Via iStockphoto / @pilotpete.fly TikTok
A 6'4" pilot was offered an extra-legroom upgrade on a nine-hour flight to Italy, but his girlfriend wasn’t. Viewers debated whether he should take it.
Being a pilot comes with all kinds of perks. However, one pilot was left in a moral conundrum when he was offered a flight upgrade—but his girlfriend wasn’t.
As previously reported by BroBible, all the major airlines like American Airlines and Spirit Airlines offer upgrades. But whether you should actually take them is another question, especially when you’re in a relationship.
Peter Cappio, who is known on TikTok as @pilotpete.fly, asks viewers, “What’s the proper protocol here?”
He goes on to explain how he and his girlfriend booked economy seats for Italy. But his status as a pilot meant that while he could book seats in advance, she couldn’t. So, determined to be in her “at least top five boyfriend of all time,” Cappio says he messaged the airline and asked if he and his girlfriend could get seats together, which they accommodated. Here comes the twist: He then got offered an upgrade to the exit row with extra leg room.
“Now before you say you have to give her that seat, I am 6’4, lanky giraffe legs, she’s 5 [foot] something,” he explains. “Leg room is … required for me to live on planet earth. I don’t know the protocol here. I want to sit next to her, but it’s a nine-plus-hour flight. Extra leg room would really help me from becoming a cranky, cranky old man once we land. What do you think?”
The video garnered 49,200 views.
In an emailed comment to BroBible, Cappio said, “I ended up taking the upgrade with the extra leg room seat. As a 6’4 giraffe I consider it ‘medically necessary.’ The gf stayed in the back, because when you find a ‘real one, true wife material, you’re forever person,’ you get each other. She wanted me comfortable and happy just as much as I want her the same way in everything she does. Everyone commenting ‘you better stay with her or expect to be single’, just might not be in a loving relationship. ”
Commenters Say The Pilot Should Turn Down The Upgrade
Multiple commenters were staunchly against him taking the upgrade.
“You were fine with taking the economy seat until they upgraded you,” one pointed out. “Therefore, you were already committed to no legroom. If you take this and leave her, you are no longer in the top five boyfriend list.”
“You pay to move her next to you,” a second added. “If the airline can’t move her you bring cash and offer to pay the middle seat person to switch to her seat.. MORE than the cost of the seat. If they say no you sit with her. The long term value you get from this will FAR outweigh the short term cramped leg space cost.”
While a third opined, “You’re making it clear she’s your ‘for now’ not ‘forever’ girlfriend.”
Others suggested he should pay to upgrade her.
“Pay to upgrade her,” a fourth wrote. “Is chivalry dead?”
“You’re a pilot making good money,” a fifth pointed out, “Buy her an upgrade.”
Should You Take A Flight Upgrade Without Your Partner?
While etiquette seems to dictate that you should stay with your partner, one Reddit user on the r/UnpopularOpinion subreddit said the opposite.
“If you are upset your significant other got upgraded to first class and left you in economy on an airplane, you are a terrible partner and likely a selfish person,” they said.
“I’ve been married 7 years (together for 12) and my wife and I take 40+ flights a year combined,” the user explained. “I would be ecstatic if my wife got upgraded and she would probably try to get me to take the upgrade (I wouldn’t offer her the upgrade because I am 6’4” while she’s 5’6”). We might have some playful jealousy but if she had to take it I’d be smiling for her in the back and would ask her to bring me some snacks.”
Like Pete, it seems that this Redditor in particular thinks height is a valid reason to hold on to the upgrade for that extra legroom.
Another user on that same post expressed similar sentiments, saying, “The only answer is: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. It is the best way to see who gets the upgrade. Or talk it out like adults and see who needs the extra space more. For example, my husband is around 6’5″ so I’d likely give it to him.”
@pilotpete.fly Please let me stay! #pilot #airlinepilot #aviation #pilotpete #pilotlife
With a further user adding, “My wife always tells me to take it. Her logic is that at 5’ and 105lbs she’s comfortable in coach. Also as she says it’s my status not hers getting upgraded. Usually though I just buy FC to start to make sure I’m not relying on upgrades.”
So, ultimately, it seems that while the topic is contentious, most netizens agree that height is a valid exception.