'I found excuses to upgrade four other passengers': Airline Worker Told to Upgrade Douchey Frequent Flyer Only 'If There Is Room'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Mar 22, 2023 11:00 AM EDT

The only thing more stressful than using an airport is having to work in one. Dealing with the stressed, the jetlagged, and the customary entitled jerks that may well be some combination of the previous two is not something that everybody can cope with. 

Nevertheless, some people out there have to do it. Even it difficult circumstances, it can occasionally come with some fun perks, as u/Northwest_Passage_ when they worked for a regional airline. When confronted with a difficult and entitled frequent flyer, they got the perfect opportunity to take them down a peg. 

After this passenger demanded a free upgrade to business class, they consulted a manager who told them to give away the seat if there was enough room on the plane. So, in the spirit of malicious compliance, it was made sure that there were no spare seats in business class. Redditors applauded the canny move, not least because it allowed some more deserving souls a nice upgrade. Who hasn't dreamed of the airline Gods smiling on them like that once in a while?

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  • 01
    Rectangle - r/MaliciousCompliance u/Northwest_Passage_• 14h 1 Business Class Upgrade "if there is room" M 1 2
    via Northwest_Passage_
  • 02
    Font - I used to work at a regional airline. The jet we used for our flight to the "big city" had 6 business class seats. The business class service was really good for a 2 hour flight. It included a full bar service, a hot meal, warmed bread basket, followed by a trolley with dessert and signature coffee. The good old days...
    via Northwest_Passage_
  • 03
    Font - One of our regular travelers was a local business owner who was just... a slimy businessman (SB). He had a reputation for making a lot of money from some pretty shady deals over the years. We would roll our eyes when we saw him coming to the check-in counter because he would always name drop and ask for special treatment. He always used the business class check-in line even though he was usually in economy. He didn't have frequent flyer status, but he was buddies with one of the airline e
    via Northwest_Passage_
  • 04
    Font - So one day SB checks in for his flight to the "big city" and of course name drops and asks for a free upgrade to business class because "I'm friends with VP Karen and said it would be ok." He was traveling on a discounted ticket that was not eligible for upgrade even if he did have an upgrade coupon, which he didn't.
    via Northwest_Passage_
  • 05
    Font - I informed him that he was not eligible for any upgrade on this ticket and gave him his boarding pass and sent him on his way. Of course he flips open his cell phone and immediately calls VP Karen. Within 2 minutes the phone at the check-in desk rings and it's VP Karen authorizing me to override the policy to upgrade SB to business class with no upgrade coupon required "if there is room."
    via Northwest_Passage_
  • 06
    Font - The flight that day wasn't that busy and only 1 person booked in business class leaving 5 open seats. I was really irritated but I begrudgingly put SB on the upgrade list anyways. He returned to the check-in counter and picked up his standby boarding card and gave me that smug "told you so" look. But then what VP Karen said clicked with me - "if there is room."
    via Northwest_Passage_
  • 07
    Font - The next passenger I checked in was a SUPER nice lady, big smile, friendly, please and thank-you, oh thank-you so much for checking my bags to my connecting flight, that's so nice of you. I was taking my time and we were chatting a bit since it wasn't that busy. She was a teacher going on a trip to see her family and it was her first visit with them in over a year and was going to meet her new little nephew for the first time. She was overjoyed just to have the time off to travel. I typed
    via Northwest_Passage_
  • 08
    Font - At that time we were rarely questioned if we upgraded someone without a certificate. Over the next 20 minutes I found excuses to upgrade four other passengers - one who worked for one of our top corporate accounts, one who was legitimately a frequent flyer, can't remember the other reasons, but by the time I went to board the flight I had to tell SB that I was sorry but business class was full and couldn't offer him an upgrade today. The teacher I upgraded profusely thanked me again when
    via Northwest_Passage_
  • 09
    Human body - Hubble_bubble753 13h Love this. I bet that lady still tells people about the nice person who upgraded her to business class and how she had such a wonderful experience.
    via Hubble_bubble752
  • 10
    Rectangle - Pretend Barracuda300 • 14h Ya don't tick off the worker behind the counter, ever.
    via Pretend_Barracuda300
  • 11
    Font - SupermanistheDR 10h I was flying to Texas from LA once with a stop in Phoenix. I have gotten for years never h had any problems but on my flight from LA to AZ I threw up the whole way. I got off the flight and walked up the the counter looking as green was Kermit the frog. I asked where I needed to connect the agent looked at me and said "had a rough flight?" Typed a couple things into the computer and said "have a better day" when I got to the gate I was upgraded to first class in my con
    via SupermanistheDR
  • 12
    Font - drhunny 12h Had a kind of opposite experience once. Was govt employee flying overseas on govt business with another guy (outranked me). Kind of a big deal trip. Got to the airport (1 hour drive) and he wasn't there. Called him. He was mowing his lawn. I was like "international. 2 hour checkin. Diplomatic travel... ORDERS". He said "chill out I'll leave soon". He arrived very late. They already boarded standby, so his seat was gone. I was wheedling the boarding gate person showing diplo pa
    via drhunny
  • 13
    Font - 4dxn 11h Is there a reason why agents don't do this anymore? There's been a few times I've seen business class with empty seats. I understand you need to upgrade ff and many people have status but I wish to see nice old ladies upgraded.
    via 4dxn
  • 14
    Font - 3 Locke_and_Lloyd 12h Shame you guys didn't have an ethics hot line. An SVP having front line employees going against policy for their friends should not be taken lightly. This is the kind of thing people get a warning over and then fired on a second offense.
    via Locke_and_Lloyd
  • 15
    Font - SarcasticServal Had this happen on a flight back from the UK on BA in 2005. We were flying out New Years Eve and Heathrow was a disaster. We got to the airport 4 hours ahead and immediately got in line. And waited. And waited. They had to start pulling people out of line to check in because flights were leaving and the line hadn't moved. They call our flight number to bypass the line, we go up, and it's an older woman who looks like she's just been run through hell. We thank her for helpi
    via SarcasticServal

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boss upgrade employee malicious compliance first class ticket work flight plane customer passenger airline Reddit airplane flying
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