Self-Upgrader On KLM Flight To HEL

How often have you come across an airline passenger who is so confused that he decides to sit in a business seat (ie. 4D) instead of the assigned economy seat (ie. 25D)?

On my recent flight, there were these two passengers, a male, and female, who came together on board. After a brief chat, this gentleman decides to sit down in 4D, and the lady goes into the deep economy (KLM has fun zones for non-status passengers and those who don’t pay for a seat assignment).

The purser tried to be polite and made several announcements asking passengers to sit on their assigned seats. I saw her going through the pad, and it indicated what seats were taken.

Then she asks this gentleman for his boarding pass. His assigned seat was 25D. The purser then sent him on a walk of shame back to economy.

KLM Y snack on Amsterdam – Helsinki flight.

Conclusion

I prefer being the last one to board (no gate circus), the first one out (no deboarding mess), and 1A so that I don’t need to observe what is happening in the cabin.

This was the first walk of shame that I have come across on all my flights. I have had someone trying to “steal” my assigned seat more than few times within the same cabin, but I always let the flight attendants deal with these situations.

KLM must be pushing seating choices for cash heavily because the first several rows of the economy were empty, while there were quite a few packed in the very back of the plane.