A military member and social media influencer has taken to Instagram to complain about a recent interaction with an Alaska Airlines employee, where he asked for a free upgrade, and was denied. He’s accusing an employee at the airline of being anti-military. Is that a fair complaint, or is this being blown out of proportion?
Military member frustrated over denied upgrade request
A military member posted a 2min35sec video online, outlining his experience with an Alaska Airlines representative at Portland International Airport (PDX), which he claims was his first time encountering an “anti-military” employee at the airline. To summarize his version of events:
- He noticed there were around 30 empty seats on the seat map, so he asked if he could get a free upgrade to a seat with extra legroom, as he does on every flight, because it can’t hurt to ask (he points out how he’s 6’4″); he claims that nine times out of 10, he gets moved up
- He says Alaska is “super pro-military,” and most of the time they say “thank you for your service” and move you up
- He claims the guy at the counter looked at him, and said “we never upgrade active military for free, that’s against our policy”
- He claims that the way the guy said it “with such disgust” that he was military really “rubbed [him] the wrong way”
- He then said “you know, I’ve asked in the past, and it hasn’t been an issue, so I figured I’d ask,” and he claims the Alaska employee responded “no you haven’t, we don’t do that here, so that must be a lie”
- The Alaska employee then offered to move his seat if he was willing to pay, to which he responded “no, I’m not looking to pay $150 to move up four rows”
You can see the video for yourself below. As you’d expect, this guy’s followers are mostly military related, so the 1,300+ comments on the post are almost entirely in agreement with the person who posted the video.
My take on this Alaska Airlines military situation
First let me say that I of course respect and appreciate the service of those who are in the military (even if I fundamentally disagree with the extent to which we get into conflicts that accomplish nothing — that’s the fault of our elected leaders, and not the fault of those who put their lives on the line).
Of course if the Alaska Airlines employee in question was rude, that’s not acceptable, and people expect polite service. Now, I’m a little skeptical of how much of a direct transcript this was, rather than how this guy chose to interpret it. That includes things like him suggesting that the Alaska employee accused him of lying. If that were the case, that’s unacceptable, but again, it’s not clear if that was actually said, or just how he was made to feel.
All that being said, this guy sort of strikes me as being rather entitled. Airlines are extremely generous with active duty military members, as they should be. The airline has a page that outlines military and veteran benefits, and upgrades isn’t among those perks. The airline offers all kinds of other things, ranging from special fares, to lounge access, to priority boarding. But it seems a little greedy to then be like “oh, they do all these things, but they should do more” (since he chooses to reference this page).
But here’s my bigger issue with this guy’s approach. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking for an upgrade, but be ready to be shot down. However, I feel like his approach is more one of entitlement than “it can’t hurt to ask.” Why do I say that?
The very example he gives is that for all these times he flies Alaska, either they say “sure, we’ll upgrade you,” or they say “sorry, it’s full, we can’t upgrade you.” In other words, he assumes he’s entitled to the upgrade as long as there are open seats, which just isn’t the policy. If he’s going to be rejected for something he’s not entitled to, he wants to be lied to, rather than told “sorry, that’s not our policy.”
And again, he emphasizes how he has no level of entitlement, but also then argues by pointing out that he has been upgraded for free in the past. It all sounds to me a little like being caught with a liquid that’s too large at the TSA checkpoint, and then trying to argue with them, and say “well last time they let me through.” Well, that’s fine, but that’s not the policy.
So my take here is that airline employees should of course always be professional. I think it’s perfectly fine to say “I’m sorry, that’s not our policy,” which is something this guy seems to take issue with. If the employee did actually accuse him of lying about being upgraded in the past, that’s of course not acceptable. But I’m also not convinced that actually happened.
Bottom line
A military member has accused an Alaska Airlines employee of being anti-military, after being denied a free upgrade to a seat with more legroom. He argues that there’s no harm in asking, but also seems to think that the only acceptable rejection is a claim that the cabin is full.
While Alaska offers lots of perks to military members (as they should), upgrades isn’t among them. Asking once is one thing, but I do find it a bit entitled to essentially believe that you’re entitled to the seats as long as they’re empty, and then to argue if you’re not upgraded.
What do you make of this “anti-military” Alaska employee?
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