I pretty much play by the rules.
Depending on the airlines and the circumstances, I generally travel with a carry-on, a personal item AND a CPAP. The carry-on and personal item is mandated by the airline and their policy. The CPAP is mandated by federal law. The CPAP doesn't count as an item. It doesn't have to be checked, either which is to keep it from being lost by rampers.
One time I was getting ready to board a plane with my 3 units of baggage and someone and someone said something snotty to me about having 3 bags.
I told him I was in total compliance with all of the airline policies and applicable federal regulations. He snidely said he hoped there would not be room for my luggage.
That's when I told him I had paid extra for early boarding to insure my gear was secured with me so as to insure I didn't have to screw around with recovering my luggage in the jetway and possibly missing my connection. He looked dismayed. "That's what money is for," I said. "If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em."
Truth is I did pay extra for early boarding and have done so since a flight with a connection into MSP in the middle of the winter. They did gate check my carry on and when I went to get off in MSP the side door on the jetway was frozen shut and they had to bust a lot of ice to get it to open. It took forever to get my bag and I damned near missed my connection.
The door was closing and I shouted and they reopened it. I made an Indiana Jones jump, boarded it, the door closed instantly. The aircrew then grabbed my luggage and stuffed it in a nook somewhere. Almost everyone was seated, only a couple of people in the rear of the aircraft were still sitting down so I grabbed the first empty seat and buckled up.
Later I found the seat was some kind of business class and was a little bigger than the seats I was used to. Nobody said anything about it. when we landed the attendant was sharp and had my stuff ready for me to snag on the way out. I didn't have to hold anyone up. It was grab and go.
That MSP connection was what changed me. I was sick and tired of the cheap seats the company bought and shortly after I arrived in SFO I made it a point to sit down with my port captain and talk about flight arrangements. I was surprised to find out he was responsible to choose my flight and run it through the travel people who would OK the chosen flight. He told me to choose my own flight and email it to him. I could upgrade it by going directly to the airline's web site. If my name matched the ticket and my credit card I was free to alter to my flight comforts.
An occasional $25 here, $30 there and things became civilized. I didn't mind it because I realized I could easily afford the creature comforts.
Gone were the tight connections and long layovers and other of life's little indignities. I could get a better seat if I wanted one and sometimes I upgraded. My days of the last row next to the toilet and smelling that lovely aroma for an entire flight were now over.
I also made it a point to look out for the company a little more carefully. When I sent my port captain for the last ticket home I chose Southwest out of Oakland. I had been reassigned to another vessel on the East Coast and had to take everything I owned with me. It accumulated to a lot of stuff like bulky cold weather clothing etc. Everything fit into a pair of large plastic footlockers that I had purchased carefully. The L+W+H had to add up to 62 inches. My pair of Contico footlockers came to 61 and 7/8 inches. Each one of them counted as a single suitcase. Southwest at the time allowed 2 checked suitcases to fly for free. You can cram a lot of stuff into a Contico footlocker.
When I sent the information in to my port captain I also wrote, "This flight is costing me an extra hour connection but that's OK. The reason I chose it is because my 2 footlockers fly free. That's a $70 savings. How about you get the travel people to bounce for the crummy $25 to get me an Earlybird check-in? Oh yeah, I'm also saving you on cab fare.
He fixed it and my carry-on was my CPAP and a folding 2 wheeled dolly to move both footlockers. IIRC I was the second or third person on the plane.
Three weeks later I reported to my newly assigned vessel and a few months later I retired. Of course I had a different port captain but when I told him about the deal I had regarding flights and he told me to continue doing it and running it through him.
A few months later I retired and put in for a First Class ticket for my final flight home. I told him I'd trade it for my (nonexistent) gold watch. He laughed and said he doubted they'd allow it.
When my ticket arrived I laughed like hell. It was a first Class ticket along with a note telling me he had to pawn my gold watch to get it for me.
The spend a little extra for comfort has stayed with me into retirement as my expenses are low and I can afford a few bucks here and there. The few bucks spent help me bull my way through make things a little easier.
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