I have seen very inconsiderate passengers stow their carry ons in overhead compartments as far as 20 rows ahead of where they are seated. When the person boarding and has nowhere to stow their own carry ons above their seat they often have to stow them BEHIND where they are seated. THIS is a major obstacle when exiting the flight and often delays EVERYONE else. This is an example of complete lack of consideration for one’s fellow passengers.

Courtesy costs nothing. The self righteous entiltlement attitude does no one any good. Period. Many forget thet it isn’t just about them, but we are a group traveling on the same aircraft.

We demand service from the airlines and yet many of us don’t want to pay for it either monetarily or otherwise. We could all make it a little less stressful if we just exhibited some manners and consideration. Unfortunately there are those who disagree and are miserable human beings. THEY should be denied boarding in a perfect world.

One, it is always better to be nice. Given any other situation, we would not be having a debate over whether Chris was considerate to other passengers or not. Let’s say he was on a wide-open flight and received a comp upgrade. Would anyone really care that his niceness got him a perk? I was once comped an upgrade on a half-full AA flight because I apologized for the rude customer in front of me and told the GA that she certainly had earned her pay that day.

Second, it doesn’t seem that Chris ASKED for anything other than to be added to the standby list. Any actions above that were made solely by the GA. What was Chris supposed to do, ask her if the other 24 people had refused the seat? That’s a little unrealistic. Had Chris requested to be put at the top of the list I would agree that he had been inconsiderate to the other passengers. But lacking any evidence of that I think he is being prosecuted unfairly.

The whole point of this column was to communicate a Golden Rule “treat others as you would have them treat you” message. That being nice and polite can bring unexpected benefits. I would hate to think his message will get lost because he could have used a better example.

“After general boarding ended, I watched the standby list scroll by on the monitors.

ELLI/C was number one on the screen. In other words, if there was a free seat on the plane, I would get it. And I did.”

The fact that his name was first on the screen means she bumped him ahead of the other 24 people, regardless of how many people were in their party.

Chris, I’m a big fan of yours, your blog helped give me the resources I needed to get home early when there was a tragedy in my family while I was on vacation. I also appreciate the sentiment of this post – as the saying goes, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. But while you were nice to the gate agent, you certainly weren’t being very nice to or considerate of your fellow travelers.

The actions of Chris and those of the gate agent are not something to brag about.

and it goes on and on and on. C’mon Carver – first SINGLE highest on the list gets ONE available seat. Human nature.

I walked up to the counter and asked “Are you looking for volunteers?” She said “Yes” and told me what they were offering. I said “Tell ya what, if you can get me a business-class upgrade, I’ll volunteer.” She got me business class for the Las Vegas to Boston leg. I had a fun 4-hour layover in Las Vegas (where I saw a movie and won $6), and some comfort on the long flight home. She got another seat open on the flight, plus a smile from me. Win!

Every airline treats their frequent flyer program as a money maker, and if you want your money maker to generate more money, make sure that the ones who rack up thousands of miles are happy. That is why they have airline lounges, free drink coupons, upgrades, etc. United made over $600 million last year on their program, which helps when you post billion dollar losses per year. Casual travelers who choose a flight based on the lowest fare and don’t have any particular loyalty to an airline just don’t mean a lot and are usually treated that way. I’m sorry if some of them aren’t experienced enough and need Chris’s help to resolve their issues – this is why he’s here and seems to be very successful at what he does. I did a lot of boneheaded things when I was an inexperienced traveler and I still do some today. It’s what I call my “stupid tax”.

Regardless of what you casual flyers say, the tiered system will always be present and always put casual flyers at a disadvantage. Your recourse is either to join the system or live with it. Southwest even started a business program now, where for more money, you can get a Business Elite fare giving you a special line at LAX, almost automatic “A” level boarding passes, and other bonuses. If it makes you feel any better, every year, most airlines are cheapening the privileges we get anyway.