[dionidium]

Everybody in this thread is talking about the ethics of this in terms of our obligation to the airlines. But what about your obligation to yourself?

I'm not saying I wouldn't do this -- I probably would -- but deception in general makes me uncomfortable, and whether you think this practice is justified or not, it's clearly based on concealing intentions. That sort of thing should at least make you pause.

As a side note, I've noticed that people seem to get confused about this, in general. A cheating spouse will come up with all sorts of reasons that their behavior was justified, without ever addressing the core offense: they weren't honest about it.