‘I have a dirty secret’: When I fly, I erase ‘basic economy’ on my ticket to skip the boarding line. My friend says it’s cheating. Who’s right?

Dear Quentin,

I have a travel “hack,” which I would like to share with your readers, but my friend says it’s cheating the system. I have a dirty secret when I fly: I take a screenshot of my boarding pass and, using the white digital pen on my iPhone

AAPL, I carefully white-out “basic economy” on my ticket so I can skip the line when boarding. I have never been turned away and told to go to the back of the line. My friend says it’s cheating, as business passengers get first preference for early boarding, while others pay for the privilege.

I read your column about the guy who was upset about the mother and daughter with economy seats who claimed seats in premium economy after the doors of the plane were closed, so I decided to ask you for your advice. My friend is now on his high horse about my travel hack. I fly half-a-dozen times a year for pleasure, thanks to a flexible work schedule. It gives me a kick; I don’t know why. I guess I hate being the last person on the plane, fighting for space in the overhead luggage compartment.