My crazy son does not want to fly first class - can he change to coach at gate?
Nov 4th, 2004, 11:56 AM
#1
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My crazy son does not want to fly first class - can he change to coach at gate?
Using up USAirways FF miles to fly son home from college at Thanksgiving. Because of blackout dates, had to use 40,000 miles for RT ticket. This got him a first class seat.
Now he tells me he does not want to fly first class - it makes him feel "funny". (We usually fly coach unless we have miles we need to burn and get upgrade). I want him to keep first class seat so he can use the first class check-in line - much shorter - especially at Thanksgiving.
Anyone have any idea if there would be a problem at check-in if he requested a switch to a coach seat?
PS Except for this, he is usually a sane person.
Now he tells me he does not want to fly first class - it makes him feel "funny". (We usually fly coach unless we have miles we need to burn and get upgrade). I want him to keep first class seat so he can use the first class check-in line - much shorter - especially at Thanksgiving.
Anyone have any idea if there would be a problem at check-in if he requested a switch to a coach seat?
PS Except for this, he is usually a sane person.
Nov 4th, 2004, 12:44 PM
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Gail...I would just tell him to suck it up this one time.TG is THE busiest time of the year for US airports.I honestly dont think he will be the Lone Ranger.If he insists, tell him to scout out the boarding gate area.If he spots someone in a military outfit,have him trade boarding passes.The first couple of times I flew up front, I felt funny.But nobody looked at me sideways or said a word.I was in my TA's office the other day.The agent next to him had a client who said her college aged son and daughter,HAD to fly First Class...They apparently have never flown in the back of the bus!! Best of Luck.
Nov 4th, 2004, 01:41 PM
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Good suggestions - as I think about it I think he is afraid he will see someone from college on the plane who will think he is rich or a snob (neither is the case). He is flying Savannah-Charlotte-Boston.
Nov 4th, 2004, 03:41 PM
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Tell him this. Flying 1st class most of the time means you have a job that requires traveling on business. Either the company is paying for the ticket, or he flies so often on business trip that he earns enough FF miles for free 1st class tickets.
Nothing snobbish or "rich" about having to fly a lot to earn a living.
Nothing snobbish or "rich" about having to fly a lot to earn a living.
Nov 4th, 2004, 05:40 PM
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To rkkwan - good points - he knows all about people who travel for business - it is because his father gets to spend so much time traveling to exotic places like Detroit, Milwaukee, Newark, etc for 2 hour meetings that we get to fly him home for free. And as far as "rich" - it is because we both work so hard and tolerate things like grueling travel that we can afford to send him to college.
Nov 5th, 2004, 04:06 AM
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Swapping with a GI is a good idea, but if he finds one to do it, I would suggest letting the boarding agent know about it, in case one of you gets bumped. I think if the boarding agent was in on the swap, the chances of a bump would be minimized.
A while ago there was a story in the news about a front-cabin passenger who swapped with a returning GI, and all the other front-cabin passengers volunteered to do the same thing, but they ran out of GIs.
A while ago there was a story in the news about a front-cabin passenger who swapped with a returning GI, and all the other front-cabin passengers volunteered to do the same thing, but they ran out of GIs.
Nov 5th, 2004, 09:26 AM
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Poor boy, being forced to fly first class!! If only my parents had treated me so badly....
OK, seriously, I don't see how this is a problem. I think the idea of trading seats with a GI is a great one, but if there are no GI's on the flight, he will surely find someone else to trade with. Maybe he should approach an elderly person travelling alone, or a person of size. I wish he were going on my flight to Paris in January, I would be quite willing to help him get rid of that pesky first class seat.
OK, seriously, I don't see how this is a problem. I think the idea of trading seats with a GI is a great one, but if there are no GI's on the flight, he will surely find someone else to trade with. Maybe he should approach an elderly person travelling alone, or a person of size. I wish he were going on my flight to Paris in January, I would be quite willing to help him get rid of that pesky first class seat.
Nov 8th, 2004, 01:00 PM
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Update on the crazy son. Got an email from USAirways this weekend stating one of his flights had been cancelled - his new assigned itinerary gave him a 3 1/2 hour layover in Charlotte. When I called to change his flights (you can do that on a premium level FF ticket without penalty) the only seats available on new flights were in coach.
So issue is avoided - not my favorite solution to problems, but I WAS planning on telling him to either deal with the torture of flying first class or switch with a deserving-appearing person.
When I asked him about this nonsense in our weekly phone call he did say the reason he felt so weird is because he did not feel he had actually done anything to earn flying in first class. He said "It's not like I have to travel all the time like Dad or I actually work for anything" - so I guess we actually did one or 2 things right in instillling certain values into him.
So issue is avoided - not my favorite solution to problems, but I WAS planning on telling him to either deal with the torture of flying first class or switch with a deserving-appearing person.
When I asked him about this nonsense in our weekly phone call he did say the reason he felt so weird is because he did not feel he had actually done anything to earn flying in first class. He said "It's not like I have to travel all the time like Dad or I actually work for anything" - so I guess we actually did one or 2 things right in instillling certain values into him.
