mario

On a flight to MUC I booked myself seat 23A on a A321. That's the extra-extra legroom seat on the emergency exit row.

I had the two seats next to me empty. In my expertflyer.com seat map, minutes before departure I could see that 23B was showing as blocked and 23C as empty.

Then, just as doors were closing the very "helpful" crew member in that area invited the two passengers from row 22 to enjoy more space in the seats next to me.

Now, before anyone goes down that route I know that I've paid for a seat and that's what I've got, etc. etc., but Fly was built in a way to make sure that the best customers get the best seats and seats next to them blocked, etc.

Shouldn't crew be trained not to faff around with seats that have been allocated?

simons1

It's an interesting point really.

On a recent LCC flight to Luxembourg I had a seat towards the middle. I only had a laptop bag so I waited to be the last person on board, and when boarding noticed there were a number of empty seats further forward. I sat down in the first one I came to.

jimmielin

On a recent (relatively empty) flight the crew also invited people from the back to sit at the front rows, e.g. 1-4 middle seats & the empty window/aisle seats, on domestic. It puzzles me why some would want to sit in these middle seats however, but people did take them up perhaps as an opportunity to unboard early.

Robespierre

Easyjet is pretty firm about not moving to 'better' seats in my experience unless people want to pay for upgrades on board so I would have thought BA would also get round to it. The point is not that it was a blocked seat but it was a chargeable seat and it is not fair to have people paying for extra Legroom seats when others are moved for free.

Along with selling food it is another sign of the times and I can well imagine that acting as revenue protection staff is not something that Crew really look forward to.

jamesreid978

This would annoy me in the same situation much like when people used to select 1B or E when they were able to check in 24 hours before when the back half of the plane as empty, the system in now there to stop this. I actually used to move to an empty row from 1A if row 1 was full.

Although I would take any window or aisle seat on the plane over an exit row middle seat with the window and aisle occupied.

GAYOP

When ground staff were being trained in FLY & theoretical seating , one of the questions asked was " are crew being made aware of policy",,,,we never received an answer so I suspect they are unaware.

windowontheAside

This is one of those situations where being given something, and then having it taken away feels somehow worse than never having had it in the first place.

orbitmic

I've had that many times. In fact, since the introduction of ALTEA, i'd say that over a third of the times when I have had a full row to myself at the end of boarding, either pax were invited to move to the empty seats by the crew, or they asked the crew who told them that was fine. I've had that in both ET and CE.

Worcester

I feel your pain but don't think there is much you can do about it without appearing a DYKWIA-head.
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jonas123

probably best to plonk yourself in the middle seat of an empty row for the first 10 minutes of a flight, might deter would be interlopers

GSTBK

God forbid anyone else enjoy a bit of extra comfort. I should imagine those two passengers were very happy.

If you want a spare seat, pay for CE.

I apologise if this comes across in a slightly unpleasant tone, but sometimes people using this forum need a reality check. Economy is a glorified bus.

Saltire74

Experienced something similar last month. A321 to DME. Sat in bulkhead window seat with B unoccupied. Doors closed, just as we started pushback, young lady shown to B and quickly threw her hand luggage into overhead locker . Then after takeoff, shoes off and feet firmly planted onto bulkhead, elbows spreadeagled and promptly went to sleep.

S

UKtravelbear

Isn't there a rule about the seats in the exit row being occupied in case of emergency?

luftaom

In Australia the rule is that there needs to be at least 2 PAX sat in the bank of seats between the aisle and the exit for both takeoff and landing. All pax seated between the aisle and the exit must be briefed about when and how to use the exit (which is taken far more seriously than in Europe where the briefing just consists of you're in an exit row, read the card) for both takeoff and landing. If a FA is seated at the exit - then there's no minimum PAX numbers nor is a briefing necessary.

Sam Bee

Cannot help but agree 100%, even if does sound harsh.

As a frequent long haul Emergency Exit flyer I have no issues with people moving forward to sit next to me after the doors have closed. Sure, it's nice to have a spare seat to dump my rubbish on but i've got my legroom, and what I paid for - a seat on a plane to my destination. Would never feel good if there a 6ft6 person (like me) occupying a middle seat who was refused the opportunity to take the seat next to me.