maradori

OP - I daresay perhaps the biggest mistake you made was not to fall asleep (or look like you're asleep) after you spread out across the row. If you were zzzzz'ed out, perhaps the FA would be asking another (awake) row-spreader ...

vishalgupta22

+1

If you pay for 1 seat, airline has all rights to tell you to use ONLY 1 seat even if you are the only passenger on the flight.

You should try this on a domestic flight in USA and you may get priority de-boarding escorted by cops on the other side of your flight. A little extra rudeness to the FA is know to increase the probability of being greeted by law enforcement

enelym1978

Just having the middle seat empty is a "luxury" already so I would have just moved back to my aisle/window seat and let that person take the other seat... Seriously, if you were that person asking to be moved because the flight is half empty and the FA reported to you that the person refused to move, how would you have reacted?....

Calchas

These people are the exception in my experience. Most people are considerate when asked nicely.

yyzgigi

I'm assuming that the OP was the only one with an entire row on the plane and they weren't being singled out? Unfortunately unless the plane is a ghost town you should share the wealth particularly if the FA is asking you to.

I'm frankly surprised and impressed that they were looking out for the other PAX, but disappointed that you only saw this in a negative light. With your arrangement you had 25% percent of 4 pax in comfort with no one beside them, if you hadn't been greedy you could have had 100% of 4. Good on the FA, bad on you. You're lucky they weren't more forceful.

farmerbrown

The FA should have used her customer service skills and told OP it was a weight and balance issue! The sentiment on this thread seems to be weighted to the FA side. OP won the lottery. It happens sometimes.

MKE-MR

I can't believe the rudeness of the responses calling the OP selfish and rude (well, I can, since that sort of hypocrisy seems quite standard on FT these days...but I digress).
Also, the OP stated that there were "twenty or so" rows commandeered by one person, so it's not like he/she was the only one "upgrading to lie flat"...and plenty of places for those others to be moved.

In all my travels, whenever a flight is loaded lightly enough, I see people moving around to give themselves more space--often with the encouragement of the FAs. Sure, some people don't move. That's their choice. But FAs LOVE light loads and are usually in a great mood when there are so many seats open--after all, less workload for them!

I fully agree with the strategy of "move, take a middle, and go horizontal immediately" but I add one piece: I typically let the FA know I'm planning to do it as soon as boarding is completed. I've never yet been denied (although I was once awakened from a sound sleep by an SQ FA because a TV monitor elsewhere had stopped working so the pax wanted a seat in my row).

Nice to know so few of you would take a row for yourselves, or would easily and willingly give it up, when talking about it on the internet. Amazingly altruistic of you. I'll believe it when I see it on a long haul overnight flight...

RZR

The op is incorrect. He should move ,yes, but to a window or aisle. He doesn't have the right to snag the entire row , immediately. Choose a window or aisle. then after 10 minutes if nobody else joins you in the vacant seats , lie down.
Who is he to commandeer the entire row from the outset!!!!

Calchas

Lying to pax is not good customer service skills.

Sopwith

...and why frequent flyers often hate flying. Aside from the airlines themselves, this is the kind of behavior that makes flying such a miserable experience.

MoreMiles

AC should implement a rule with their mobile credit card machine.

"Sir, would you like to purchase 2 extra seats? That will be $2000 payable right now. No? In that case, Air Canada is hereby reassigning the vacant seat to another passenger in your row. You don't own the right to use those vacant seats. Still refused to move... Air Marshall, code 13 at row 23, stat, I repeat code 13 stat"

I think most people will find the OP unreasonable. With his analogy, he can use an entire row of unsold Hilton hotel rooms? "But they are vacant? So I decided to open the adjacent room door to connect them!"

yyznomad

I guess what makes this thread relevant is because it was on an AC flight...

GBR71

I have to say that I'm amazed by some of the replies on here. Two words cover the overwhelming sense of entitlement that seems to have been started by the OP trying to play the victim to a FA's request - SELFISH & IGNORANCE. In fact, I would assume this same OP would also be one of the ones who jams their seats all the way to the back the second the tires leave the ground, commandeers the centre console in J class with their glasses, papers, sweater and whatever other junk they can throw there, and just the general A-hole type traveller that makes flying real painful at times.

I am a 100K and will do my share of complaining if a privilege of that status is misplayed, but "owning a row" of seats is not a defendable right unless paid for. I also will RESPECT other travellers on my flights as making people miserable because of my selfishness is just something I am not into.

Rant over. MERRY CHRISTMAS

Sean22mac

I was waiting to board a full plane and had a middle seat. I waited until everyone had boarded and asked the FA if there was any other open seats. She told me that a row was empty because 3 people missed their connection. I sat in that row and laid down once the seat belt sign went off, before anyone could join me

Maybe a little selfish but I was happy to get some zzz's. It had been a long travel day.

1Newflyer

Has any one questioned why pax were assigned their seats the way they were? Lets face it, why did the person seating in the middle asked for that seat in a first place when so many seats were available on that flight. FA is trying to make all comfortable after take off?. Where was the agent when he assigned seats and why the agent did not spread the folks. I tell you why these folks were cramped so tightly. FA would have less aisle to cover for water hand out. No one has the right answer in this thread. You all show selfishness as humans, everybody in your own way. Anything else is just a lie.