[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by Jetliner

More than likely the case. The guy who was sitting in the other seat may have just sat in the wrong seat outright. He may have not paid attention to his boarding pass, or looked at the wrong one. I came across that a few times. They would get on the plane, and look at their connecting boarding pass (their next flight, not this one).

The guy who got off the plane probably didn't even try to find out what happened - whether it was the airline or the passenger.

I like your method! Often I'll connect from a mainline aircraft to regional or vice-versa. Most of the time on the regional plane I'll select a seat in the first few rows. Next time I board the mainline aircraft, and I haven't been upgraded, I'll point to my boarding pass with 2B printed as the seat assignment and say, "Here it is in black and white! This is my first-class seat and I'm not budging!" Of course my next post will be from the internet lounge at the Federal prison in Denver!