Somehow they heard there were 3 passengers (us and another fellow) who had missed the flight. They all ended up getting off and giving us their seats. They hea

Somehow they heard there were 3 passengers (us and another fellow) who had missed the flight. They all ended up getting off and giving us their seats. They heard you were there because the gate agent went aboard and told them (nicely, I am sure) to get off the plane. Employees flying standby are always at the mercy of late arriving paying passengers. And, sure they had no compunction about getting off because 1) they were told to 2) employees are keenly aware that grousing in front of the customers is a Bad Idea. I'm sure they were actually in good spirits about it: flying non-rev you know you can be bumped and after all it's in favor of people paying your salary.