Empty seats on an airline rant: Justified or whiny?

#1
Rasputin_Vol

Rasputin_Vol

"Slava Ukraina"
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Aug 14, 2007
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#1
MarketWatch ‘Our loyalty isn’t worth anything’: I paid $70 for a seat with more legroom, but two women grabbed similar empty seats for free. Is that fair?

The flight was about one-third empty and there was no one sitting across from me in the “pay-more-for-more-legroom” row, and there was no one in the row in front of that (which I think was the exit row, which costs even more for an upgrade).

After the flight attendant announced that everyone was on board and that the doors were closed, two women — a mother and daughter as far as I can tell — from standard seats SPRINTED for the two “pay-more” seats and took a seat in each (not even seats together in the same row). The flight attendants didn’t say anything to them.
 
#2
#2
OK, so I know I am obsessed about this. That’s true! And, right or not, I took a picture of the young woman as she was fast asleep across the three rows.
 
#3
#3

Matthew 20:1-16​

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard​

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
 
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#6
#6
People are have very little control over their own minds is the lesson here. I guess Sigmund Freud was wrong about everything except that. He was right about that.
 
#8
#8
Airline prices change daily. The people that rushed up may have paid more for their economy seats than the guy did for his upgraded seats...

My wife and her friend are going to see Def Leppard and Steve Miller at Nissan. They were able to get BOGO field level seats because of sluggish ticket sales. Should the people around them be pissed?
 
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#9
#9
I stopped a couple from doing the back seat sprint up the isle upon arrival last month. I had a connector to catch along with everyone else on the plane.

I have never understood that tactic. It never works and it makes you look stupid and inconsiderate. I didn’t feel bad about blocking the isle.
 
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#10
#10
Jxn Vol said:
I stopped a couple from doing the back seat sprint up the isle upon arrival last month. I had a connector to catch along with everyone else on the plane.

I have never understood that tactic. It never works and it makes you look stupid and inconsiderate. I didn’t feel bad about blocking the isle.
Click to expand...

You are much cooler than I give you credit for....
 
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#12
#12
Jxn Vol said:
I stopped a couple from doing the back seat sprint up the isle upon arrival last month. I had a connector to catch along with everyone else on the plane.

I have never understood that tactic. It never works and it makes you look stupid and inconsiderate. I didn’t feel bad about blocking the isle.
Click to expand...
Sometimes there's a valid reason for trying to be first off but if that's the case they should coordinate it with the FA.
Which isle did you block? I'd aim for St. Maarten or Bora Bora.
 
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#14
#14
Here is my big airline pet peeve and it is for all the early board "disabled" people for Southwest.

Clearly, not all disabilities are visible but some take full advantage to early board. This is not an attack on people with legitimate disabilities but those who blatantly lie to take advantage of SW boarding.

A couple of years back, 64 people lined up as "disabled". The Southwest guy at the desk came on and said "Due to staffing issues at Houston Hobby, we request pre-boarders sit in the back of the plane...."

Jesus Christ never had such a miracle as everyone but 9 was remarkably cured....

Pretty sure what Southwest did was illegal but it confirmed my belief that 80% were lying...
 
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#15
#15
BigOrangeMojo said:
Here is my big airline pet peeve and it is for all the early board "disabled" people for Southwest.

Clearly, not all disabilities are visible but some take full advantage to early board. This is not an attack on people with legitimate disabilities but those who blatantly lie to take advantage of SW boarding.

A couple of years back, 64 people lined up as "disabled". The Southwest guy at the desk came on and said "Due to staffing issues at Houston Hobby, we request pre-boarders sit in the back of the plane...."

Jesus Christ never had such a miracle as everyone but 9 was remarkably cured....

Pretty sure what Southwest did was illegal but it confirmed my belief that 80% were lying...
Click to expand...

My pet peeve is pre-boarders should have to wait in their seats until everyone else is off the plane.
 
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#17
#17
Jxn Vol said:
I stopped a couple from doing the back seat sprint up the isle upon arrival last month. I had a connector to catch along with everyone else on the plane.

I have never understood that tactic. It never works and it makes you look stupid and inconsiderate. I didn’t feel bad about blocking the isle.
Click to expand...

This happens almost every flight I am on nowadays.

The order of disembarking should be 1) those with connecting flights 2) those with babies 3) everyone else in order closest to the exit.
 
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#18
#18
BigOrangeMojo said:
Here is my big airline pet peeve and it is for all the early board "disabled" people for Southwest.

Clearly, not all disabilities are visible but some take full advantage to early board. This is not an attack on people with legitimate disabilities but those who blatantly lie to take advantage of SW boarding.

A couple of years back, 64 people lined up as "disabled". The Southwest guy at the desk came on and said "Due to staffing issues at Houston Hobby, we request pre-boarders sit in the back of the plane...."

Jesus Christ never had such a miracle as everyone but 9 was remarkably cured....

Pretty sure what Southwest did was illegal but it confirmed my belief that 80% were lying...
Click to expand...

Fantastic microcosm of why we (the US) can't have nice things in society with minimal effort.

In juxtaposition, it is also what makes spending visiting Japan so pleasant and satisfying. A simple amount of personal honor and social shame go a long way to building a pleasant society.
 
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#19
#19
PKT_VOL said:
Fantastic microcosm of why we (the US) can't have nice things in society with minimal effort.

In juxtaposition, it is also what makes spending visiting Japan so pleasant and satisfying. A simple amount of personal honor and social shame go a long way to building a pleasant society.
Click to expand...

Ive really only seen that on Houston, Chicago, and Memphis SW flights....
 
#21
#21
PKT_VOL said:
This happens almost every flight I am on nowadays.

The order of disembarking should be 1) those with connecting flights 2) those with babies 3) everyone else in order closest to the exit.
Click to expand...
Unless someone has made a prearranged agreement with the FA to exit first, the order should be (assuming only one exit at front of the plane) row 1, row 2,3,4,5,etc.

My number one pet peeve is loud talkers, especially on early morning or late evening flights. The second are the idiots that jump up quickly to move 2 or 3 rows forward of their seats then stand there impeding the folks in front of them from exiting their seats and accessing the overhead bins. I’ve just started acting like they’re not there and I get up at the appropriate time for my row and bump into them if they don’t move.

They love to announce a million things on the aircraft, why can’t they announce to the few idiots who don’t intuitively know that the plane exits from the front, please remain in your seat until the rows in front of you have started up the isle?
 
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#22
#22
walkenvol said:
Unless someone has made a prearranged agreement with the FA to exit first, the order should be (assuming only one exit at front of the plane) row 1, row 2,3,4,5,etc.

My number one pet peeve is loud talkers, especially on early morning or late evening flights. The second are the idiots that jump up quickly to move 2 or 3 rows forward of their seats then stand there impeding the folks in front of them from exiting their seats and accessing the overhead bins. I’ve just started acting like they’re not there and I get up at the appropriate time for my row and bump into them if they don’t move.

They love to announce a million things on the aircraft, why can’t they announce to the few idiots who don’t intuitively know that the plane exits from the front, please remain in your seat until the rows in front of you have started up the isle?
Click to expand...

So you wouldn't let connecting flights off first?
 
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#23
#23
BigOrangeMojo said:
Here is my big airline pet peeve and it is for all the early board "disabled" people for Southwest.

Clearly, not all disabilities are visible but some take full advantage to early board. This is not an attack on people with legitimate disabilities but those who blatantly lie to take advantage of SW boarding.

A couple of years back, 64 people lined up as "disabled". The Southwest guy at the desk came on and said "Due to staffing issues at Houston Hobby, we request pre-boarders sit in the back of the plane...."

Jesus Christ never had such a miracle as everyone but 9 was remarkably cured....

Pretty sure what Southwest did was illegal but it confirmed my belief that 80% were lying...
Click to expand...
One of the reasons I won't fly SW.
 
#24
#24
PKT_VOL said:
So you wouldn't let connecting flights off first?
Click to expand...
They did just that on a SEA to DFW flight recently. We had 8 minutes to connect. Impossible. 3rd row so first off, Others connectling flights behind us. Turned out there was no plane and no pilot to BNA. Stuck in DFW, and they were about to give us vouchers for hotel. Pilot and plane showed up. Got to BNA at 1 a.m.
 
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