Mesabah

That's what happens when you give stuff away for free, a gift becomes entitlement.

sailingfun

I would try and understand how the FF programs work. The upgrades are far from free. The carrot of those upgrades increases yields for Delta substantially. Upper level FF’s understand the program and what fare levels they must purchase to be eligible for the various upgrades offered. They are not buying basic economy seats and getting upgraded.

OOfff

That darned big picture again

CBreezy

They are not buying basic economy, but they are buying economy. It isn't that much more to buy a comfort+ seat. But an upgrade is just that, an upgrade based on availability at time of boarding. If they wanted it, they would have purchased it.

sailingfun

Even many standard economy fares are not upgradeable.

Bucking Bar

Sailing,

Big picture.

I am all for generating revenue but not on the back of envy or status seeking.

Perhaps it is a result of growing up in Great Britain and it's colonies, but in a stratified society of haves and have-nots status means a lot. Apparently, a rented seat is a real marker of social status for some people. Sure, that can be used to exact a revenue premium.

Where the distinction causes a problem is when passengers view pilots and other crew members as a subservient staff, not equal to and deserving of respect and courtesy they would give a member of their social strata.

A lot has changed since October 2016. The changes are plainly evident in the decorum of those who think Trump legitimized trump'ish behavior to those perceived to be below them in status. We all have our stories, but once while occupying a middle seat texting my wife while boarding a plenty tall, younger middle aged, passenger THREW their bag on me and told me to put it in the overhead bin for them. I nicely put their luggage in their seat and pretended not to hear them.**

Southwest has never wavered in it's support for their employees. Of course, they operate a classless system.

We are perpetuating a problem if we communicate to our HVC (or any customer) that they are better than our flight crew and abuse will be quietly tolerated. One way to communicate this message is equal treatment for Delta's employees at work.

Maybe a solution is to put us in exit rows. It has always made sense to me to have a member of an able bodied crew, experienced in working the doors, latching the ropes and directing passengers away from engines and other risks, in these positions.

** As luck would have it Jim Spier was also an active text on my phone. I took a picture with the oversized black duffle in my lap, glasses knocked askew and sent it to my wife with a comment about retiring from the outstation. Then I screwed up and sent that to Jim.

Mesabah

When do we overthrow the bourgeoisie?

GogglesPisano

Earplugs are worth their weight in gold. I shove them in and hit "ignore" whenever I DH.

GogglesPisano

Take comfort in the fact that if you’d shown this status-conscious, classless individual your pay stub and how many days off you had that month, he probably would have cried like a baby.

Gunfighter

That is a great subtle technique. I prefer a more obvious approach. Nothing says "leave me alone" quite like a Bose Quiet Comfort headset that isn't even plugged into a device.