US Airways Upgrade...

Coming home from a long week in sunny, hot, humid, rainy, crappy (you get the idea) Florida I was very excited getting to the airport in Jacksonville. All I wanted was to grab an iced coffee and relax at the gate, then on the plane and get my ass home. I got the coffee and popped in the ipod to do a small power nap when I heard a faint announcement over the intercom...it was something about First Class seating. Since as a traveler of less than 8 hour flights, I am relegated to Coach, I didn't think it referred to me. Being nosy, I asked the coworker I was traveling with what it was about and he mentioned seats were available in the other cabin. This is where I found out that these upgrades could be procured in 3 different ways:

1) Pay $50
2) Pay $100
3) Pay NOTHING...

1) I scanned the seating in the gate and saw that not one but two people were bringing on board lap dogs plus someone had a cat. Now I love dogs, but I hate loud yappy ones and I especially dislike cats. Not wanting to chance sitting next to one of these people, I decided, WTF, buy an upgrade. The announced price was $50, so that was a bargain to me. Even after like 15 mins, I was the first to take advantage of the upgrade. $50...hell, I was gonna ask if I could claim it, but if not...who cares. So now I get back to my seat and my coworker asks why I bought the upgrade and I told him about the dogs and knowing that he is frugal, I told him the company may cover the cost.

2) That made him get up and go get the upgrade too. Problem is, that when he gets there, not only is he 5th in line, but the price has gone up. Apparently a manager heard the announcement too and came over to tell the attendant that the upgrade to DC was not $50 but $100. Luckily that turned off the 2 couples in front of my coworker so there was space for him now, but at a higher price. That kind of put him in a pickle...$50 is easier to explain than $100...and if they don't cover it, his frugal behind is out $100. (BTW, he bugged me to death if I got confirmation from my boss today about claiming the upgrade)

3) Once we get on the plane, to my horror, the cat lady stops in FC, but rather than sit in her seat next to the bulkhead, she goes to row #2 so she has a seat to put her cat under....right in front of me. I will say that the cat was quiet, but geez, invest in a kennel next time. Your boyfriend wants you to visit him, not you and your cat!!!! Okay so 20 mins into our flight a man walks from coach into the FC cabin and sits down. Interesting. Next thing I know a lady comes from back there and sits next to him. Why/how did they switch seats???? Come to find out his wife is claustrophobic and her air vent wasn't working so she was freaking out. I mean, they aren't making me move, so what do I care if she sits in an empty seat or not but it doesn't make sense to me. If she is claustrophobic, she's still in a small enclosed PLANE. Moving up front doesn't get you out of the plane. Hell, more power to her...I know the next time I walk past FC and there are a couple seats open, I'm gonna ring the bell and begin to hyperventilate. Maybe I can get a free upgrade too.