I’m a Bad Friend or Deciding Who Gets the Upgrade
So you might remember a few days ago I was sweating whether I should have burned my regional upgrades for our upcoming Napa trip.Not only did our IAD-DEN segments not clear in the 1K window, but the night before, both flights looked sold out in first.
So we prepared for a 4 hour flight in coach, stopping by the Lufthansa lounge so Jeanne could get her first taste of the better food offerings (Who doesn’t prefer gummy bears, soft pretzels, and Belgian beer on draft to plastic wrapped cheese).
We arrive at the gate with 10 minutes to spare and wind up in the worst possible situation for a friendship or romantic relationship.There were two First Class seats available. I was #1 on the list. Jeanne was#14.
Clearly the regional upgrade gamble paid off, as we were beating out 30 other folks who had status with United (Jeanne does not), except now we had to decide if one of us took the upgrade or if we should give it away.
If Jeanne and I were dating, then I would agree with those who feel that the upgrade would be swapped for the adjacent seat.However, Jeanne and I are friends, so what to do…
To further complicate matters, this was Jeanne’s birthday trip.
I believed that one of us should take the upgrade and it really didn’t have to be me. Jeanne however kept arguing that it should be me –I’d originally planned to go, it was my upgrade certs, etc. AND she didn’t care if we were separated if that meant I got the upgrade.
I’ll admit, I’d been dreading this flight for the entire day. It’s been a long week, I’m recovering from a cold, and frankly, I hate middle seats. And that’s when I took the easy way out and became a bad friend.
As soon as I made the decision I felt guilty. I plied Jeanne with my 1K drink chits, offered my credit card to buy snack boxes galore, andkept apologizing. Even after we boarded I kept texting “I’m sorry.â€
I still feel like a bad person for taking that option,albeit, a much less cranky, less stressed person. Jeanne doesn’t think I’m a bad friend and when the flight attendant heard my plight, she let me take a glass of wine back (in a real glass!). I still have guilt (which I’m hoping Jeanne won’t milk too much since Napa is expensive).
What do others think? When flying with friends, what call do you make on upgrades?
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I should add that I originally volunteered to be the one in the middle. So, Keri taking the upgrade gave me a reprieve. It wasn't all selfless! And Keri was originally taking the flight without me, I co-opted it for my birthday, and she cleared… Not me. To me it made sense because I did not want to sit in the middle 😉
I really like your blog, and I've added it to my Google Reader. I found it through the link at View From the Wing 🙂
I've also got my own at http://www.frequentflyercollector.com