DeafFlyer

What I don't get was that you agreed to talk it over the next day and then he goes and calls United. Why'd he do that?

cpx

If I had an E+ seat right next to the main door, I'd give up the upgrade.
I'd like to be able to run home or to my destination after I arrive. I dont
like waiting in the A/C or the airport.

But to give up the upgrade for 5+ hr to/from hawaii, I can only agree with the
few reasons given above.


If the trip is under 6 hours, I dont care if I get a coach seat or the first.
If the trip is 10+ hours I'd like to be able to catch some sleep.

flysurfer

I wouldn't. Especially not after offering upgrades to said companions.

tlhanger

That sounds like me. After flying first class for years on stand-by, I now have to purchase tkts like everyone else and can never afford first class. But I do think of it fondly.

TierFlyer

I mentioned this thread to a work-friend and he told me that he's twice turned down first class on the first leg of a three-leg domestic so that the second legs won't seem so horrible.

Personally I'd Hasslehoff my way through the second two legs, but that's just me.

alphaeagle

It seems that he thinks that its a huge favor of the OP to upgrade to first. There has been times when I've gotten people in first class one way or another (or even just on a flight) and they think I'm some sort of Saint. Maybe a better explanation of how the free upgrade works, and how its not a inconvience at all would help.

sam123

If your BIL didn't have kids, I'd say he's clinically insane

Since he has kids, I can buy some of the reasons others have said.

However, if someone upgraded my family of four to Hawaii, not only would I accept but that person would enjoy an unlimited supply of free Mai Tai's on my tab while there...

Sami

lykstyk

Thats probably one of the reasons he didn't want to accept. He probably thought he would have to cover dinner or drinks totaling a couple a hundred bucks because op covered upgrades. his value for FC is not the same as yours sam (or mine).

sylaw72

thanks everyone, for your responses. i do feel better after reading them (especially the one about the lady who tored up her op-up boarding pass). When my BIL and I saw each other at the lunch the next day, I asked him why did he do that? He replied that he "just wanted to keep things simple". I didn't understand what that meant, but when I tried to follow up the conversation, he simply shut it down. That was why I was worried that it could have been something that he was feeling toward me. Reading the various posts helped me to see that there are many reasons; kids, waste, insecurity, or simply wanting to feel like owing someone, that doesn't have anything to do with me specifically (people with BILs should be able to understand why i would worry about things like that). Thanks again for everyone's input.

flysurfer

Honestly, if your BIL displays the same attitude during your stay, I have a feeling that this could become a quite annoying vacation. In order to "keep things simple", he may disagree with every choice of accomodation/activity/purchase/restraurant. Or maybe "simple" means that there will be no mutual favors between him and you during the trip, so everybody will excatly pay their own bill down to the last cent.

IceTrojan

Does your BIL's wife and family know about the downgrade? Perhaps you should make an offhanded statement, like, "I'm so sorry you decided to sit in Y.... oh well, you probably want to keep walking, as we're not allowed to mix cabins. See you when we land!"

ssullivan

Sounds like one of my best friends. He was not all that thrilled when I upgraded him with me on an EWR-IAH flight earlier this year. After we landed in Houston and were driving home from the airport, he described his first experience in first class as nice, but he was upset that first class contributes to "elitism" and that it wasn't fair that most of the people on that flight didn't get the extra legroom, wide seat, and nicer meal that he just had. He's one of my closest friends, and I'd do anything for the guy, but we've agreed to disagree on our differing opinions on stuff like this.

Back to the original post here. Could it also be that your brother in law thinks he could never provide first class travel to Hawaii for his wife and kids himself, and doesn't want your upgrade offer to set his family's travel expectations higher than what he's able to provide for them on his own?

thegeneral

Personally, if I paid $2k for a full class fare to Hawaii for my vacation I'd be a little unhappy if someone booked 3 kids (3, 3 and 6) around me. I would think that the adult would have enough common sense and courtesy to keep them out of the front cabin.

Pickles

My Passive-Aggressive to English dictionary says this means "I don't want to incur any obligations." I have a friend like that. He is pathologically incapable of believing that somebody would do something for somebody else and not expect anything in return.

RichMSN

Puh-lease. Rest assured that I use my miles in exactly this way and I don't care what anyone else in F thinks about it.