I came across an article that appears to confirm at least one of my theories about securing upgrades on airlines.
Apparently, many frequent flyers behave like brats, treating airline staff or other passengers with contempt.
It quotes Christopher Elliott, a travel journalist and founder of the travel site elliott.org, as saying: “There is a class of entitled travelers that don’t just believe that they deserve to be treated better than the rest of us; they believe that they are better than the rest of us.”
Elliot relates a story about an elite frequent flyer member who demanded that another passenger be bumped so his friend could take the seat.
It seems there’s not a lot the crew can do about it. Elliot notes: “One flight attendant said to me, ‘I fully expect my airline to tell me to shine the shoes of these elites.’ ”
As I’ve noted before, I’ve been upgraded a lot lately. I’m still trying to understand why – and, yes, I do think my social-media and blogging activity helps – but I believe one of the main reasons is that I am always polite, respectful, undemanding and grateful for the service I get.
As we were told as children, it’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice.
