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Frequent criers: Elite fliers are ruining air travel
2. Behaving as if the rules weren’t written for them
Airlines coddle their elites so much, it's no wonder these passengers are left with the impression that the rules don’t have to be followed. Apparently, that’s what Thomas McSherry believed. His flight from San Francisco to New York last year had to be diverted to Salt Lake City after the first-class passenger refused to cooperate with the flight crew when he was told to fasten his seat belt and stop using his cell phone. According to the charges filed against him, McSherry used profanity, insulted a flight attendant’s nationality and made a threat of bodily harm.
McSherry isn’t necessarily a poster boy for the “rules-are-for-the-little-people” attitude that can infect groups of elite-level frequent fliers. If you want to witness a more common but no less disturbing variety firsthand, just visit one of the discussion forums for frequent fliers, like FlyerTalk. Or read one of the columnists often quoted on these forums, who, in a perversion of reality, seem convinced that elite-level frequent fliers are actually victims.
3. Insisting on special treatment — even when it’s unwarranted
Elites can be demanding customers, but hell hath no fury like a card-carrying frequent flier bumped down to steerage class. I’ve seen it. Every time I snag a bulkhead or exit row seat with the other un-upgraded suits, I get a lesson on how to get a free drink from a flight attendant. It’s embarrassing.
Some travelers don’t even bother to ask. Consider the case of Bert Niepel, a German banker who was apparently unaccustomed to sitting in the cheap seats. So Niepel reportedly upgraded himself to a seat in the first class section on a recent flight from Berlin to New York. Then he refused repeated requests to return to his seat in economy class. Finally Niepel flew into a rage, forcing the pilot to lock the cockpit door and divert the flight to Manchester, England, where Niepel was arrested and fined. It could have been worse. Two years ago, passengers stormed the first class section of a Boeing 747 operated by Pakistan International Airlines after it sat on a hot Islamabad tarmac. More than a dozen would-be first class passengers were arrested.
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I think you know the answer.
Tom Signore does. On a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, the executive recruiter from Oak Park, Calif., was sitting near the front of the economy class cabin when he stood up to use the restroom. The closest lavatories were in first class. But a flight attendant emerged from the galley and blocked his path to the head. “These are for first class passengers only,” she scolded.
“Do the math,” he told me. “Two bathrooms for 180 people. One bathroom for 12 people. Does that make any sense?”
No, and neither do red carpets at the boarding gate. Or over-the-top gourmet meals with all-you-can-drink booze, while the rest of the plane starves. You can’t blame airlines for singling out their highest-revenue passengers as VIPs. But something is wrong — very wrong — with air travel today when only some of us are treated like people and the rest are stowed away like cargo.
Every Monday, my column takes a close look at what makes the travel business tick. Your comments are always welcome, and if you can’t get enough of my column, drop by my blog for daily insights into the world of travel.
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