Why I Got the Warm Fuzzies on My Last American Flight
“I wish I could upgrade you all.”
That was the  sentence that gave me a warm feeling on my American Airlines flight earlier this week. I was flying out of Wilmington mid-week on an evening flight. The boarding area was filled with military personnel and vacationers. Apparently half the first class cabin was empty after all elites had been upgraded. In my past experience, that means not all the first class seats are filled.
But this time the gate agents started upgrading passengers, and all of them were military. It wasn’t even clear what was happening at first. They started calling out the names of passengers who needed to check in at the desk for new boarding passes and it wasn’t until the lady said she wished they could upgrade everyone and thanked them for their service to the country that we all realized what they were doing.
I don’t know if this is local protocol, if it was just chance, or if this is an American Airlines policy, but it was great to see my airline paying tribute to the men and women who have serve our country.
Wishing my grandmother and everyone who has served a very happy Veterans Day and safe travels!
AA gate agents generally do upgrade military personnel when all the elites clear. I’ve seen this several times on thin flights with hardly any elites.