Look, I get it. Airlines are in business to make money. It makes sense for them to reward their best customers. No argument from me here.
So, it doesn’t really bother me to know VIP travelers get special check-in desks, gate-to-gate service when a connecting flight is late, priority for waitlists and upgrades, etc. etc.
But every once in a while, it feels like some travelers cross the line. A couple years ago, when I had booked and upgraded a reservation for a cross country flight, a fellow traveler came up to me and said, “You’re in my seat.”
I checked, saw my boarding pass was for the right seat and showed it to him. He sort of laughed and said, “Well, actually you’re in my favorite seat, it’s the one I always request, but couldn’t get it this time.”
At that point I just shrugged and said, “Sorry,” but I didn’t move.
He looked disappointed but didn’t make a further issue of it.
Last week, however, a gentleman (and I use that term VERY loosely) took things to a whole new level.
Friends and I were boarding a delayed flight in Mexico. We had been assigned bulkhead seats. We knew meant we would need the overhead bins. Fortunately, my two travel companions and I are all frequent fliers with United; so, we have priority boarding and we, dutifully, lined up early.
However, just as the gate agent was starting to board the aircraft, a guy came squeezing in from the side, followed by a large family, and announced to the gate agent, “I am Global Services so we get to board first.”
The young female gate agent said, “Well, you can only bring a couple of guests.” (His family was at least 12 people, ranging in age from a woman with a toddler, up through several pre-teens, teenagers and other adults.)
So, he started arguing, then pointed out two of the teenagers and said, “Them.”
But, as the two teenagers pushed past the agent, he gestured to the others saying, “Come on, come on.”
He started taking their boarding passes and handing them to the now flustered gate agent. He was considerably larger than the agent, and just shook off her protests.
No doubt, United has told employees, don’t upset Global Services members. So, she didn’t stop any of them. Those of us in line were also treated to the sight of the older kids skipping gleefully down the jetway.
Of course, we all got on the same plane, and in the grand scheme of things there was no serious harm done. Except of course, the family also put all their bags in the most forward bins. Some of us who boarded after them had to go put our bags further back and then backtrack. This didn’t help speed up the boarding, or disembarkation, process.
I realize, to be Global Services requires spending $50,000, maybe $75,000 a year with United. So, it is in the airline’s interest to indulge them. On the other hand, Global Services travelers are well indulged already. As with other airlines, the highest-level travelers will automatically jump lower-status travelers on the wait-list for sold out flights and upgrades. (A higher-priced ticket helps, too.)
The biggest complaint, although, that I hear from lower-level frequent fliers is that when the good seat assignments are all gone, even the seats an airline might hold back for disabled travelers, Global Services fliers will get a primo seat.
I’ve been known to joke that, “Airlines won’t remove other travelers from their seats for someone who paid more.”
Not yet. But sometimes you have to wonder, what’s next?
Editor’s note: While discussing a similar case with DOT, the Enforcement Division informed me that airlines can create their own priority list detailing which passengers will be first to be bumped. This applies when bumping passengers from First Class back to coach or, when bumping passengers off overbooked flights. All passengers with tickets do not have the same privileges in every case. Check your airline’s contract of carriage. That’s where the boarding priority is outlined.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
