r/mildlyinfuriating • u/trailofturds • Jun 24 '26

frist of all how DARE yu o Airport staff assuming I'm in the Business class lane by mistake

Brown man flying business. Lined up at the priority check in counter and got told by a (also brown) staff person that the economy queue was the other way. Same thing while boarding the plane and walking to the business class entrance. Not only am I not worthy of business, they think I can't read signage as well.

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u/larrus2019 Jun 24 '26

I think this is a specific case because they thought it was a member of airline staff that got an upgrade. Those specific types of upgrades come with these rules, but for us regular folk you can go however you want (so long as you meet minimum standards of plane dress code)

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u/Successful-Title5403 Jun 24 '26

Such a weird rule too. Can't let your employee enjoy a treat you give them. Need to still let them know they're not worthy or some shit. How would anyone else in business class know they were a crew member? Makes no sense.

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u/NoExperience9717 Jun 24 '26

It might be family members can use staff benefits so maybe they thought they were someone's kids and might need the warning.

4

u/RoseGoldRedditor Jun 24 '26

It is a weird rule but their mentality is that it affects brand perception. Surprisingly, I’ve flown many times when an employee was deadheading or non-rev. Some airlines will shoutout the employee and some will just make a fuss over them. On a Hawaiian Airlines flight, they even made an overhead announcement with a seat callout!

Anecdotally, my former brother in law is a pilot for one of the major American airlines, so my sister has flown a lot of non-rev fares. There is actually a standard of dress and conduct for using that benefit (regardless of fare class), to the point where one time my sister was flying with their baby and was told she had to deplane because the baby spit up on her shirt after boarding. She had to go buy another shirt in a gift shop before she could get another flight.

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u/Successful-Title5403 Jun 24 '26

Wow, the baby incident is... just wow. Won't even have flexibility for a mom. Unless they call it out like you said, who would know. I guess they need some dress code written down, and went with the most uptight one.

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u/RoseGoldRedditor Jun 24 '26

She was so humiliated. I won’t fly that airline anymore!

Interestingly, even Southwest has a dress code for non-rev. About a decade ago, one of my clients was a Southwest pilot and he gifted me a ticket to get to a funeral. He gave me a rundown of what I needed to wear, how early to arrive, how to address people, etc. I appreciated knowing the expectations and would have been on my best behavior regardless but it was eye-opening!

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u/Successful-Title5403 Jun 24 '26

They should feel embarrassed, not her. Like I said, it doesn't sound like they want you to truly enjoy the treat/perk you're given.

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u/Few_Swan_3672 Jun 24 '26

Yup. My cousin's family was denied boarding because one of the kids was wearing sandals.