I cried a lot when basic economy passengers got premium economy seats. The airline finally showed me respect.

Dear Quentin,

Remember me? I wrote to you two weeks ago about the mother and daughter who rushed for two premium economy seats without paying. I said I was unhappy about having to pay $70 while these people were taking seats for free, without any argument from the flight attendants.

I received a response from American Airlines AAL. First, the airline acknowledged that it never specifically responded to my question. Secondly, he apologized. Third, he said he would give me a partial refund of the frequent flyer miles for agreeing to seat passengers.

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It’s a very ugly American trait and one embedded in American history – land grabbers show a lack of any charitable consideration, like asking an elderly or overweight person if they would like one of those seats. That’s just not part of the American mindset.

That woman and her mother were selfish and self-serving and believed they had the right to get these seats. I also think your comment about me paying for a “guarantee” of an upgrade rather than an upgrade is not correct, because when we buy any seat that is what we are buying.

I think most people would be furious if a person from the main cabin ran into first class, took an empty seat, and got away with it. I’m glad they finally showed me some respect. I have a sneaking suspicion they saw your column.

Via La Reclamantes

Dear Viva,

Comparing those emerging from the premium economy with the first colonizers is a leap into this first world problem. Not all historians or anthropologists would agree with you. But I agree with your underlying point: just because a seat is free on a plane, in a restaurant, or in a theater, that doesn’t make it ours.

It would have been a proper order if the seat jumpers had asked the flight attendant before moving. Musical chairs at 30,000 feet in the air are stressful, but so is the issue with the airline about their seat bounce. An eye roll from you would have solved the problem just the same.

Still, the airline was smart to split the cost of the upgrade with you, as you are undoubtedly a valued customer. Given the often restrictive change policies that airlines impose on customers and the wide fluctuation of dynamic pricing, this is also a refreshing and welcome change.

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It is possible that an airline representative read the column because it is our policy to contact companies to give them the right to respond. But they didn’t have your name, so it’s less certain that the decision to give you a partial refund was because you disclosed your problem.

Choose your battles wisely

While I understand your point about flight attendants and passengers giving priority to those who can benefit from more legroom, I (still) don’t believe you would go back to economy class if you were upgraded to first class if you were a first-class passenger complained.

Flight attendants have the power to allow passengers to occupy empty rows or nicer seats if it would make the trip more comfortable, especially on long-haul flights. They want to get you from A to B safely; the rest is goodwill. Ultimately, this is not a consumer rights hill you want to die on.

They exist primarily for your safety and it is not always possible to police seats and ensure that a basic economy customer does not occupy a premium economy seat. If there’s an empty row on a long-haul flight, sometimes it’s luck.

Frankly, flight attendants put up with a lot, especially when dealing with the general public. A series of surveys examined the health status of cabin crew “and found significantly more sleep problems, depression, anxiety and fatigue than in the average population.”

“Fatigue is favored by night work, starting work too early, long flying hours, long shifts and compromised biorhythms,” he added. Their work day starts with a commute to the airport, and being stuck on a plane for several hours means they are always “on.”

Irregular working hours

Don’t discount East/West Coast jet lag. “In the case of domestic flights, a very early start of service or a very late end of service, but also irregularly structured service schedules were identified as problematic,” according to this review of a batch of research over three decades.

“In general, irregular working hours, due to shift and/or night work, can increase the incidence of physical and psychological problems”, adds the newspaper. Add to that the problems that misbehaving passengers have caused employees since the COVID pandemic.

And they don’t exactly get paid extra for having to put up with all the quirks and queries of tired, emotional and, in their opinion, often cramped passengers. The average annual salary for flight attendants is around $68,370, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On the positive side, this is a highly sought after profession. Job growth for flight attendants is expected to average 11% over the next decade, significantly more than the 3% for all professions, in part due to the transfer of workers to other industries and/or retirement , states the BLS.

Flying the flag of labor corpses

Yes, once again the Moneyist is flying the workers’ flag. Maybe it’s because we need to remember the emotional labor, the health risks and the stamina required to be a service worker, especially one working inside a titanium, steel and aluminum box in the sky.

We can all be that grumpy passenger or that premium economy princess who expects to be treated a certain way. As I noted in my original answer, I fought with a standby passenger who wanted to sit in the aisle in my row, which would have prevented me from stretching out and sleeping.

Sometimes “we” are the problem: whether we’re sitting in our local restaurant and reeling because we can’t get our favorite seat, or telling our Uber driver to step on it, or even blaming overworked nurses for a medical system that’s broken. extremely underfunded and overstretched.

Ultimately, it’s important to distinguish between the problems we have with an industry, which can have frustrating and perplexing policies, and the people in that industry. For the most part, you seem to have done that, and for that, you deserve the Consumer Complainant of the Year badge.

It’s an invisible pin, so you can wear it with pride.

More columns by Quentin Fottrell:

‘I’m not jealous – just genuinely curious’: How can a woman work from home and look after her 3-year-old at the same time?

‘I made a really stupid mistake’: I spent $50,000 renovating my fiancé’s kitchen. Now he is breaking a promise that I will buy 50% of his house.

‘I’m shocked’: My grandfather co-signed my cousin’s student loan. After my grandfather died, he left town. Will the estate have to pay the debt?

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