Funster

Just got back from a week's holiday with my girlfriend in IAH - no, not exactly full of sights to see, I know, but she has family there.

We did C-F-F-C on the LHR-ORD-IAH-ORD-LHR legs and I just thought to myself as she sat there on that first flight in a C seat for the first time - how refreshing to see somebody really enjoying the experience. Made me think back to the first time I flew in C and what a fabulous novelty it was.

Of course, as time has moved on and flying C has become less of a novelty I think my attitude has changed - case in point being whinging on the way back last night/this morning at finding ourselves seated in row 11! She was delighted to be in C again, I was moaning about being in the bulkhead row! In days gone by I would've thought to myself - "Wow! Business Class!".

I suppose the fact that I don't have to pay for champagne/G'n'T/wine/cognac/etc in C is pushing that novelty factor back up for me, but it was just great to see that my girlfriend genuinely enjoyed the experience.

Now, the problem is, she'll be expecting the same every time. What do I do next time we're sat back in E+ or (perish the thought!) E-?!

MapleLeaf

I had the same experience last month, my partner and I flew JFK-LHR and were op'upd to C both directions. It was his very first time flying across the pond and was like a little kid in a candy shop. Kinda nice to see and yeah it reminded me of my first international C experience, also to LHR. He did let me know that he now expects this type of treatment and comfort everytime we fly

Oh well, guess he can't complain about mileage runs now

washdcguy

I'm still like a kid in a candy shop... at least in F. In C, I yearn for the F treatment. My partner... not impressed by any of it.

Any secrets on the intl op up? Only got one once from C to F. Shouldn't complain, but went from top deck on 747 to mid-cabin F. I only agreed b/c they said it was as window.

Funster

None that I'm aware of. Usual scenarios apply - flight oversold, elite members and full fare Y higher on priority list for an op-up. Sometimes very, very late connecting passengers where the gate agent doesn't think they'll make it and has already released their seats only to find them show up and give them an op-up. vdb and agreement to take next flight - doesn't always come with an op-up though.

Think the term 'op-up' pretty much summarises it - upgrade for operational reasons! No doubt there is a sticky somewhere that goes through the relevant procedures.

None of our flights on this little jaunt were op-ups. Used up my final *A certificates, along with a few of those 500-milers (at last!), and burned some miles on the international leg.

TakeMeToEZE

I was in intl C for the first time from ORD-EZE last month thanks to an op-up. As I'm still in law school buying a ticket in C is definitely not an option. It was a great experience. From being handed the shiny United Business boarding pass (okay, it looked the same as my E+ boarding pass, but this is MY story, so it was shiny!) to the big comfy seat I was one very happy camper. I received excellent service from a flight attendant who genuinely cared and for the first time in my life I had airplane food that actually tasted good. And even better, I was able to sleep, something I'm never able to do in E+. I felt like I had won the lottery or something.

On the way back EZE-IAD I was upgraded with an SWU from a friend. Unfortunately the service was below average with several snarky FAs and I had a horrible cold, so the magic was gone and I wasn't loving it like I did on the way down there. Nonetheless it was light years better than it would've been a few rows back. The fact I have to return to E+ on my next trip seems disheartening, but I now know I'll definitely be spending the miles I'm sitting on for premium cabin tickets. I look forward to trying intl F on a 777 or 744. F didn't look too great on the 763.

So yes, many of us are jaded. While I'm not jaded towards C yet, I am definitely jaded towards getting on an airplane. It's kind of nice to see the people boarding planes that still are excited to be there and could care less about their middle seat in E- --- they're just happy to be there.

SafariMatt

I just became a road warrior about a year ago, so in the grand scheme of things, I'm a bit of a newbie. I recall the first (and by no means last) time I got stranded for the night in ORD. I went to the CSR to try and find myself a flight to SMF as I had to work in the morning. He gave me what he described as "the last seat on the 8 a.m. to SFO" and then casually mentioned, "and by the way, sir, it's in Business class." At the time, I wasn't impressed. I had never flown on a widebody before (it was a shiny new 777), so I thought he just meant E+ but was trying to dress it up a bit. Needless to say, the next morning I was blown away when I boarded. I realized as I was sipping my third mimosa that I was going to be in deep trouble the next time I flew, as I was going to expect this C treatment and comfort. Since then, I've come to realize how average domestic F is on non-widebodies, and realize that I'm just as happy sitting in E+ (in my exit row window, thank you very much).

So, I've begun using most of my upgrades to give friends lucky enough to travel on a widebody a taste of that C treatment. In March, one of my mother's friends is travelling from DTW-ORD-PEK, and when I offered her the upgrade, she nearly started crying. That was before I let her try my QC2's and told her she could feel free to borrow them, too. That loosed a tear.

It's always great to let a non-FFer experience some luxury... Besides, then maybe they'll like it enough to do it on their own. And I always remember to mention FT to them!

burr

I still get excited about flying each time. I like to get to the airport early because airports bring back fond memories for me when we'd travel every summer as a kid.
When I was stuck in ORD over thanksgiving and all flights were cancelled, I had a great time. I've sat in C, F, E+ and E-. I don't mind at all sitting in E+ but obviously still like to fly C, F.
I like getting into my seat and thinking of what I'll do over the next few hours on the flight and what I'll do when the plane lands.
I've had my fair share of troubles...such as broken IFE, bad seat, wrong food choice, missed flight, denied boarding 35 mins before flight took off....etc. But those are few and far between all the joys of flying.
Flying is fun for me....at least for now.

exerda

Flying upgraded is still novel enough to me that I really look forward to it. A MR I'm doing next weekend actually will end up netting me about -10k miles due to me spending miles to u/g to C on p.s. flights both ways... guess it's more of a working-on-06 status-run than a MR at that point

UnitedSkies

Isn't that so true...

I think the important thing to remember is just to not take things for
granted!