When traveling with one co-worker and two upgrades are available, I will upgrade both of us. (Most recent case: yesterday, LHR-BOS).

When only one is available, I'll decline it. (Have done that too.)

If there were multiple co-workers I'd probably sit in back with them. With that many people we'd probably make a lot of noise. We wouldn't get as many nasty stares there!

Vaguely relevant story: connecting at Zurich on Swissair to return to Boston. I shopped and was late for boarding. The agent said "Your seat has been given to another passenger." I pleaded - I have to get home - is there any way I can get on the flight? She said, meaning every word with the utmost seriousness, "Yes, but I am sorry. You will have to fly in first class."

As I was sitting there, fully reclined with a glass of champagne and whatever else, my boss walked by on his way back to his economy seat. He didn't say a word, then or later. (He was a pretty uncommunicative guy.) He knew how much my ticket cost, since he signed my expense report. He is probably still wondering how I finagled that double upgrade!

The diplomatic thing would have been to offer him the seat. We didn't get along that well, though, so I was never going to do that. I left the company soon after by what can only be described as "mutual agreement."

When I've taken employees to Internet World or MacWorld or to the Freddies, anything like that, I always grab the upgrades and then switch boarding passes as we get on board. They enjoy the pleasant surprise and I'm fine with coach way back by the bathrooms. Always, if only one upgrade available it goes to whomever i'm traveling with.

I did love the comment by Chetney about the mother-in-law.

I'll never upgrade and leave Toxagirl behind, to the point we once almost flew she in First, me in coach (we both ended up in Business) for a 11+ h flight. You people need to be more romantic...

I've been left out of upgrades a couple of times while traveling with colleagues.

First time, we were trying to catch an earlier flight and as I had the rental car, and being a nice guy, I dropped off 3 coworkers before going to the rental return. By the time I got to the gate, boarding had already begun while I asked if there was still room for me. Felt lucky there was, but then I was surprised to see the others sitting in F smiling at me while I continued on back to Y feeling a bit miffed.

Second time, another coworker and I, both of us AA Pt, were at the gate together. I checked in first and got my assigned seat, then the GA called another passenger who was off to the side after me. Next my coworker who afterwards came over to me, and said 'look at this', a F boarding pass due to an operational upgrade. I merely congratulated him on his good luck, but wondered why him and not me. Apparently the other passenger was trying to get 2 seats together, so they 'bumped' my friend.....but there was an empty seat next to me!

Oh, Randy, you are so nice!

I should try to be a nicer person when it comes to upgrades; but I am so careful about gathering the miles.

I am so careful about gathering miles that I actually felt quity shopping at Sam's the other day instead of COSTCO where I could have used my AmEx card.

I'll work on being nicer! I don't mind being back by the toilets.

I bet you are one very happy feller! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

If word ever got out on the mother-in-law bulletin boards, chat rooms or koffee klatches that you did such a thing, two things would probably happen.

One, you would have immediately ruined life for all the rest of us son-in-laws as you would be held up as the poster child example of what a good son-in-law is supposed to be like for all of us to follow and...

two, if #1 above occurred, all of us "other" dog house son-in-laws would immediately hunt you down and probably kill you. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Late last year I had a trip from SYD to HKG and ICN on TG (cheapest BC out of Sydney for that journey on a *A or OW carrier). We were staying with my parents while in SYD, and I thought it would be nice for my wife and I to spend the weekend in Bangkok and leave our daughter with my parents.

Since we were paying rather than the company I booked her in economy. To reduce my embarrassment I put her on QF rather than TG, since the flights left within 15 mins of each other.

She got me back by getting upgraded on QF (she has AA GLD) while I was stuck in TG's old business class without legrests and with 40" pitch.

She is still gloating about this. Her only complaint was that the QF dreamtime seats don't go all the way back - almost calling a FA to complain about the broken seat http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif (we arrived in Australia on a FC RTW award ticket - and, yes, my almost 2 year old travelled right up front, but that is a separate story)

- Simon

My wife doesn't care about the upgrade (she doesn't drink, she fits in a coach seat and she doesn't fly as much). I would never upgrade and leave her in coach when it is just the two of us. But last summer we went to Europe with the two kids and I only had 2 VIPOW. I sat in BC the entire time and the kids alternated segments sitting next to me.

On one very full flight I was in First (on upgrade) and my client was in coach. After boarding, about 15 minutes before departure, I saw that there was still one FC seat. I walked out to the podium and offered to pay full fare to upgrade the client (it was about $150 difference from SEA to SJC). My client was paged out of coach (he said he knew the reason as soon as they called his name). The 1K who was standing by the podium (he didn't get an upgrade because of my manuver) actually gave me a genuine smile and said "nice move".

If I'm traveling with family or friends, I always fly with them in coach, unless I can upgrade everyone in my party. (If it's just two of us, and we have bad coach seats, I seek upgrades for both of us. Otherwise, I'm fine in coach.)

As for co-workers, I don't take them into account regarding whether I upgrade or not, unless I happen to be flying with a co-worker who's also a close friend, in which case, the above rule applies. If there are 20 of us from my company on the plane, and I barely know half of them, I'm certainly not going to take their feelings into account when I upgrade. Most of them are FF'ers too, and they know the ropes about upgrades. If I'm in the upgrading mood for whatever reason, I go for it...

(I have never traveled with a client or potential client that needs to be schmoozed. I'm guessing that if that ever happened, and my company deemed a first-class seat as important to making the sale, they would *buy* the F/J tickets instead of relying on my mid-tier status to get us upgraded from coach.)