Free First Class Upgrades

And the Rift-Raft That Comes With It

    Just when you think you've heard it all! Now there are free first class upgrades!!!!
    Yes....You heard me right! Free first class upgrades now at my airline.
     But just like everything, there is a catch. At my airline, you have to be one of our more frequent fliers to be so lucky to be bumped up to the first class cabin for free. It goes the same at some other airlines, I hear.
     What amazes me, is at a time when airlines are losing money, AND charging passengers exorbitant extra fees, like for baggage, food on board, buying their ticket via an airline telephone reservation agent, and now they want to give away the farm. It's just beyond me.
      Let's begin by stating the obvious: Our premium class cabins -- first and business -- are the airlines' money makers. And believe it or not, there are still passengers out there who fork out the thousands of dollars for the privilege of a larger seat, more spacious cabin and the more personal service.
      Most of today's passengers flying first class are those who have been upgraded because of their flying status. And because they know they will be upgraded -- free of charge -- they do not book those seats when they buy their original plane tickets. That's a no brainer. Why pay for something when you know you are going to get it for free?
    In fact, our flights to Maui are full of passengers up there with free upgrades or using frequent flier points. And along with them, comes the spoiled attitude that they are above everyone else. Little do they know, that we know, they are up there for free.  
    The whole "free updgrade" system at my airline -- and I'm sure at the others as well -- has created monsters out of some of the passengers. These are the same people who now feel a sense of  "entitlement" to sit up in first or business class. And when they don't get the upgrade, for one reason or another, they throw  tantrums like a 2-year-old child. They come on the airplane ranting and raving about having to sit "in the back of the plane with the others." I  can't tell you how many times I've heard this childish argument from those who think they are above passengers who can only afford the coach cabin.
      Just like the sharply dressed business woman on a recent flight from Boston who barged on the airplane at the last minute and was lucky enough to get the last first class seat. The overhead bin space was full of suitcases and she couldn't find a spot for her luggage. So the flight attendant suggested she place her suitcase in one of the overhead bins in the coach cabin.
      "I'm sitting in the first class cabin,'' barked the lady. "I don't put my bags in coach!...Do your job and find a place for my bags!"
     Needless to say, she was removed from the flight because of her confrontational behavior. I'm sure she was given the chance to fly another flight where there might have been space in first class for HER bags. The next day!!!!!
     Because of all this, the once-coveted first class service has been degraded. It's more like "no class." Flight attendants, who know many of the passengers are NOT REALLY paying the top dollar for these seats, don't really take the service seriously. With pay cuts and now this, their hearts are simply not into it. I've seen corners cut short in doing the service. Some of the extra items like freshly baked cookies "are forgot about" and not passed out to customers. Or the warm nuts are exchanged for the bagged ones found in the galley drawers from previous flights.  You don't see an after-dinner liqueur and coffee service presented from a nice silver queen cart.  You don't see the wine and champagne bottles wrapped in crisp white linens.
     Flight attendants figure why should they go all out when the passengers truly aren't paying for that type of service.
      Luckily for in flight crew members, we have a manifest that denotes who actually paid full fare for those first class seats. For those people, I try and go the extra mile and give them that extra attention. I give them their first choice in meal offerings. After all, they did pay top dollar to sit up front and for them I am grateful. Many flight attendants I know feel the same way.
     The whole free upgrade decision airlines have made is at a cost to everyone else. And then they wonder why nobody anymore is purchasing first class seats. Are the airlines that stupid? It's a rhetorical question, of course. 
      I guarantee you that if you take away the free upgrades, passengers who have gotten "spoiled" to sitting up in first class, will begin to once again purchase those seats. And the airlines will have the chance to make some money.
      The airlines will save money too. If the first class cabin is not booked with passengers, the airline will not have to spend the money to have food and first class wines and champagne boarded. The first class glassware and plates will not have to be boarded and charged by the kitchens.
      It could be a win-win situation. One the airlines refuse to see.They are more worried about losing their devoted frequent fliers. The same fliers who continue to fly our airline to build up their frequent flier points for a free ticket somewhere exotic. And even those nowadays are hard to come by.