Ever self-upgraded to E+?
 

I recently flew FLL-EWR and booked myself in a cheap Y seat. I noticed the flight was more than 50% empty, so I noticed an E+ row that was completely empty on the seat map minutes before departure, and moved to that row. Didn't get any heat from the flight attendants.

Sounds like you are referring to a United flight?
If so, sounds like you had a crew that didn't notice or was not inclined to ask you to pony up $$$ that you should have paid, or been entitled to with status.
Many, many threads on this topic over the years, including
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...t=self-upgrade
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...t=self-upgrade
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...t=self-upgrade

Yeah, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

(In before the close!)

IME, DL does a good job keeping pax who did not pay out of EC seats. I've heard announcements on numerous occasions that non-EC pax can move around, but not to the EC seats with gray headrests.

:eek:

I'm unfamiliar with this mythical 50% full flight. ;)

On every UA flight I've been on in the past 3-4 years, nearly every seat is occupied: no one is self-upgrading anywhere.

I guess it depends on the crew and the airline. I've seen AA and JetBlue FAs kick people out of MCE/EMS seats who don't belong there.

oh boy. I don't see a happy end to this thread.

IBTL.

I was on a flight on AA, had an empty row by myself in "main cabin extra" (their version of E+) and prior to takeoff another lady moved into the row with me. I had the window, she took the aisle.

I was somewhat unhappy at having another person, but whatever.

This. ^ Absolutely this. What the OP did is completely uncool, regardless of whether the FAs gave him/her heat or not.

I had the same thing happen to me, but when the poacher sat down, I asked her what she was doing... the lady said "just spreading out". I told her that was my seat. She looked confused since I was sitting in the window seat. Told her I bought the entire aisle. She said sarcastically "oh, right". I said "I'm serious". Then she went back to her old seat.

The fun games we play on airplanes....

It's a completely empty row, therefore affecting exactly ZERO people other than OP himself.

I'm slightly amazed at the rush to defend airlines after they do their best to work us over day after day after day for things that were standard 10 years ago.

Dear OP: I would do the same thing and not think twice about it. If anyone has a serious problem with it they really need to take a moment and think for a second. It's different if someone moves into an already-occupied row, but seriously...we're all in cattle class, some of us are in marginally better cattle class, don't be so godawfully miserable.

That is because if 50% of the flights are at 50% load and 50% of the flights are at 100% load, 67% of the passengers are on full flights even though half the flights are empty. Or a similar calculation. :)

If 50% of the flights are at 25% load and 50% of the flights are at 100% load, 80% of the passengers are on full flights even though half the flights are empty! :eek:

So would you also move to an empty Business row just because it is empty? Or where exactly do you draw the line? If you want a better row, you pay for it. Moving to an empty row in your class of service is fine. But this is not your class of service - regardless if you are calling it marginally better or whatever. Self-upgrading is cheating.

So you stole something and got away with it?

as the old saying goes ...
"Figures don't lie; liars figure!"
:D