A pproximately half of the seats in the premium class cabin were full on an airplane operated by Delta Air Lines during a flight from Amsterdam to Portland today — and because there were plenty of empty seats, FlyerTalk member shipitfish admitted to being “sleepy that I needed a nap” and “so I just went for it and took a 1.5 hr nap up there during the lull when the FAs were not coming through much. No one stopped me.”
You read that correctly: shipitfish posted — or possibly more appropriately, boasted — to sneaking into the premium class cabin of an airplane during a flight.
FlyerTalk Member Response to Sneaking Into the Premium Class Cabin During a Flight
FlyerTalk member injera responded with this thought: “I’d feel mortified if I got caught so wouldn’t try that myself, but if you can get up there with enough time for a good snooze, more power to you, presuming you apologize and go back to your assigned seat if caught.”
Other FlyerTalk members were not as kind: “I don’t think this happens much anymore with relatively full front cabins, but perhaps more dire than being sent back is being held at your destination airport with DL demanding payment for the difference in fare”, warned FlyerTalk member aCavalierInCoach. “Know this used to be the approach for poachers.”
FlyerTalk member indufan posted, “Or they could ask for the person to be arrested and, depending upon jurisdiction, be charged with a felony.”
Additional responses are found in this discussion.
Summary
Members of the flight crew usually have a manifest with the names of all of the passengers and into which seats they were assigned. Had they been diligent, they would have caught shipitfish with what is essentially considered “stealing” a seat and probably would have simply directed shipitfish out of the premium class cabin — even if it was only for 90 minutes or so during a long-haul transatlantic flight which lasted approximately 10.5 hours.
If I were a passenger who witnessed this, I would have called attention to a flight attendant and apprised him or her of what occurred. Fellow passengers paid their hard-earned money or frequent flier loyalty program points — or a combination of both — to enjoy the privilege, amenities and accoutrements of being assigned a seat in the premium class cabin. Why should someone believe that he or she deserves to experience a product or service of which he or she is not entitled?
Seats in the premium class cabin of an airplane used for an international flight are usually the “bread and butter” of an airline in terms of revenue and profit. If the seat goes unsold once a flight commences, it is because no one paid for it. If passengers were able to simply use the seats free of charge without penalty, more and more people would attempt to fill them without paying for them. After all, why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free, so to speak?
Sadly, this topic is not a new one. Back on Saturday, June 13, 2009, I asked in this article whether voluntarily upgrading oneself is something about one should be proud, is it nothing more than a form of stealing, or is it something somewhere in between?
Perhaps I am wrong with my thoughts and opinions pertaining to this topic. What are your thoughts?
Photograph ©2013 by Brian Cohen.
