Esltroy

I have a couple of residual trips that were planned before I switched to AA. Twice on the last trip, I did not get upgraded. But, both times I scored a seat without a person next to me in coach. In both cases the seating chart showed that the seat next to me was occupied. Just lucky, an attentive gate agent?, or new enhancement?

keitherson

Probably lucky. AFAIK, there is no seat blocking programs for Diamonds. I've had middle seats before, even!

mpheels

Probably luck. On my last trip, I did have a GA block a seat so my mom and I would have a row to our selves in C+. We technically didn't qualify for upgrades b/c I used an Amex companion pass, but I noticed that there were more F seats open than people on the upgrade list, so I asked anyway. GA said he only had one open F seat after clearing all upgrades and standbys, but he was about to upgrade the third person in our row. He processed that upgrade, moved me from middle to aisle, and blocked the middle seat. There were at least a dozen empty seats on the plane, including half of C+, so it wasn't a huge deal from the business point of view, but it was still a nice gesture when the GA could have easily given a plain no.

TheMadBrewer

It's not seat blocking but something I've noticed on a bunch of my TATL legs the last year or so: I usually pick a C+ aisle in the middle section of the 767. Usually I book far enough in advance that I can choose a row with an empty middle. I watch the seat map like a hawk as it gets close to travel day (having been burned) and often that middle seat is the last (or next to last) C+ middle seat filled.

Could be coincidence but that would be a nice gesture to DMs to fill the seat next to them last. If there is to be an empty seat put it next to your higher status medallions...

yohanson

I've had GAs block the seat next to me on a CR2 where she specifically told me she did that.

RteSmrt

I would rather travel with an empty adjacent seat in regular economy than an occupied adjacent seat in Comfort+. Assuming I don't get the upgrade or purchase a seat up front.

jkatzen

Interesting. I recently was on a single-class ERJ145 connecting to a D1 transcon.

The ERJ was almost entirely filled, but I had an empty seat next to me too, when it was filled in the seat map when I got to the airport. I do remember being surprised by it.

Unfortunately, there was a mechanical problem (someone had damaged an overhead bin), and while it was being fixed, a guy in a seat by the problem area moved up into the empty seat in my row. :-( Huge guy, too.

stencil

I gently asked a GA to see if she could sell a middle seat between the wife and I in C+ last. She said she'd do what she could.

She sold it 5 minutes later. C+ middle seat in front of us was left open though.

Go figure.

PayItForward

Too many possibilities.

GA could have genuinely tried to help and the middle seat ahead of you was a no-show.

Of course, GA could also have purposely sold the middle seat between you and your wife to discourage such behaviour.

Have you also considered the pax in front could have asked the same favour and is a super-duper DM with 5MM?

Seriously way too many things to figure this one out.

RatherBeOnATrain

I don't think Delta's seatmaps are accurate any more.

I think Delta is showing aisles and windows as full, even when they're not, in order to get kettles to spring for EC.

airindia787

On some a/c DL leaves some seats blocked off for weight and balance reasons, especially on RJs. That way if the flight isn't full they can just leave those seats empty instead of making people move around. So if the seat next to you was blocked off and turns out to be empty, that could likely be the reason.

ND76

At the Delta DO in ATL 5 years ago, I asked Jeff Robertson why couldn't they block the middle seats on 767s in the rows reserved for medallions and only give them out as a last resort, and he responded that that "would make no sense".

The airline clearly wants to encourage their most frequent flyers to buy F tickets in advance; their FCM program and their refusal to block seats in Y is consistent with that.

rwoman

As a DL DM, I've had a seat next to me blocked. I've also had it happen as an AA Plat.

FireEmblemPride

I believe I was the only DM in Y on a Japan-Micronesia flight today, and on the seatmap, all the seats in my row showed up as occupied. However, I ended up with the whole row to myself and all but two other seats of C+ empty.

iflyalexair

Back when I was an agent for US and we worked on Sabre, if a passenger had an infant edit code (lap child), the system would automatically block the seat next to the adult with an I on the seat map. I always thought that was a nice gesture...