I followed just far enough to maintain courtesy, not far enough to be cornered.
She tapped her clipboard with one manicured nail. “There’s been a change. Operational adjustment. We have a diamond-tier passenger on standby, and corporate protocol requires we accommodate them.”
I studied her expression. “My ticket confirms seat 2A.”
“I understand,” she said, head tilting in a pantomime of sympathy. “But loyalty status takes precedence over confirmed bookings.”
The claim was already suspicious. Airlines don’t casually displace confirmed first-class passengers. Not without compensation, not without operational justification that survives scrutiny.