I met a guy who was my AA flight to ORD late last year. He was flying ORD-NRT twice a month & never heard of VIP's. He flew in paid J. I told him what I knew about AA--I didn't know alot about AA since it was only my 2nd AA flight! I told him that he could use his VIP's & go into F.

Guess he will be cleaning his house to find his VIP's! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

Me too which makes travel agents look like complete tits http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

I was in a travel agent in Newbury the other weekend and was dealing with a manager who was giving me a quote for a BA World Traveller Plus ticket to SFO returning from YVR. The lady turned to her colleague and said 'What is the letter for World Traveller P..' at which point I said 'its T for discounted, W for full fare but I dont need a full fare'

I did the same at STA Travel in Southampton with Business Class 'What fare code is it for Bus...'

cue my interruption http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...rum/tongue.gif

I don't normally talk to my seatmate unless he/she strikes up a conversation first.

I have noticed that people in first tend to talk less to their seatmate than people in coach.

I always exchange at least a few nice words with my neighbor/seatmate should there be one! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

I much prefer to discuss porn sites.

Bad idea: Way too many URLs to try to remember.

My experience, regarding FT, not porn sites, is the same as GoingAway's. If I somehow get into a conversation relevant to FT, I'll mention it.

So far, I've not come across any random seatmate who knows about this board. I've seem some people who I suspect might, such as the woman who was doing ORD-MKE-ORD flights with a 30 min stop when I was.

I told a seatmate I was next to about FT since I told her the fact that I had to fly from Tijuana on no sleep was due to a posting I saw here relating to a discount to BUE flying "intra-latin america" via CO & their miles.

This was in cattle, she was NOT a frequent flyer, but I mentioned flyertalk.com anyways if she wanted to accure miles and work on free tix etc.

I was at the Sheraton Royal in Fiji over Christmas and one evening Mr SusieQ invited a young man sitting alone to join us for a drink. A fellow American for him to chat to.

The guest mentioned that he was on an award ticket for travel, and using his points for free hotel accommodation.
My cue to ask if he had heard of the Flyertalk website?
Yes, he said he had been lurking for a long time and yet to post. He was equally surprised to find someone else who knew about it.

I have mentioned Flyertalk to quite a few people I meet while travelling, and often relate the story that got me hooked - "The Puddin Man".

I have FlyerTalk tags on my carry ons. Believe it or not, I've seen airline employees glance at the tags before furiously pounding their keyboards to find an upgrade or exit aisle seat for me. (I am 6'4")

Never mentioned it to an airline employee, but several passengers have asked me about FlyerTalk when they see my tags.

I don't mention FlyerTalk because I don't want to talk to my seat mate at all.

I've found that people in First Class are more talkative than people in coach (the only disadvantage of being upgraded).

In my lifetime, I've taken far more coach flights than First, yet I've had two coach flights where the person next to me insisted on talking, compared to four First flights where my seatmate appeared to be writing my biography.

I don't want to be rude, so I don't resist the barrage of questions (luckily the talkative flights weren't long), but I really do want to sit there in silence and stare out the window or think about something (can't think and talk about different subjects at the same time).

Back to mentioning FlyerTalk -- goodness, why would I want more people to figure out how to earn miles more cheaply and upgrade more frequently? Award tickets and upgrades are zero-sum games. Every additional person that participates is one less available award ticket or seat into which I can upgrade. So, the more people in the dark, the better! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

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"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." -- Mark Twain

[This message has been edited by JS (edited Jan 31, 2004).]

I learned of FT from a seatmate. Wish I knew his FT name, but in any event am grateful for the heads-up!

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The black art of how to gift UA North America Upgrades is revealed here.

I'm more apt to strike up a conversation with an airline employee than I am with my seatmates. I have begun mentioning FT to FAs and other airline employees; I love when they participate on the board and offer their unique perspective.