi,

I LIKE YOU!!!!

As with many of us on this board ---
Let's keep working the system!

Cindi

udi,

I thought of the same idea, but never tried it. I don't think this is a good place to tell these kinds of things because of who might be watching; we should use email instead.

I decided it was a bad idea to book an extra seat because although the airlines might have a difficult time proving that an additional seat was purchased with the intention the ticket would not be used, if they catch on, they might take a very dim view.

When airlines attempted to cap travel agents commissions, an irate travel agent in Texas booked, with refundable tickets, almost every seat on a Delta flight. As far as I know, since there were no passengers to use the tickets, the flight flew almost empty. I know that Delta filed a fraud(or similar) suit against the travel agent. I never found out the result, but I would think that Delta would have prevailed because the travel agent intentionally set out to deprive Delta of revenue. Anyone know the results? Although the empty seat issue is slightly different than that with the travel agent, I would think it would still be considered a form of "fraud". I guess you could always produce the passenger that would say they really were intending on flying in the extra seat, but in a formal inquiry, this wouldn't work...as Mr. Clinton found out the hard way.

I seldom worry (to much).

As I posted here several times: "the stories are (mainly, sometimes with personal attachments from me) from the book: The Airline Passenger's Guerill Handbook, 1989, ISBN 0-924022-04-3, no longer available, I tried to buy some used one's for some corresponding friends here on flyertalk, so far Amazon is still searching for it). And the stories are NOT recommendations.

And emailing the stories would pose new questions: to whom, how can I be/make sure about to whom, etc. etc. etc. - and before emailing some story to somebody, how do I find out who is interested in which story? And it would be less fun for the rest of you/us. So anyone is free to click on my "tips" or to go to another subject ....

And anyway, the book was published in the US, it was sold out, and I don't know about any claims against the book, the author or the publishing company.

I haven't heard yet Hitchkok or Wallace or Miss Marple having been sued for murder or giving tips for murder ....

And as I said also "I don't and wouldn't do it" (and this is the plain truth when I say that), another question stays unanswered, that is if really a good friend of mine or a brother have tried/would try/recommend .....

But in life there are always open questions - I love misteries ...

(by the way ... it is not so easy to sue me in Switzerland).

how does FlyerTalk, Randy, think about my sometimes more or less "dubious" but mostly very harmless tips here? any problems?

(and yet another attachment to this topic: since my 98-Superbowl-happening, published here about a month ago, and with all the chocolates that followed the good outcome, I know that the US-police is always on my side ...).

I have a (good) friend who thinks that as long as these topics are discussed in the abstract, there isn't much risk attached. It's true, the freq flyer tips are becoming dodgier, but this is when you are approaching maestro (ie Rudi) level. And sharing information doesn't mean acting on it, so the airlines needn't worry about a rush of phantom passengers/'business' travellers in the economy bathrooms, etc.

The travel agent who defrauded Delta was deliberately trying to harm the airline, whereas Rudi's phantom friend would give up the seat for paying passengers. Unless you take the airlines' money for a stunt like this, I don't see much harm done.

Speaking of stories (Emmett/Nancy coming up), I'm still waiting with bated breath for the Virgin tale, MF. Beginning to turn blue in the face, in fact. Perhaps that one you could e-mail, to avoid any litigious interests.

I was concerned that by posting on here, the airlines will know our ways around the system and perhaps change their policies to prevent loop holes.

Nothing like a good loop hole to crawl though. *s*

Nothing like a good loop hole to crawl through. *s*

Stupid cookies...they keep putting my real name on my posts.

Regards to the deliberate bumping strategy it is quite difficult to actually pull off. Suppose you buy an unrestricted, refundable ticket, then two possibilities arise:

(1) you get a boarding pass and then they ask for volunteers and you get bumped. However if the flight *isn't* full you have to back out at the last minute and get them to cancel your boarding pass and then refund your ticket. Difficult to do without drawing suspicion to yourself.

(2) you don't actually get a boarding pass but just go directly to the departure gate (possible in US airports only) - in which case by the probable time they are looking for volunteers (about 5-10 min before the flight) they are likely to deny giving you a boarding pass on the grounds that you arrived too late to get one and hence aren't entitled to being compensated for being bumped.

I admit that the above problems aren't unsolvable but do make it punitively difficult. If someone has a solution or critique of my analysis, please email me privately (I'd be happy to oblige the favor in any way I can - computer programming, upgrade coupons whatever !)

Is it true that sometimes the airlines block
out certain seats in the front of the coach
section for Elites and try to leave an empty
seat on the less busy flights?

A few times to DFW on United when I could
not get upgraded I had an empty seat next to
me, whcih ended taking my suit jacket, mini
office (I'll explain off-line to interested
parties) and other stuff.

It would be nice to get an empty seat, but I
would not go out of the way to do it.

Sometimes (esp in first/Business) if I
don't ahve to work on board it's nice to have
someone to talk to (and see their reaction to
my CAT pictures!) CATMAN

UA promises: "Whenever possible, we'll reserve the forward rows of the eco cabin on UA flights worldwide for our premier members. When you choose a window or an aisle seat, we will do all we can to place you next to an empty seat when space permits. So, unless your flight is full, you may have more room to spread out and work, or relax undisturbed".

(UA 1/98 welcome to 1K)