MEL_Traveller - not wanting to get really personal but sometimes your comments either sound a bit envious or just annoyed.
Yes, if you can get an exit row on airline X for little or no cost that absolutely makes the travel experience a lot better I absolutely agree with that, but what say on that flight the exits were all full? Do you still rate them as highly? My point is that ALL experiences are so heavily influenced by MANY factors.. not just status or lack of status but individual crews, maybe an IFE hiccup, or even a turbulent flight, or food not to the liking or whatever... I have heard people say they'd never fly airline Y because the landing was rough on a single flight. I mean it's so subjective.
I'd also say that suggesting that the OP (in this case I feel referring to SFO777 and his infamous trip report) actually HAS OWE sttaus, but ine context of his trips it's not really relevant because his TR was based on CoS - being F and J respectively so he received, more or less, what ANYONE on those flights would have received regardless of his status, so I'm unsure as to how that's an argument one way or the other in this specific instance.
As for TH and again not itending to be personal (Griselda scares me
) from what I understand of his travel patterns, spend etc BA both the grass was(is) greener and far far better for him given his particular needs - absolutely no question. My comment about "jilted lover" was more the tone of the comments though it would be just as accurate to say that the QF offering no longer took his fancy - two sides of the same coin more or less.
I've already posted how status absolutely can influence perception, but when I comment on pax experience in threads like this I do try to keep that in perspective and am sure to note when I feel I've received something unusual or above and beyond due to status.. in general though with lounges and inflight I've experienced next to zero better or different service to being a P1. In fact on my very last flight a few days ago (dom J) the pax next to me, a Gold as it happens, actually got some very very grreat and personal service from the crew, including a sneaky extra bubbly on descent
In Y, which yes I admit I rarely fly on on QF, I've not had any attention whatsoever. Yes I know some good shadows(not had), or offers of wine from J or headphones etc.. I've not had this. I've not worried about it or been upset in any way I am just saying that one can not flatly say that high status always equals better onboard service, or anything different to everyone else. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Personally I prefer to be the same as everyone else in whatever CoS I am in because I think that's fair. Once on board it shouldn't matter (possible exception being meal choice, but that's a whole other can of worms). I actually hate being singled out on board either with a big show of a greeting(thank goodness I have not had that in quite some time) or like being offered wine from J or something - I'd feel so self conscious I think I'd actually say no(!) if I was offered. However that's just me. Obviously some types of people absolutely love that level of attention and bask in it - good for them - each to their own I reckon.
Again, many of us, including probably more of us with higher status than not, are probably more vocal about the flaws than not - given we experience the service more offten.
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(Cathay gets a n "score assist" too 
