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How to get the best seat on an airplane every time
Just wanted to share my airline travel strategies with you guys, because they really work like a hot damn...
First, my general opinion on flying is that:
a.) being on an airplane (at least in economy class on long-haul flights) blows, so the less time you spend in an airplane seat the better;
b.) having a good seat can make the difference between a horrible flight and a tolerable one; and
c.) the fees that airlines charge for checked bags are a load of bullshit.
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So, my strategy to resolve all three is this:
If possible, fit all your stuff into two bags: a small rolling suitcase that meets airline size requirements for carry-on luggage, and a backpack / laptop bag / briefcase to store valuables and items you'll need in-flight. Don't pay to check the suitcase, carry it on the plane. . .
Wait until the absolute last possible minute to board your plane. Usually, this means waiting at your gate until 1-2 minutes after the final boarding call, when you see the last stragglers heading down the jetramp. It's best to be the very last passenger to board, but it's OK if there are a couple more people after you.
When you give your boarding pass to the gate agent, ask if the plane is full. They will almost always give you an honest answer. If they say no, then you can smile, because you're going to have a great seat on this flight... more on this in a moment. . .
Before boarding, also ask the gate agent if there's still space left in the overhead bins. Tell the gate agent / airline staff that, if necessary, you don't mind checking your larger carry-on suitcase. If the bins are not full, then they'll say no, and you can just put the bag in an overhead bin.
If the overhead bins ARE full, the airline staff will give you a luggage tag and load your bag into the plane's cargo hold. This is ideal because you'll have peace of mind knowing your bag will make it to the intended destination (you can usually watch them load it onto the plane) and you don't have to pay the absurd $25 checked bag fee. And since you have a separate smaller carry-on bag for your "personal items," not having access to your main suitcase shouldn't be an issue.
If the plane looks pretty full, you may want to pose this same question to the flight attendant when you walk onto the plane, as they usually have a good idea of how much overhead bin space is left.
(Note: On small planes -- regional jets and turboprops -- they'll usually have a luggage rack sitting on the tarmac beside the boarding stairs for larger carry-on items. This "sky check" is awesome because you get your bags back as soon as you step off the plane at your destination airport, and it's free.) . .
Since you're the last passenger to board the plane (or one of the last few, at the very least)... and since you already know from the gate agent how full the flight is... you can look around and choose the best available seat.
Almost everyone who boards the plane will sit in their assigned seat at first. Since these other fools have no idea how full the flight is or how many passengers are still waiting to board, they always sit in assigned seats until the doors close. This gives you the opportunity to see exactly which seats are unoccupied, and immediately claim the best one.
Forget your assigned seat altogether, and just sit down in the very best seat you can see... act confident, as though this is your assigned seat. Don't worry, if someone else boards after you (unlikely) and happens to be assigned the seat you're sitting in, you can just get up and move to the next-best seat.
The very best part? Many airlines -- especially charter companies and crappy American carriers -- charge extra for the best seats (ie emergency exit rows). Since people are cheap and don't bother to pay this extra fee, these 'premium' seats are often empty and available for the taking if you're the last one to board.
Final tip: if you see a row of seats that's completely empty, but you don't want any other people to switch seats and join your empty row, sit in the middle seat (if it's a row of 3) or the aisle seat and place your jacket/sweater/book/etc on the seat(s) beside you. This will discourage others from trying to sit in your empty row.
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Anyway, sorry for the long post.. hope some of you can use this strategy to land better seats and thus enjoy less horrible long-haul flights. It's worked for me at least 20-30 times over the past 5 years or so, and I'm never stuck in a bad seat unless the plane is completely full.
That's a nice post but kind of looks like you don't really do much flying within North America on mainline carriers - many of those habits are only applicable to low cost carriers. For example, there are NO North American carriers that I know of that charge for your first bag and a carry-on sized one at that. Also, as an Air Canada Elite member who travels a ton for work, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there are NO Air Canada flights that lift off with empty bulkhead or emergency row seats. You pay to book them in advance but those with frequent flier status get them for free and they are also released at T-24 hours to the flight.
Also... why you would rather board late and have to check your bag below rather than boarding early and guarantee yourself overhead bin space is beyond me...
__________________ I'm old now - boring street cars and sweet race cars.
Actually, almost all domestic flights in the USA charge for all checked bags. I asked why they did this, and I was told that they pay a percentage of the seat fees to taxes - but the additional charges of baggage and first to board are not taxed - therefore it is straight profit. This practice hasn't come across the border to Canada yet, but I can see it eventually creeping its way in. Food is also additional on many flights now in the States. Cash only.
What happens in the States a lot is people are bringing 2 bags plus a carry-on and they try to squeeze them into the overhead compartment. If you don't board in the first two "zones" (as they call them), there is a good chance the overhead is full and your bags will be checked below. Not a huge deal, but I often have connecting flights where I don't have enough time to wait around all that long.
you know what, if you pull this gig, it might work in US flights, but DANG if you're in Canada, you will get pwned right away.
Ever since the 25 dollar fee for additional luggage, people are taking more on the plane such as a purse, laptop bag and a backpack. What will most likely happen is you going to your seat and end up opening EVERY SINGLE bin above your head and find them ALL full and you'll be super embarrassed cause everyone is watching you play tetris as if you're a retard. (heaven forbid some bitch comes up to you and tells you to not squish her bag) Not only that, your seat might be at 14A and you'll end up having your bags being stored at 36C and THAT SUCKS BALLS!!!! (well not that extreme unless the attendant takes it all the way back and it has happened to me) Not only will you to go all the way back to get your bags but you just lost such a prime seat exiting
The check-in agent usually just upgrade me to the next cabin class even without asking
Sweet. Does this upgrade require you to perform sexual favors, or are you just a frequent flyer / member of some airline loyalty club?
Quote:
Originally Posted by lowside67
That's a nice post but kind of looks like you don't really do much flying within North America on mainline carriers - many of those habits are only applicable to low cost carriers. For example, there are NO North American carriers that I know of that charge for your first bag and a carry-on sized one at that.
Huh? Sorry dude, but that's just not correct at all.
In the past 3 years or so I've flown all four US legacy carriers (United, Delta, American, and US Airways) and all four charge $25 for the first checked bag (on all flights within North America, regardless of flight duration). If you have more than one bag to check, you better get your wallet out, because additional checked bags are usually $75-$100 (and up).
I've also flown Alaska, AirTran, Allegiant, Virgin America, and Aeromexico... they all have the same policy for flights within North America (fees for checked bags). As far as I'm aware, only WestJet, Southwest, and jetBlue do not charge for checked luggage on domestic flights.
Air Canada charges $25 for the first checked bag on flights within North America (I believe the first bag is free is free for flights outside of Canada/US/Mexico though). I believe they made some changes to this policy recently, but they still charge $25/bag for flights within Canada/US.
Most airlines offer 1 free checked bag on trans-continental flights (ie. to Europe or Asia). If I remember correctly, a few shitty carriers charge for checked bags even on their long-haul international routes.
Oh, and the size of the bag doesn't matter (assuming it's under the weight limit of ~50lbs or whatever), it's a flat rate per checked bag for almost all airlines.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lowside67
Also, as an Air Canada Elite member who travels a ton for work, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there are NO Air Canada flights that lift off with empty bulkhead or emergency row seats. You pay to book them in advance but those with frequent flier status get them for free and they are also released at T-24 hours to the flight.
Interesting. Good to know.
I guess you won't be getting an emergency exit row if you're last to board an Air Canada flight, but if the flight isn't full, you should still have options for a better seat than the one you were assigned.
This strategy should definitely work on United, American, Alaska, and US Airways, though. They're all broke as hell, so they charge extra for these "premium" seats.
(Presumably all these US carriers will ugprade their loyalty club members and frequent flyers to these 'premium' seats for free if asked, but in my experience there's still often empty seats in emergency exit rows, especially on flights to 'vacation' destinations where most passengers are cost-conscious.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by lowside67
Also... why you would rather board late and have to check your bag below rather than boarding early and guarantee yourself overhead bin space is beyond me...
Well, several reasons.
For starters, if you board the plane at the last minute like I suggested, there may be no overhead bin space left, so checking your bag is going to be required either way. (But boarding last is awesome anyway, since you usually end up with a better seat and you spend less time cramped in a stuffy airplane.)
Secondly, I find it a pain in the ass to have a large and heavy carry-on bag, especially if you've got connecting flights... If checked luggage is free, then I'd say you should just check it at the gate. But, if you don't want to pay the $25 fee and don't want to deal with lugging a big carry-on bag on and off the plane (and across big airports to your connecting flights), then boarding last and offering to check your bag at the gate is a good solution that works quite often.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 6793026
you know what, if you pull this gig, it might work in US flights, but DANG if you're in Canada, you will get pwned right away.
Ever since the 25 dollar fee for additional luggage, people are taking more on the plane such as a purse, laptop bag and a backpack. What will most likely happen is you going to your seat and end up opening EVERY SINGLE bin above your head and find them ALL full and you'll be super embarrassed cause everyone is watching you play tetris as if you're a retard.
Yes, it's horrible. The $25 checked baggage fee is (imo) one of the main reasons that US airlines are constantly running late... everyone has big carry-on items, including Grandma who can't lift the bag over her head and Retarded Dude who can't figure out how to fit his massive suitcase into the already-full overhead bins.
But, as I said, you ask the gate agent and the flight attendant if they want to check your bag to save space in the overhead bins. If they agree, then you get a free checked bag. If they say no, then there's probably still a decent amount of overhead bin space left, so it's a moot point.
If you show up "last minute" they may put your luggage on another flight and you have to wait for it. Yes, you could end up with a nicer seat but the chances are slim and you probably already pissed off the ticketing agent for showing up so late and punish you for doing so some way, some how.
Risk:Reward here is pretty bunk. Like lowside67, I've been Air Canada Elite for a number of years already and a majority of these are amateur tricks.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS
I literally do not plan on buying another vehicle in my lifetime, assuming it doesn't get written off.
If you show up "last minute" they may put your luggage on another flight and you have to wait for it. Yes, you could end up with a nicer seat but the chances are slim and you probably already pissed off the ticketing agent for showing up so late and punish you for doing so some way, some how.
I think you're misunderstanding somewhat...
I'm not suggesting that you should show up to the check-in counter at the last minute. That's a terrible idea. Check in, get through security, and do all that other shit with plenty of time to spare. (I'll never show up late after a bad experience in Madrid a few years ago, where I missed a flight because I arrived at the Iberia check-in desk "only" 55 minutes prior to departure.)
BUT... while you're sitting at your gate, listening to the agent call out boarding for various "zones"... that's when I suggest waiting until the last minute. Walk around, take a piss, watch other passengers sweat profusely while lined up in the jetwalk, etc etc... and then, when the crowds are gone and the gate agent calls final boarding, wander up to the gate and board the plane.
They're not going to bump your luggage to another flight if you board the plane during 'final boarding call,' especially if you've already checked in at the ticketing counter (which you should have done long ago). And I don't really know how the gate agent could "punish" you for showing up late; it happens all the time for legitimate reasons (ie. delayed inbound connecting flight, long security lines, etc)... used this strategy dozens of times and no airline employee has ever said a word or been visibly angry when I wait until final call to board.
As far as "risk vs. reward" goes, I don't see any downside to being the last passenger to board a plane:
- Worst case scenario: the plane is full and you end up in your assigned seat anyway (although even if that happens, you still get to enjoy an extra 15-20 minutes of freedom to walk around the airport while other passengers are cramped into a stuffy airplane)....
- Best case scenario: you enjoy another 15-20 minutes of freedom in the airport, avoid long lines in the jetwalk, and claim the best available seat... and by that point the plane is ready to roll and pushback is probably only a few minutes away.
Why not just join airline frequent flyer program, save you a lot of these fees, and usually online check in will give you access to these "premium seats" for free.
And why would you want to board late when sitting in Y class? People hog overhead bin, I for one make use of the FF program benefit of being able to get on the plane before general boarding to secure a overhead bin space above me.
As far as "risk vs. reward" goes, I don't see any downside to being the last passenger to board a plane:
- Worst case scenario: the plane is full and you end up in your assigned seat anyway (although even if that happens, you still get to enjoy an extra 15-20 minutes of freedom to walk around the airport while other passengers are cramped into a stuffy airplane)....
- Best case scenario: you enjoy another 15-20 minutes of freedom in the airport, avoid long lines in the jetwalk, and claim the best available seat... and by that point the plane is ready to roll and pushback is probably only a few minutes away.
Actually... worst case scenario is that the plane is full, there is no space for your luggage in the overhead bin, you have to gate check your bag, then a bunch of people who are already belted in have to get out of your way so you can get to your assigned seat. Then after the flight you get to wait 30 minutes (or 45 at YYZ) for your bag which is not priority tagged since you gate checked it.
To have to wait for my bag to come out the baggage claim area and have the risk (even if only small) of there being a problem with it - either damaged, falls off the conveyor, etc. just for "15 minutes of freedom in the airport" vs 5 hours on the plane simply doesn't make any sense to me.
There is also a good chance that people may have already begun switching seats if you are truly last minute to board.
Mark
__________________ I'm old now - boring street cars and sweet race cars.
^Depends on what kind of flight you are on too. From what I heard, on some flights they put your luggage on the next flight if yours is full.
Here are some tips that I found:
- If you arrive at the counter to check in ask them if they have any upgrades. Usually they will tell you "oh yes, we have last minute upgrades (LMU) for $XXX.XX". Sometimes those prices are actually worth it, other times you think "fkkkuuuuuuuuuu~". Now, if you arrive to check in fairly late, I am not sure if they will give you the upgrade, but I heard that sometimes if the plane is fairly full and you are traveling internationally or on a larger plane, they will sometimes bump you up in order to accommodate a new customer who wants to get on as Economy. Chances of this is low, but I mean, if you look like Brad Pitt and the agent is jizzing over you then you may have a higher chance.
- There is also a chance to do the above at the gate, like before, if you are the gate, you might get a chance to get upgraded in order for the airline to accommodate a person on the economy reserve list. Chances again, are low, but a chance is a chance! The downfall of arriving late in both scenarios is that you will not get an overhead compartment space near your seat which is a big bitch to handle, and also, you cause everyone to get up for you to get to your seat (unless you sit aisle).
- I was fortunate to get upgraded once, no idea how, but I was very young and it was probably cause I was kawaii as fuck.
- Good way to check your seats and if they are good or not is using Airline Seat Maps, Flights shopping and Flight information- Best Airplane Seats - SeatGuru and searching your airline and plane. It will give you a layout of the seats and which one have more leg room, which ones suck, etc. I used this site to realize my agent put me in fucked up seats with lesser legroom and no window so its very helpful to make sure you don't get jewed.
Edit: @lowside67, true, a lot of them are fairly dated or have different versions of the aircraft, you may need to guesstimate your plane etc.
-Another thing I heard is that if you have a larger person sitting next to you then, before the plane takes off etc, you can go talk to the attendants near the front or wherever private, and say that you are uncomfortable in your seating due to the person next to you. I think it was coined POS - Person of Size, and you can try to request another seat. If they don't have any they MAY upgrade you, I would test my luck on that one though, especially when you might have to sit uncomfortably for X hours.
Definitely a good start, but also keep in mind that Seatguru is out of date on MANY aircraft so you also want to check the airlines themselves for an updated seat map.
__________________ I'm old now - boring street cars and sweet race cars.
Definitely a good start, but also keep in mind that Seatguru is out of date on MANY aircraft so you also want to check the airlines themselves for an updated seat map.
Quote:
Originally Posted by G
- Good way to check your seats and if they are good or not is using Airline Seat Maps, Flights shopping and Flight information- Best Airplane Seats - SeatGuru and searching your airline and plane. It will give you a layout of the seats and which one have more leg room, which ones suck, etc. I used this site to realize my agent put me in fucked up seats with lesser legroom and no window so its very helpful to make sure you don't get jewed.
Edit: @lowside67, true, a lot of them are fairly dated or have different versions of the aircraft, you may need to guesstimate your plane etc.
lol, this doesn't hold up now a days, as most airlines over sell flights. and a are pretty bitchy if u take those premium seats without paying. this was valid maybe 4-10 years ago..
^Depends on what kind of flight you are on too. From what I heard, on some flights they put your luggage on the next flight if yours is full.
No, I think that is against FAA regulations (and thus probably ).
For security reasons (are there any other reasons in the airline industry?), my understanding is that every checked bag on the plane must belong to a passenger on the plane. If you get off the plane, the bag must be removed as well.
There may be instances where this rule bends -- ie. if the bag was put on the wrong plane because of a baggage handling error, if the airline lost it at the airport and has to transport your bag to the correct location ASAP, etc -- but generally speaking, airlines will not allow you to travel without your luggage.
You'll know exactly what I mean you've ever had to wait while ground crews hauled off someone's luggage out of the cargo compartment because they weren't on the plane. It's usually only a brief delay, so no big deal, but it's an obvious example of that policy.
I'm also living proof of this, as primarily reason I missed a flight in Madrid a few years ago was because luggage needed to be checked at least 60 minutes prior to departure, while passengers without checked bags only needed 30 minutes. (Also, Madrid airport staff are catastrophic morons and dickholes.)
I think generally speaking, nowadays if you are able to make it onto a flight, your bag will also be able to make it (barring some major ground handler screw-ups, or a ridiculously tight connection with a terminal change at a huge airport like Heathrow or LAX).
Quote:
Originally Posted by G
Here are some tips that I found:
- If you arrive at the counter to check in ask them if they have any upgrades. Usually they will tell you "oh yes, we have last minute upgrades (LMU) for $XXX.XX". Sometimes those prices are actually worth it, other times you think "fkkkuuuuuuuuuu~". Now, if you arrive to check in fairly late, I am not sure if they will give you the upgrade, but I heard that sometimes if the plane is fairly full and you are traveling internationally or on a larger plane, they will sometimes bump you up in order to accommodate a new customer who wants to get on as Economy. Chances of this is low, but I mean, if you look like Brad Pitt and the agent is jizzing over you then you may have a higher chance.
- There is also a chance to do the above at the gate, like before, if you are the gate, you might get a chance to get upgraded in order for the airline to accommodate a person on the economy reserve list. Chances again, are low, but a chance is a chance! The downfall of arriving late in both scenarios is that you will not get an overhead compartment space near your seat which is a big bitch to handle, and also, you cause everyone to get up for you to get to your seat (unless you sit aisle).
- I was fortunate to get upgraded once, no idea how, but I was very young and it was probably cause I was kawaii as fuck.
- Good way to check your seats and if they are good or not is using Airline Seat Maps, Flights shopping and Flight information- Best Airplane Seats - SeatGuru and searching your airline and plane. It will give you a layout of the seats and which one have more leg room, which ones suck, etc. I used this site to realize my agent put me in fucked up seats with lesser legroom and no window so its very helpful to make sure you don't get jewed.
Edit: @lowside67, true, a lot of them are fairly dated or have different versions of the aircraft, you may need to guesstimate your plane etc.
-Another thing I heard is that if you have a larger person sitting next to you then, before the plane takes off etc, you can go talk to the attendants near the front or wherever private, and say that you are uncomfortable in your seating due to the person next to you. I think it was coined POS - Person of Size, and you can try to request another seat. If they don't have any they MAY upgrade you, I would test my luck on that one though, especially when you might have to sit uncomfortably for X hours.
Cool. Good tips.
Although... regarding paid upgrades to 'premium economy'... I agree with you that it can sometimes be worth considering...
...but I always had a good laugh when Air Canada Jazz used to offer me a "Premium Economy Class" upgrade for a small fee (I think $20-$40 usually?) for flights between Victoria and Vancouver.
It's a 12-minute flight on a turboprop. The in-flight meal service consists of a small Werthers Original candy (if the flight attendant has time to get to your row).
I think I can tolerate even the worst seat-mate for 12 minutes, so I always declined the upgrade, kept the $30, and spent it on hookers and blow instead.
lol, this doesn't hold up now a days, as most airlines over sell flights. and a are pretty bitchy if u take those premium seats without paying. this was valid maybe 4-10 years ago..
Nonsense. Last I heard, the average was around 80% of capacity for North American carriers. That's 1 in 5 seats that are unfilled, on average... for large aircraft, that could be 75 seats left empty. Even on smaller planes, or when the plane is nearly full, there's a decent chance that one of the half dozen empty seats will be better than your assigned seat.
Occupancy varies dramatically be season (ie. fly to North Dakota in winter and you're the only one on the plane; fly to Hawaii at Spring Break and you'll be packed in that plane like canned sardines).
It also varies by airline. Charter operators like AirTransat and Condor -- as well as low-cost carriers like Southwest and EasyJet -- will pack every flight to the brim, because that's their business model: high passenger volumes, low overhead costs, and low margins. Legacy carriers tend to have higher margins per passenger (especially global ones like Emirates and Singapore) so they can still run in the black with only half the seats filled, while charter and low-cost carriers will lost money if they leave just a handful of seats unsold.
(If you are flying a low-cost airline, the tips I dished out in the OP are far less helpful, although they have worked a few times for me with charters.)
It varies by destination. Have you ever flown to a smaller city that really sucks?? These low-volume routes used to be served by national carriers like Air Canada simply because someone needed to provide a scheduled flight in and out of the town, but no company would willingly accept the route because it was a dog that could never be profitable. Not sure if this is still the case, but certainly the desirability of the destination his a big impact on how full the planes are on that route. Sometimes, for whatever reason, airlines choose (or are told to) serve routes that they can't fill.
Certain airports are also way more expensive and challenging to fly into (ie. a slot at Tokyo Haneda might cost $1mil initially and then tens of thousands of dollars per aircraft movement, whereas you might get a parking spot at Abbotsford Int'l in exchange for a dime bag). So the savings you gain from landing at a crap airport means you can fly with your planes less full.
And, finally, sometimes a carrier may serve a route just to feed passengers into the airline hub where they can profit from that passenger's connecting flights. This is extremely common with US legacy carriers, who love to send you to their big hubs via half-empty regional airline flights and then stuff you into large planes on high-profit hub-to-hub routes.
It varies by aircraft. Some planes cost more to fly than others. Quad engine jets, for example, are dying off quickly thanks to twin engine jets being able to offer equal performance at a lower fuel cost. Similarly, an A380 carrying 500 people has a far better 'economy of scale' than a Regional Jet would, meaning higher profits per head and less need for the airline to jam-pack each flight in order to break even.
It varies by flight duration. Commercial aircraft burn ridiculous amounts of fuel to reach cruising speed and altitude, as is the descent and landing proces. But modern airplanes are actually quite efficient when maintaining a constant high-altitude route, so the longer the route, the lower their fuel costs per mile travelled. It should come as no surprise that the world's most profitable airlines -- Qantas, Singapore, Emirates, etc -- dominate the long-haul Pacific routes.
Also, weight is a huge factor in aviation, and removing half the passengers on a plane could cut fuel burn by 20% or more. They may still be losing money on the flight, but they save on fuel, bringing it closer to the break-even point.
It varies by scheduling. Airlines only make money when their planes are flying, so most of their in-service aircraft will be operating many hours each day. The schedules of major airlines are developed by complex computer programs and mathematical algorithms, and aircraft are all over the map (literally) in a given week. That flight you just took to Chicago? Yeah, it probably started the day in Sacramento and made stops in Phoenix and Denver before your leg.
As a result of this complex scheduling, some routes are consistently nearly empty, because the other legs of that plane's schedule are profitable enough to compensate for the losses suffered in the low-demand transit routes. Or, along the same lines, a plane that's far too big for route A (and thus only half full) may be used because the next leg of its journey it will be packed to the brim. Same applies to return trips, where sometimes all the traffic is going one direction but the plane needs to make the return trip anyway but can't reach capacity on that half of the trip.
It varies by cargo. Commercial airlines carry a major portion of all freight moved by air around the world. If your airplanes regularly carry lots of cargo on a route, then you don't have to pack them as full with people to be profitable. Less cargo = less money = need more full planes.
It varies by ticket price. This is a tough one to judge, but generally speaking, commercial aviation demand is driven strictly by price. Buy the third-cheapest ticket on a given route (at an extra $40 per ticket, for example) and odds are good you'll see some empty seats. Book the dirt cheap flights, then you'll be joining the bargain-hunting masses.
Anyway, not sure why the fuck I just wrote all that ^^.... but your statement was quite inaccurate, as I think I have proven.
I think OPs strategy is unique, but personally not one that I'd follow. My carry-on baggage is carry-on for a reason: because the last thing I want to do is check it. Whenever I board a plane, I have one goal only: make sure I get space in the overhead bins. Whether that means boarding early as possible or whatever, that's the goal.
As for premium seats on board, you get them by either:
OLCI at T-24
Pay
Have status and get an op-upgrade due to an oversold situation
I appreciate the OPs opinion, however, but I can't buy it. Honestly the only place I would trust for FF advice is Flyertalk. OP, do me a favour and post your advice on FT and see what they say. If you end up with a bunch of FT users in agreement, then I stand corrected.
Actually this thread makes me appreciate my last flight even more. Cathay F class from HKG to YVR. While Y class is fighting for bin space, the FA was taking my coat and hanging it for me in my personal locker, followed up by a Johnnie Walker blue. Actually from what I remember, F class didn't even have overhead bins to create more space for the in the cabin for the passengers. Once in a lifetime experience.
I think OPs strategy is unique, but personally not one that I'd follow. My carry-on baggage is carry-on for a reason: because the last thing I want to do is check it. Whenever I board a plane, I have one goal only: make sure I get space in the overhead bins. Whether that means boarding early as possible or whatever, that's the goal.
As for premium seats on board, you get them by either:
OLCI at T-24
Pay
Have status and get an op-upgrade due to an oversold situation
I appreciate the OPs opinion, however, but I can't buy it. Honestly the only place I would trust for FF advice is Flyertalk. OP, do me a favour and post your advice on FT and see what they say. If you end up with a bunch of FT users in agreement, then I stand corrected.
Couldn't agree more..
Now to sit back and wait to see for this post to appear on FT
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