halls120

I believe you are conflating my comments in the full lavatory discussion with this one. The "employee class" incident I personally witnessed took place 6 years ago.

WineCountryUA

Yep, appears I did. My apologies but 6 years is still a fairly distant event, about the time of the PSS merger.
I think the point of others this is more of an uncommon event versus a common event. The fairly involved upgrade priorities and the multiple ways for passengers skip the list and the opaque (to passengers) employee rules lead to people being suspicious / conspiratory of most legit events.

warrenw

How can you tell when someone is an air marshal?

That's how I can tell, if they are in both the standby and the upgrade lists.

Honestly? I flew between xmas and new years, and 24 hours before my flight only 16/48 seats were occupied. Then once check in started the standby list grew to over 20 people and the same people were on the upgrade list, and they all cleared. So my once sparsely populated biz cabin was now pretty packed (42/48) and I now had a seat partner (787) and the person in front of me (whose seat was also empty T-24) kept on reaching back to adjust my windows because it was too bright for her...... But refused to say anything to me? And I'm 99% sure a number of the folks upgraded were nonrevs because more than a few of them knew the pilots when they came by to board the flight. Anyway I had been hoping for a less-crowded flight but it ended up being pretty tight. To be fair I had just gotten off of the 77W a few days prior so that was still fresh in my mind... Maybe I wouldn't have cared on the 77W.

I know that all sounds like first world problems but I really was looking forward to the extra space. Plus I paid cash for my ticket. I know it's one of the perks they get working for the airline but it just cheapens the experience for me.

porciuscato

Anyone who flies GF or boards as first as GS often, will know there are 3 good ways to tell. One way is 100%, the other two maybe 60-70%.

I've occasionally been tempted to ask these guys if they want everybody to know who they are, because it's so bloody obvious to anybody who pays attention.

The whole program has dubious merit -- air marshals have been arrested more times than they have arrested other people. As a frequent flier, I would rather see their seats used for upgrades (and even NRSAs for that matter).

warrenw

Sooo what are the three ways?

fgirard

They do not use the IFE, do not have a meal, and most of the time are looking straight ahead, without the seat in any reclining position. If that is their attempt at 'blending in,' then they need to re-think their strategy.

canadiancow

For what it's worth, I know how to get on both lists as a revenue passenger on both UA and AC (it's easier on UA).

Appearing on both lists does not mean you're a non-rev.

porciuscato

LOL. Those are some other ways, and the first two are actually not correct. They do eat, but they don't drink (well, except when they do and they get arrested for it). They do use the IFE, but they don't pay much attention to it, because they've seen all the movies already.

I'll give you one of the 70% methods: if you see a pair of guys sitting in GF (or the upper deck), who are 30-55 year old able-bodied males and are miraculously snuggled in their seats (nearby but not next to each other) before all the pre-boards, yet you don't remember seeing them ever board......

warrenw

Usually from a SDC?

canadiancow

On UA, it happened when I was on another airline's ticket (not 016), in a premium cabin, and wanted to get on an earlier flight. They couldn't do a SDC because it wasn't 016, but they put me on standby. I showed up on both lists in the app and on the screens, but only the standby list on the GA's computer.

I doubt this is a common scenario, but I was top of the list, so I'm sure there was someone who thought I was a sneaky employee jumping the list.

LarryJ

Another way for it to appear that someone is on both lists is different people having similar names.

SMI/J - Jeff Smisek
SMI/J - John Smith
SMI/J - Jared Smialic
etc.

kale73

What's your success rate on identifying the able-bodied female FAMs?

porciuscato

100%. They also tend to magically appear in front cabin seats before any pre-boards have stepped on the plane. And they are emphatically not on the upgrade or standby lists, BTW. I won't divulge the 100% method, however. If you board early and pay attention, you'll figure it out after a while. If the FAMs are trying to remain incognito, they're sure doing a lousy job of it.

LordHamster

Exactly this.

First of all, you often see a group of 2-3 guys who look ex-military all board at the same time... about 10-15 min before pre-boading. Then once I board "first" as GS in GF I notice that one of them is already seated. Mr. 21 year old marine type, spends the remainder of the 10 hour flight sitting bolt upright, not sleeping, not drinking etc. When he gets up and bends over, you can see the outline of his Sig P229 under the plaid shirt.

Anyone who pays attention can spot them super super easy. They just don't fit the profile. That said... in the context of this thread, they are always quiet as a churchmouse and the perfect seatmates in GF. I think the past 3 times I've flown to Europe in GF, I was the only "real" customer... the rest was NRSAs and a Marshall.

kale73

Okay, so you can pick out the "obvious" ones. There's a better than zero chance that there are others who intentionally board later and may even (gasp! horrors!!!) be seated in Y.