Two people, 3 airline seats?????

[azevedan]

Sounds like you need more wine. Maybe you should start saying "yes" :D

 

Moi? I'm the one already taking the 'live and let live' side in this debate. But, I guess some people react to alcohol differently...

 

As long as we're recommending drinks for each other, how about having a little more of the milk of human kindness? :)

Edited June 30, 2015 by azevedan

[FlyerTalker]

As long as we're recommending drinks for each other, how about having a little more of the milk of human kindness? :)

I must be lactose intolerant.....;)

[waterbug123]

Now, for the bar (restaurants serving liquor count here, too, as comping definitely goes on there).

 

Yes, comping goes on in restaurants. And if the owner or manager is comping someone a drink because they are a very regular customer, or because their order took a long time or was messed up or whatever, that's one thing. But a whole lot of drink comping is bartenders taking it upon themselves to give out free drinks, often more than one, in exchange for getting a big fat tip (bigger than they'd otherwise get.) I mean, I have listened to people talk about sitting at a bar with friends for hours drinking top shelf liquor and at the end of the night the bill is something ridiculously low like $18, and then they go on to say how they tipped the bartender $50. Probably still got a helluva deal (as opposed to paying for every drink), and the bartender certainly made out like a bandit, but the owner? Probably got stiffed on $100 worth of receipts.

[CantanaLobo]

Sure, if they're 12. Adults however generally don't want to cut their nose off to spite their face by spending 4 hours in a much less comfortable position just to say "so there".

My point was, you can't count on the guy in the middle wanting to swap if the aisle/window gambit fails. Be prepared to sit in your assigned seats. And I have met such a 12-year old adult, but not on an airplane.

 

Then there's the guy who would not swap from an economy middle into first.

[ducklite]

My point was, you can't count on the guy in the middle wanting to swap if the aisle/window gambit fails. Be prepared to sit in your assigned seats. And I have met such a 12-year old adult, but not on an airplane.

 

 

 

Then there's the guy who would not swap from an economy middle into first.

 

 

Why would you think people would want to switch. As mentioned previous, DH likes window, I like aisle. If the person in the middle thinks we will ditch because we can't be a person apart during a flight,mother are laughably mistaken.

[FlyerTalker]

Yes, comping goes on in restaurants. And if the owner or manager is comping someone a drink because they are a very regular customer, or because their order took a long time or was messed up or whatever, that's one thing. But a whole lot of drink comping is bartenders taking it upon themselves to give out free drinks, often more than one, in exchange for getting a big fat tip (bigger than they'd otherwise get.) I mean, I have listened to people talk about sitting at a bar with friends for hours drinking top shelf liquor and at the end of the night the bill is something ridiculously low like $18, and then they go on to say how they tipped the bartender $50. Probably still got a helluva deal (as opposed to paying for every drink), and the bartender certainly made out like a bandit, but the owner? Probably got stiffed on $100 worth of receipts.

A number of episodes of Bar Rescue show bartenders giving away the house, much to the detriment of the owners.

[CantanaLobo]

Why would you think people would want to switch. As mentioned previous, DH likes window, I like aisle. If the person in the middle thinks we will ditch because we can't be a person apart during a flight,mother are laughably mistaken.

I see some confusion here. One scenario: A couple tries the window/aisle trick hoping for an empty middle but want to sit next to each other if that fails and someone sits in the middle. The usual thing would be to offer to swap your aisle or window to the guy in the middle. 99% of the time, middle-guy will accept. Occasionally, middle-guy will say no, which was all I was trying to say.

 

Of course, the scenario above does not apply if you want the aisle and window regardless of the middle being empty, which is your situation. In your scenario, middle-guy needs to offer money if he asks to swap. If not enough, he gets a polite no.

 

I need a drink now. Where is this bar that's giving away free booze?

[Shorex]

I need a drink now. Where is this bar that's giving away free booze?

 

I have this friend who is a flight attendant and she gets all these little bottles....;)

[Shorex]

I see some confusion here.

 

Yes. If I am anywhere in coach and someone offers to switch putting me anywhere in FIRST, I'm snapping it up.

[sverigecruiser]

The airline pays exactly the same whether I eat my cookies, throw them away, or give them to the screaming kid in coach. No cost increase to pass on.

 

 

I never said anything about cost increase.

 

If people in economy get businessclass service less people will pay for businessclass and then the fares in economy will go up.

 

When I fly in Europe I pay for business because I want loungeaccess but if I had friends working in the Gallerieslounges at Heathrow, or why not the Concorderoom, and they gave me access just because we are friends, I shouldn't pay for businessclass. That should give BA a cost increase but the reason why that should make the fares go up is that I shouldn't pay for businessclass and BA should want that money from somewhere else. If only I do it, no problem, but if lots of people get service they haven't paid for, the fares will go up.

[vjmatty]

A number of episodes of Bar Rescue show bartenders giving away the house, much to the detriment of the owners.

 

I am starting to think I was the only bartender in the world who paid for the drinks "on the house" out of my tip bucket. Unless the owner was there and told me to give so-and-so a free drink.

[vjmatty]

I never said anything about cost increase.

 

If people in economy get businessclass service less people will pay for businessclass and then the fares in economy will go up.

 

 

You think that people will choose not to pay for business class on the off chance that some friendly stranger will give their screaming kid a cookie?

[sverigecruiser]

You think that people will choose not to pay for business class on the off chance that some friendly stranger will give their screaming kid a cookie?

 

That's not what I said.

[azevedan]

If people in economy get businessclass service less people will pay for businessclass and then the fares in economy will go up.

When I fly in Europe I pay for business because I want loungeaccess but if I had friends working in the Gallerieslounges at Heathrow, or why not the Concorderoom, and they gave me access just because we are friends, I shouldn't pay for businessclass.

 

Getting pretty far removed from a glass of wine brought back to coach, aren't you? :rolleyes:

 

Besides which, business class would still be full, because, to paraphrase Meghan Trainor, it's all about that space.

[ducklite]

I see some confusion here. One scenario: A couple tries the window/aisle trick hoping for an empty middle but want to sit next to each other if that fails and someone sits in the middle. The usual thing would be to offer to swap your aisle or window to the guy in the middle. 99% of the time, middle-guy will accept. Occasionally, middle-guy will say no, which was all I was trying to say.

 

 

 

Of course, the scenario above does not apply if you want the aisle and window regardless of the middle being empty, which is your situation. In your scenario, middle-guy needs to offer money if he asks to swap. If not enough, he gets a polite no.

 

 

 

I need a drink now. Where is this bar that's giving away free booze?

 

 

In our scenario it would cost less to buy a first or business seat than to get us to switch.

[sverigecruiser]

Getting pretty far removed from a glass of wine brought back to coach, aren't you? :rolleyes:

 

Besides which, business class would still be full, because, to paraphrase Meghan Trainor, it's all about that space.

 

Not really. People are interested in different things. My reasons to pay for businessclass may be far from a glass of wine but other people book business for the better service and if many people get service they haven't paid for when flying economy some people may book economy instead of business and then the fare for most people will go up. The business fare may go down if less people book that class but for most people the fare will go up.

 

I don't think that this is a big problem!!!

 

To the OP. I don't have any information about the things you were wondering about but you have already been given answers!

[ducklite]

I never said anything about cost increase.

 

If people in economy get businessclass service less people will pay for businessclass and then the fares in economy will go up.

 

When I fly in Europe I pay for business because I want loungeaccess but if I had friends working in the Gallerieslounges at Heathrow, or why not the Concorderoom, and they gave me access just because we are friends, I shouldn't pay for businessclass. That should give BA a cost increase but the reason why that should make the fares go up is that I shouldn't pay for businessclass and BA should want that money from somewhere else. If only I do it, no problem, but if lots of people get service they haven't paid for, the fares will go up.

 

 

I don't think the CCR Dragons have friends. Just saying.

 

By the way, you can't buy your way into the CCR, they don't do day passes. Either buy a seat in F or head to Galleries. As it should be. My BA F ticket was a $20K ticket. I used a combination of cash and miles, but it was still a very expensive ticket. And the CCR was lovely. I doubt I'll ever get to experience it again, but The cost was worth it for a once in a lifetime experience. :)

Edited July 1, 2015 by ducklite

[ducklite]

I am starting to think I was the only bartender in the world who paid for the drinks "on the house" out of my tip bucket. Unless the owner was there and told me to give so-and-so a free drink.

 

 

Nope, I do so as well.

[ducklite]

Getting pretty far removed from a glass of wine brought back to coach, aren't you? :rolleyes:

 

 

 

Besides which, business class would still be full, because, to paraphrase Meghan Trainor, it's all about that space.

 

 

Lately business has been half empty in my experience. I flew BA back from LHR in March, four passengers in F and business was only half full.

[waterbug123]

I am starting to think I was the only bartender in the world who paid for the drinks "on the house" out of my tip bucket. Unless the owner was there and told me to give so-and-so a free drink.

 

If you are actually paying money for that "free" drink then it's not free; you've simply paid for it instead of the customer. That's entirely different from giving someone something that no one actually pays for directly. ;)

[sverigecruiser]

I don't think the CCR Dragons have friends. Just saying.

 

By the way, you can't buy your way into the CCR, they don't do day passes. Either buy a seat in F or head to Galleries. As it should be. My BA F ticket was a $20K ticket. I used a combination of cash and miles, but it was still a very expensive ticket. And the CCR was lovely. I doubt I'll ever get to experience it again, but The cost was worth it for a once in a lifetime experience. :)

 

I think that you misread my post. I buy my way into Galleries when paying for businessclass and I could buy my way into the CCR if paying for First. My point was that I shouldn't pay for businessclass if I had friends which would let me into the lounges and then BA should want to get that money somewhere else so the fares would go up!!! So I am minding my own business if I complain that some people get service they haven't paid for.

[ducklite]

I think that you misread my post. I buy my way into Galleries when paying for businessclass and I could buy my way into the CCR if paying for First. My point was that I shouldn't pay for businessclass if I had friends which would let me into the lounges and then BA should want to get that money somewhere else so the fares would go up!!! So I am minding my own business if I complain that some people get service they haven't paid for.

 

 

Sorry, yes, I agree with you 100%. It's one thing for a FA to bring a drink to a top tier FF who is seated in economy for one reason or another, that is good guest relations. It's another to steal from their employer and give things to their friends. It's no different than me taking a stack of wall calendars to give to my customers and giving them out to my friends instead. It is stealing from my employer.

[azevedan]

So I am minding my own business if I complain that some people get service they haven't paid for.

 

Um.....no. What you are doing is trying to justify a (IMO) moralizing, self-righteous position (that people shouldn't get something you've decided they don't deserve) by inventing hypothetical situations far removed from the original complaint about a free glass of wine.

 

And, even if those situations did occur with anything near enough frequency to make a discernible difference, business class would still be full with people who want the space and comfy, full-recline seats. People can already get just the lounge if that's all biz or first class means to them, yet those sections are still full.

Edited July 1, 2015 by azevedan

[azevedan]

It's no different than me taking a stack of wall calendars to give to my customers and giving them out to my friends instead. It is stealing from my employer.

 

Not when the calendars are going to be thrown out anyway.

 

Some companies (so I read somewhere, never saw it myself) pour bleach on discarded food, too, so the hungry can't eat it when it's been dumped....maybe you could shred the calendars before they get tossed.

 

And we're talking ONE glass of wine....not inebriating an entire coach class full of friends. Perspective....help yourself to some.

Edited July 1, 2015 by azevedan

[azevedan]

IIRC, people still bought B/FC when the booze was free back in coach, as it used to be. B/FC is very much an expensive proposition....you're not likely to pay extra just because you want a drink. Those who have the money or points or status to snag an upgrade on an oversold flight will continue to use their money/points/status with the same frequency as before.