V-Flyer

Hi all,

Thought I'd place this here, since it's not a Virgin-specific topic even if it was inspired by one. After talk in a recent trip report about people feigning illness for a lie-down in an UC seat, or "not realising" the UC bar wasn't for Y-class fares, what has been the worst freeload attempt you've seen on your travels?

Cabin hopping? Lounge breaking-and-entering? Upgrade demanding? Curious minds (well, mine at least!) want to know!

Darryl

Blagged my way into the BA lounge at BGI many years ago with my dads BA Ag card:D

Ooh, naughty!

Actually, I've wondered about this. My brother and I share the same first letter in our first names - "D" - hence we're both "DB's" when it comes to correspondence. Are they now more vigilant in also checking the ticket printouts for "SQ*G", "BD*G" and the like to ensure they don't get any family members "piggy-backing" into lounges?

Darryl

Originally posted by randalf
Lounge breaking-and-entering?

I am certainly not one to take the P, but in my defence I had not understood the rules correctly. About a couple of years ago I made a conscious decision to switch away from BA after one of a series of cock ups, so it had been quite some time since I'd used LHR T3.

For some reason I felt sure that one of the Amex Centurion card perks was the use of the Clubhouse. So about a year and a half ago when I was travelling to YVR on AC in J, I presented my card and AC boarding card an not one eyelid batted. We even had a joke about how much better the Clubhouse is compared to the SAS lounge that AC uses.

A couple of weeks later I was on an SAS flight and tried to use the CH again but was confused when they wouldn't let me in, and I asked if the rules had recently changed. Of course they hadn't, they were right, and I should never have had my haircut etc the first time.

But strictly this was not trying to blag my way in - I just didn't know any better.

Howard.

I've blagged my way into the BA Terraces lounge in LHR T4, and also Qantas biz club in SYD.

"If you dont ask, you dont get"

Originally posted by Richard28
I've blagged my way into the BA Terraces lounge in LHR T4, and also Qantas biz club in SYD.

Blagged your way in? I thought you had status with Qantas? Least, that is what you told Jason and I

Thanks,
Sarah

Probably this peach from nearly 3 years ago now...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthre ... ht=freeway

Thanks,
Richard

As a writer I sometimes need good inspiration. When I'm out of fresh faces, I go to the nearest airport and people-watch. At LAX I saw a doozy-backfire.

A woman sauntered up to the econ check-in for an unnamed American carrier, dolled to what she thought was the nines - and was she wrong. Yuck! Obvious fake Gucci, LV, Manolos, and all, smack-dab in the land of $pend ca$h. Anyway, she went on about being famous, as in the dreaded 'don't you know who I am?' bit. Well, her face certainly looked like the star-in-question, but the agent was having none of it. "Passport doesn't match." "Oh, that's because it's my stage name, you know!" The agent refused to budge, and the woman became really huffy. The agent nearly doubled over laughing, as did many of the people in hearing range. I joined them; I remember holding my sides in glee.

The reason for the laughter? Unknownst to the freeloader-faker, the *real* named celebrity, with all her 'people' (stars in LA often don't travel alone, there's the publicist, the nanny and children, the agent at times, the Significant Other of-the-moment, the security detail the group may or may not have) was at the first-class check-in, giving the other woman a glare which would melt tiles on the space shuttle.

What she said was worth a million bucks. Reminds me of a certain v-flyer's tagline: "Economy! I would never!" The faker nearly withered on the spot. I wonder if she even went onto the plane?

I still grin...

a glare which would melt tiles on the space shuttle.

Now that's a good one will remember that[y]

As a writer I sometimes need good inspiration. When I'm out of fresh faces, I go to the nearest airport and people-watch. At LAX I saw a doozy-backfire.

A woman sauntered up to the econ check-in for an unnamed American carrier, dolled to what she thought was the nines - and was she wrong. Yuck! Obvious fake Gucci, LV, Manolos, and all, smack-dab in the land of $pend ca$h. Anyway, she went on about being famous, as in the dreaded 'don't you know who I am?' bit. Well, her face certainly looked like the star-in-question, but the agent was having none of it. "Passport doesn't match." "Oh, that's because it's my stage name, you know!" The agent refused to budge, and the woman became really huffy. The agent nearly doubled over laughing, as did many of the people in hearing range. I joined them; I remember holding my sides in glee.

The reason for the laughter? Unknownst to the freeloader-faker, the *real* named celebrity, with all her 'people' (stars in LA often don't travel alone, there's the publicist, the nanny and children, the agent at times, the Significant Other of-the-moment, the security detail the group may or may not have) was at the first-class check-in, giving the other woman a glare which would melt tiles on the space shuttle.

What she said was worth a million bucks. Reminds me of a certain v-flyer's tagline: "Economy! I would never!" The faker nearly withered on the spot. I wonder if she even went onto the plane?

I still grin...

Haha!:D Wish I could have been there[:p]

VS.

While I hav been as pure as the driven snow in this respect [:w] Aer John deserves (dis)honourable mention. Three years ago he managed to blag our way into the CO Presidents Club at SFO on the strength of our VS silver card even though we were flying on Delta. Included in the group was a non-flying 18 year old American friend. A week later he blagged our way into the Delta lounge at HNL. Even though we were flying in First we had no status with DL but we were left in because "he asked ever so nicely" Two days later he blagged the same friend into the VS Clubhouse in SFO but that was in the good old days of Claire and Luz

Originally posted by HighFlyer

Originally posted by Richard28
I've blagged my way into the BA Terraces lounge in LHR T4, and also Qantas biz club in SYD.

Blagged your way in? I thought you had status with Qantas? Least, that is what you told Jason and I

Thanks,
Sarah

ahh, no the blagging was on a previous trip down under in 2001 - before I got my Australian passport, key to the city from the Mayor of Sydney, and my Qantas club privileges

I tried desparately to get into the VS clubhouse in JFK, the swissport lounge, anywhere...
This was before I was Au and JFK Terminal 4 was the worst place to be waiting ages for a flight.

Unfortunately my mendacity was not rewarded [:(!]

Dean

I have blagged my way in to BA Lounge at LHR T4, and at LGW. I have also blagged an extra 15kgs on my luggage when travelling from Oz to here when flying Y, without paying! Done quite well, as long as you are nice, pay them a compliment, and your set![}:)][}:)]

I was working out of LA in the early nineties and had cause to change an economy ticket from LAX-LHR. I put the departure date back by a couple of days. I got to the airport late for checkin and bypassed the ticketing counter (to pay the change fee) and went stright to the check in desk.

As I was just a little on the late side (not overly so but certainly not on time) they didnt send me back to ticketing and processed me at the desk. There was some issue with handling the change of date which ended up with me not paying the change fee and getting an upgrade to business class.

What a nice one-off I thought.....until the same thing happened two months later.

I'd like to say I didnt abuse what may or may not have been a slight glitch in the system.....however that would be a lie, the same thing happened once more and was quite deliberate on my part. Maybe the flights were just full but it was a little odd. I did try it again but I was sent back to the ticketing desk and told to hurry up otherwise they'd bump me off the flight, which is no less than I deserved.

I had a friend who used to have a name that could be spelt (and name has been changed to protect the guilty here) as either "a Something" or "aSomething" where the a was actually something like "van". These would appear on the alphabetical passenger mmanifest under a (for aSomething) and S (for a Something). He'd buy an economy ticket and a fully flexible Business or First Ticket and then print off his own boarding pass. He'd board using his Y ticket and then head for Business. When challenged they'd review the manifest where the Business name would be suitably distant from the Coach name and just allow him to his seat. At the other end he'd cash the business ticket back in.

Of course this suggests that a passenger who had only checked in on line could actually be on the manifest without checking in at the airport which seems bogus to me now but this was in the 80s.

Decker - I don't get it - how do you cash in a business ticket AFTER the flight's landed at the other end, regardless of whether they thought you'd boarded or not?

You're a no-show, surely? (and therefore forfeit the refund condition for a fully-flex ticket?)

No clue - presumably he could have cashed it in just before the flight closed then got on with his Y relying on the manifest being preprinted? Or he could have been lieing to make himself look clever?

Oooo, I have a few, none of them Virgin related...

-Guy trying to get him and his family into the Concorde Room with BA Silver card on economy tickets. Was kindly redirected upstairs but was advised since they were travelling Economy they probably wouldn't all get in on the basis of one Silver card.
-A couple trying to sneak into Club Europe on a BCN-LHR flight. Staff did a count and sent 'em packing
-A woman on a United flight who put all her bags in First and then ended up being asked to move by crew flying non-rev to first row of business class!
-African guy walks into BA Terraces lounge on the phone, ignoring the BP check at the door. Lounge wardens ask him to come back but he doesn't, they boot him out.

Hey Speedbird,

Just wondering what were the nationalities of the other three groups that were up to mischief. Although, I don't see the relevance myself, I noticed you only noted the nationality of one of them.