Customer Airs Grievance About Lack Of Seat Upgrades To Airline And They Respond With A Brilliant Analogy

Dec 28, 2022 by apost team

Flying can be challenging. You often feel rushed at the airport, and having to go through security can take longer than we’d like. Traveling by plane can become even more stressful when problems occur during a flight. It seems these days there are more and more stories of drama and difficult situations starting on planes. 

Some people have a hard time when it comes to seating arrangements while traveling, whether this is by bus, train or, more frequently, plane. With planes, comfort is a major factor when traveling, especially on long-haul flights, and airlines are known to take full advantage of this by charging extra for more favorable seats. For some, the extra charges are just a small price to pay for comfort, and they are willing to fork out extra for it. For others, this is not the case, and they instead put their faith in the kindness of flight staff or strangers to end up with the seats they want.

This quandary led one man, who goes by Kru, to enquire about seating upgrades with United Airlines in 2019. But despite the airline's fair response revealing why it's not so easy to be upgraded to a higher class on an airplane, the man wasn't satisfied, and in the process, sparked a conversation on the topic on Twitter. 

The man appeared to be on a flight when he first brought up his frustration to United Airlines on Sept. 8, 2019. He wrote:

"Hey @united I’m on UA679 in row 22 and there are 7 rows in front of me completely empty. Yet when I asked if I can move forward to a completely empty row, I get told I have to pay."

He continued: "What kind of BS is that? The rows are EMPTY yet I’m in a row of 3 occupied." It was a fair question despite the man's grating approach. The airline promptly replied with a reasonable answer to his question:

"Hi, Krunal. Economy Plus seats do carry an extra charge and letting customers move to those seats is not fair to the customers who did pay for the upgrade."

That sufficiently explained the company's upgrade system but the man wasn't satisfied, so he questioned further: "I understand that, but they’re completely empty after doors have closed. What’s the point of empty seats if they can be filled and your customers can have a better experience?"

Although United had already made their reasoning obvious, they offered the man a crystal clear example since it appeared he was struggling to grasp the concept. They wrote:

"The customers who choose to pay for Economy Plus are then afforded that extra space. If you were to purchase a Toyota, you would not be able to drive off with a Lexus, because it was empty."

United's very clear and reasonable point was made, which left the man no option but to figuratively storm off in a huff. "Cool, thanks for the lesson. Won't to (sic) choose to fly with you guys again," he said.

The exchange caught the attention of other Twitter users, many of whom sided with the airline. One user summed up the man's discontent quite well as he wrote, "And why is it everyone else’s fault if you’re the one (who) decided to be cheap and not pay for it?"

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Who do you agree with — the man or the airline? Do you have any stories about being upgraded on a flight? Let us know, then pass this on so others can read about it too.