You cannot self-upgrade. If you see an empty first class seat, you can’t just take it. I have never, ever seen it actually work. What I’ve seen is passengers who tried it being embarrassed, and I’ve seen passengers escalate matters when they’re sent to the back and get kicked off the plane. But some are now trying it even though they know they’re going to get kicked out – they just want a free drink before that happens!
Here’s video of a United Airlines passenger being dragged off of a Shanghai – Newark flight after trying to upgrade himself to business class several times and stealing champagne.
And here’s a passenger on a Korean Air flight being dragged out of business class after attempting to self-upgrade. When cabin crew try to get her to move, she chants “US marshal! US marshal!” as though that’s whom she hopes responds. Then they try to move her and she laughs that she’s wearing a seat belt so she’s latched to the seat. After finally being dragged down the aisle, she shouts “nuclear disarmament!”
Like I said, this basically never works. But today I learned that some people know this, and still sit down in first class seats anyway. They figure they’re going to get kicked out, but they’ll just get moved to their seats in back – and probably get a free drink before they do!
Passengers flying from Providence, Rhode Island to Atlanta on Delta sat down in the bulkhread row of first class and settled in. The real passengers assigned to the seats boarded. And they headed to the back.
They quickly get up laugh and say “we are rookies” the flight attendant asks what row they are in and they say 24. They leave their bags and travel back to their row.
A flight attendant shares what these passengers were up to, and it’s not the first time:
[T}he flight attendant comes over and I tell him I’ve never seen anything like that before. He tells me it just happened for the first time to him earlier and that the people sat down, received their pre-flight booze and then said I’m just going to go say hi to my sister in the back of the plane and walked off with the free drink to obviously not return.
As commenters observed, “this is a new “hack” making its way around social media.” In fact, “Flight Attendants HATE this one simple trick!”
It may seem silly to do, but someone facing $10 for a cocktail in coach makes a quick calculation that as long as they don’t put up too much of a fight, apologize and act confused (they were drinking, after all!), it’s a cost savings.
Joke’s on them with domestic carriers like American Airlines, where flight attendants don’t usually bother offering first class passengers predeparture beverages.
People are that desperate to drink?
3rd World behavior (translated:American pathetic behavior)
Doesn’t happen anywhere else.
I just took a flight from Atlanta to San Diego first class. The entire trip it was next to impossible to use the bathroom. First of all, first class is sharing ONE bathroom with 20 first class passengers plus the flight attendants plus the pilots. However, the coach passengers are constantly coming up front to use the bathrooms. I don’t think this is right!!! I am paying a much higher fare. I shouldn’t have to stand in the aisle every time I needed to use the bathroom because of coach passengers not using their own bathrooms. In order to use the bathroom, you had to actually stand in the aisle otherwise, if you don’t you can’t use it. This has happened on many of my Delta first class flights. Flight attendants don’t enforce the rules. There is a curtain between coach and first class for a reason. The flight attendants are also allowing coach passengers to put their suitcases in the first class bin. It is very frustrating!!!
YouTuber Sam Chui talked about this on a CX flight he was on where his GF was the FA and the piggish passenger pushed her when confronted. He was dragged off in handcuffs.
How clever and silly. I see the flawed logic, like, with all the games these big companies play on us, how about a few free drinks on them. So, they took the risk, they got a freebie, but if they take it too far, they shouldn’t be surprised if they get Dr. Dao’d outta there and added to the no-fly list. Not worth it.
@Tom AndersonPecus: When flying in first class with Delta Air Lines, you expressed frustration about flight attendants permitting coach passengers to store their suitcases in the first-class overhead bins. The good news is, Tom, to help prevent you from having to gate-check your first-class luggage or to your final destination, as a premium customer, when the bins are occupied by coach passengers’ bags, flight attendants will allow you to place your luggage in any available overhead bin in the coach cabin at no additional charge.
I’m not sure how much of a “hack” this is. First class cabins IME are 90% of the time full. Now maybe someone plants their fat ass in a seat for a few minutes before the passenger that belongs in that seat shows up and maybe they will get a drink before that happens. Of course, if it’s AA less than a 50% chance there will be any pre departure beverage other than a choice of warm water or warm OJ.
Either way that should be an immediate denied boarding and kicked off the flight. That will stop this “hack” real quick.
Imagine if these people find a way to sneak into the lounge?
I’d be way too ashamed to try that move.
I guess the only way to prevent this is for first class passengers to board as early as possible. That way they don’t have to kick anyone out of their assigned seat and have time to enjoy the drink that they paid for with their ticket.
I’m not fancy enough to call this a hack. I just call it theft. If you were kindly disposed you might only call it fraud. Ultimately this is just more evidence that the airlines need a abusive customer inter-airline non-governmental no fly list. Blacklist the idiots and life gets better for the airlines, airline employees, and normal people.
Why promote fraud and theft by publicising this? What’s next, a new “hack” to get free booze from a bar by walking out without paying your tab?!
This kind of article is enough to make me give up on this site for good.
It was brutal watching that Korean video, the res was so poor that I thought I had fallen into an alternate reality constructed of Lego blocks. Might need a drink myself just to recalibrate my vision.
Americans’ ancestors is the filthy lumpenproletariat of the ghettos of Eastern Europe/
What do you expect from the dregs of society ?
The crew needs a few seatbelt extensions to loop one of the offender’s legs. At that point start pulling. The person will either go or get hurt. Find an open door (no jetway and no stairs) and dump them out. They will pull that trick only once.
For all these hacks being talked about and seat squatters, I’ve flown extensively and seen none of this behavior
Not saying it never happens but it has to be exceedingly rare
This is not a new thing. I was hit with this “hack” many years ago pre-pandemic on an Alaska Airlines flight to Hawaii. A couple was in our First Class seats when we boarded happily drinking their (our) pre-departure drinks. I immediately turned to the FA and showed her our BP’s and the FA confronted the couple. They claimed not understanding English well as the reason they sat in the wrong seats (which just happened to be in First Class), and that it was a simple mistake. The FA laughed it off, sent them to the back, congratulating them on scoring (and keeping) free drinks because of their “mistake”. Their English was plenty good enough to understand a drink offer and ask for free drinks though.
The way to stop us is to either require a credit card on file before the flight or when they are moved to their correct seat they are either required to then pay for the drink or be arrested on landing
Give the FAs tasers. These thieves, idiots, and drunkards need a good shock.
What’s the big deal people??
Remove these squatters from the plane. No rebooting, no refund.
In today’s episode of how cheap can people get. Just mind boggling how low people are ready to go with no shame.
I fly business or first for the extra legroom or lie flat seat. I don’t have any drinks or even eat the meals.
People will try anything to get something for nothing.
The 1st time I flew first class I sel upgraded. It was a long time ago, probably 20 years or so, but I was the last person to board the plane. The stranger who i had been talking to at the bar was sitting in 1st with an empty window seat. I asked him if anyone was sitting there, he said no, got up, and I sat down. I was offered a drink before take off and didn’t experience any issues.
Boarding is hectic enough without freeloaders adding to the congestion. Charge them with interfering with the flight crew and have airport security remove them from the flight, no refund.
This approach is ineffective. Flight attendants possess comprehensive passenger manifest information, readily accessible via their onboard devices. Therefore, attempting to circumvent seating assignments for a complimentary beverage seems imprudent and risks potential repercussions.
I’ve witnessed a guy blatantly try to be a ”seat squatter” in Economy on United. It was a full flight, and I was sitting in the second row of Economy Plus, where the bulkhead row in front of me was the entrance.
When the real passenger found a guy in his seat, the guy got up and moved to another seat a few rows behind. When passengers who cleared standby were boarding, there was confusion, because the same guy was in the seat assigned to the last person boarding. This idiot thought he could just grab a better seat on a full flight.
Flight attendant, here. I work First Class exclusively. A few years ago, a young man thought it lovely to help himself to a F.C. seat he did not purchase. After I served him an alcoholic beverage, the passenger who did purchase the seat arrived; I requested to see his boarding pass, and his seat was way in the back of Main Cabin. I swept up his unfinished beverage and he went on his way, with a smirk. Long story short, the Federal Air Marshall who was sitting immediately behind him during his transgression was NOT AMUSED (further security details I cannot share). Our arrival at our destination had the Air Marshall firmly slamming this dude’s back against the jetbridge wall and a Come-To-Jesus discussion on what NOT to pull on a plane was delivered.
Skip the “hacks” and “tricks”.
It’s not worth it.
Gentrified stealing, slowing departure for 100s of others for a $7 drink. Seems some social troll created this idea just to cause havoc.
Delta Airlines attendant greets and thanks me for being platinum from her work phone. Unless you are a short old Hindu, it won’t work in my seat.