Wow! You are cute! Let me know if you are ever on a London stop over... I will show you the town! ;)

In all seriousness now, nice trip report! I have a few of my own you may want to read! Planning a trip around the US and central America on AA, via SFO, ORD, MIA and MGA, will be one heck of a TR following that!

Regards,

BingBongBoy

> This was the first time I actually slept well on a plane, including my flights > in Business. Being 6'1, I really need to First Suite to be comfortable and it > sure was. I was woken up one hour prior to arrival, as requested, for my
> breakfast.

I'm puzzled by this comment. At 6'1 you need a First Suite to be comfortable? I'm 6'4 and find the business seats to have plenty of room for sleeping.

I actually find the Business seat a tight fit, both length wise and width. I can only really sleep on my side, so that might be it.

LOL You're not the only one with such thoughts! Why don't I ever get someone that cute sitting next to me on the long-haul flights? :D

Nice report ODTheATC. Glad you got to experience the new F hard product and thanks for including pics! ;)

Hahaha, well I try :p. Thanks again. I look forward to posting my next report!

Interesting. Maybe after so many nights on planes, I've just learned to suck it up. Based on your pic, you look smaller than me and I have no trouble at all sleeping on my side. Of course, maybe you don't enjoy red wine and benedryl, lol....

Yeah, it might just be me but I have always had trouble sleeping on planes until I took this flight. I think it might be the seat width, because when I turn from my side to my back, I always manage to knock over a drink haha.

I'm not denying that sometimes employees violate rules, but there is a fairly strong code of ethics detailing what gate agents can and cannot do. Bypassing a revenue customer's upgrade to accommodate a non-rev is a clear violation of policy, even moreso if the gate agent is friends with the non-rev.

Just FYI, some gate agents will use the upgrade list to "stage" possible operational upgrades because of a potentially oversold flight. This may explain why you see customers who don't clear from the upgrade waitlist screen, yet non-revs seated in the cabin. Unless you are a customer who doesn't clear off the list and have a supported upgrade, it's hard to know exactly what happened.

BTW, shame on that non-rev for not being more discreet.

Great Trip report!

One question: How did you manage to get moved to #1 on the standby list? Was it seniority or does the list sort based on your type of position at UA?

I wasn't moved to #1. That's where I was when the gate was opened. It's based on seniority and boarding priority.

Great report !! Don't let all the "Debbie Downers" get to you on here, you have to have a thick skin on here for sure, that is why I only have so few posts and I have been on here for years. I just get sick of getting flamed by some of the "childish meanies."

This kid gave a fresh and honest fun report, so excited to tell us his story, and was even open enough to put his pic in it, which 99% of these reports don't have. Yet some of you had to take it negative. Does it make you feel better about yourselves?

DARE I SAY that most of you DD's ( see above ) don't pay for your F/J tickets, it is a perk of your job and your employer/stock holders foot the bill. Then YOU save the miles and cash them in for free F/J travel for you and your family. Food for thought, but I am sure that those will find a twisted way to say they earn it and this kid does not. Give me a break !!!

My friend works for a carmaker and drives a new luxury vehicle every 6 months ( the length of time his employer says he must keep the vehicle) , orders a new one, and sells the old one for a few $$'s more then he pays for it. I wonder if there is a car enthusiest blog that has whiners with petty jealousies like here in FF world that complain about that? Another friend works for a luxury home builder and had a home built at a HUGE discount and then furnished it with all the kickback ( i mean incentives ) gift cards that the vendors give them for uprades the buyer makes to more expensive carpet, tile, etc, etc when they build. I am talking to the tune of 10's of thousands of $$$'s at places like Macy's and such. Yet another friend is in management of one of the biggest retail clothing and housewares multi chain conglomerates in the world and has an entire room in their house to store the free clothing that they wear, and can then take down to donate and get a big tax write off receipt.

Some of you are so negative and SAD. This kid could probably give us more fun and good reports in the future, but you will scare him into the darkness on anonymity or off here completely.

[QUOTE=BingBongBoy;14178023]Wow! You are cute! Let me know if you are ever on a London stop over... I will show you the town! ;)

BBB, you are toooooo funny, LOL !!!

Great report ODTheATC! The product looks good ex-ORD.

OT - some thoughts about NRSA travel
 

DL is awful - virtually all non-revs and Buddy Pass users ride in Business Elite - no thank you... I would fly with another airline.

But actually I believe pass policy of other airlines is quite reasonable - most airlines offer their employees some opportunity to sit up front (seniority and/or extra charge), but - at the same time - make sure that some exclusivity of the First/Business cabins is maintained. Plus airline employees recently went through so many cutbacks and IMHO deserve these perks.

Naturally Asian carriers are different - I was told Asiana would leave non-revs behind rather then upgrading them to Business Class and only Board members and pilots can ride up front (not even Flight Managers or Pursers traveling on duty).

You did not mention if you fly paid J or use different devices to sit there. Do you pay for your tickets or does your company/stock holders pay for your perk of sitting in J as opposed to Y? Does a perk/company policy of one company mean that the perk/company policy of an airline employee is less deserved? Just curious how people justify all the consternation of one work group getting a benefit over another? Do your FF miles go to you for your next vacation or do they go back to the company/stockholders to save $$ on your future business travel? When you travel do you stay at a perfectly acceptable, clean, HI Express or similar or do you stay at the FS Marriott or similar at the expense of the company/stockholder?

Please do not take these questions as being hostile. It is an honest attempt to understand why some FF's feel that company perks are good for one industry as opposed to others.