wdbaldwin

I understand people wanting to sit together especially couples, but I think it's crazy to expect someone to go from first to coach. I would consider and have switched depending on the situation but this lady was pretty brazen to even ask. Interestingly in the last couple of weeks I've had people offer to give me their seat. In the first case a couple in 15 e&f said they did not wsnt to perform exit row responsibilities and I offered to take their place but the FA had already found someone else. The guy behind me had heard my conversation and asked if I would like to switch with him. I was tall, he was short so I was glad to accept his offer. I gave him a bag of cookies complements of AA which he appreciated. On another flight a guy moved from his middle seat to a window seat across the way. In that case it was a win win. We both had empty middle seats. I just learned American now sells bulkhead seats. Hopefully, this won't spread to exit row sets. Lady at AC said this started about 3 or 4 months ago but at 49 minutes prior to scheduled departure time you can get those seats without charge if available. good luck!

ijkh

Amen to that

ArizonaGuy

I've got an interesting one for you.

On a PHX-LAS flight, I was upgraded to F while my wife was not. She was in the exit row window at least.

At any rate, I approached the pax in the exit row aisle and said, "I'm in first class but would like to sit with my wife for this short flight. Would you like to move to 2A?" The pax said she wanted to stay in an aisle so she declined! I ended up giving my wife my F seat and I took her window. But declining F because it's a window on a 40 minute flight really surprised me!

wdbaldwin

I understand people wanting to sit together especially couples, but I think it's crazy to expect someone to go from first to coach. I would consider and have switched depending on the situation but this lady was pretty brazen to even ask. Interestingly in the last couple of weeks I've had people offer to give me their seat. In the first case a couple in 15 e&f said they did not wsnt to perform exit row responsibilities and I offered to take their place but the FA had already found someone else. The guy behind me had heard my conversation and asked if I would like to switch with him. I was tall, he was short so I was glad to accept his offer. I gave him a bag of cookies complements of AA which he appreciated. On another flight a guy moved from his middle seat to a window seat across the way. In that case it was a win win. We both had empty middle seats. I just learned American now sells bulkhead seats. Hopefully, this won't spread to exit row sets. Lady at AC said this started about 3 or 4 months ago but at 49 minutes prior to scheduled departure time you can get those seats without charge if available. good luck!

macdonaldj2

My wife and I have done the re-organization in business, but we've never gone to the extreme of asking someone to move from business/first to economy, that's just crazy, usually it would be the other way around. That's just crazy

squeakr

SO I might have said no as well!

Ancien Maestro

This isn't a rant..

Its a perfectly normal reaction to a inexcusable request..

Why doesn't she ask to get traded down to economy? Words cannot describe how I feel about the woman that requested this of you.

Ted S

Wow. This thread is filled with some... terrible stories.

I'm trying to break this down in my own head to get some rationale for a second.

I think it's reasonable to assume that the once a year go to Disneyland crowd is unlikely to really get seat preferences and there's enough phobia's out there that people do have a reason to want to sit together. However when that goes from want to demand, expect or downgrade it's simply nuts.

I've certainly been asked to move many times. Single passenger, it's an easy request and like most FTers, as long as the trade is fair [which includes not moving me from being next to a tiny person to someone taking up half my seat] and it's asked I'm all for it. I'm even ok with someone standing in my seat or sitting down... but nothing put away, it's not yours yet.

I think most of us would agree that we'll do more for a story, or a kind remark, than just a request or certainly an expectation. I fly solo to KOA enough to assume my seat will change for some newly wed couple that was gifted upgrades. No worries.

But I think my favorite is the kid excuse. Not the I was rebooked and we got separated but the, we didn't book together and if you don't move it's on you. Having flown solo since I was 5 I kind of enjoy having a curious kid in the row and I certainly won't take your middle seat because you think kids are leverage [again, good reason, fair seat being very different].


I will say that the responses surprise me. I've said no, I've not wanted to move, I've had good reasons and bad ones and generally very little response. Presumably who you are plays a role in this... a lot... which is unfortunate as it should be about your needs as much as theirs, if not more. But again no is becomes a very valuable skill in flying.

uszkanni

Because F/C is nicer than Y.

For some people it's just that simple.

It's pretty simple. There are people who are reasonable and may ask for a swap for many reasons. Often it will be for an equal or better seat. Sometimes, as in the case of a medical situation, it may be for a worse seat. Either way, they know they are asking a favor and will act accordingly. You can go along with the request or refuse it, it's your perogative.

There are also the truly clueless. Those who really don't see any difference in seating (window, aisle, middle it's all the same to them). Or those who don't know how to use the system to insure they're sitting together. Or the like. Those people you can enlighten. You can help them learn how to pick seats for their next flight. If you have the inclination, you can tell them why certain seats are preferable. Again, you can choose to switch seats or stay where you are.

Finally, there are the boorish/selfish SOBs who deserve no consideration whatsoever. Those people who have, what I like to term, "an unwarranted sense of entitlement." They'll take whatever they can get with little or no concern for anyone else. Those people need to be confronted and I, personnally, would refuse to swap seats and do so in a forceful and assertive (but nonviolent) manner.

edj3

Yep had this happen once also and it wasn't a hardship for me to have an 8-9 y/o sitting next to me. I raised two boys, not scared of sitting by one and that was preferable to the switch that was proposed.


You're leaving out that it's often--at least for the women who've posted in this thread--about who the requester thinks you are. Several of us have posted that we are approached and asked (really demanded) to switch. I can tell you from my own experience that the one demanding the switch is surprised and often offended when I say no. That's not about me, that's about them.

meester69

We are a family of 4 and if we travel on a 3-3 or similar config, we will put the 9 year old in front with a stranger and we and our 3 year old take the 3.

schwarm

The request to move from first to coach is not done out of good intentions or ignorance. Almost certainly, they know what they are asking, know it is unreasonable, and are just going for that 1% chance that someone will say yes.

It is wrong to ask, it puts an "innocent" person at disadvantage, making that person uncomfortable in a closed setting.

Initially, I was thinking that a rude reply was the best reply. This would be done to discourage future behavior. The problem is that that might escalate any discomfort (you'll be sitting next to that person).

In thinking about this for a while, I think I've hit on the best reply:

"I suppose everything has a price, how about $3000?" (for ATL-MEX)

After the "no" or the "you're not serious" or the rolling of the eyes, the next reply is:

"I just meant that as the starting point for negotiations," and take it from there.

MKE-MR

Just adding to the voices, I'm flabbergasted that people have asked for some of these "much worse off" swaps such as F to Y.
But how do people feel about being asked AT ALL? I've had a few times (1 of 2 upgrades clear, last minute upgrade, equip swap) where I've preferred to work a deal rather than leave things as-is. My wife strongly prefers not to disturb anybody except me on flights and often leans to one side when sleeping so everybody involved should be more comfortable if we are sitting together, except perhaps me!
But I guess that in any situation where the seats could be seen as of differing value, I'd always offer the HIGHER value seat, as a sort of compensation for the inconvenience of being asked to switch. Doing anything else just seems wrong. Do FTers still get annoyed if asked to switch from an E+ window to an exit row window, for instance? (I already know the answer about switching from Y to C, I'm pretty sure...which I've also offered on a 14 hour flight).

Emma1420

I don't like being asked anymore. Because I will say no (and typically I get loud whispers behind my back about how some people aren't very considerate of others, blah, blah, when I do). And to be honest, it's not my problem that people didn't plan ahead or are incapable of sitting in a seat without their friend/partner/family member for a few hours.

As for exit rows, I don't like to sit them period, regardless of if I'm in E- or E+. I'm always cold in the exit row, and I much prefer to be seated closer to the front. But, this is the problem with seat swaps, IMO. What is a fair trade to me is not a fair trade to someone else. Perhaps if I had not been approached so frequently in the past, I would not so rigid about this. But, I have, and almost every time I've agreed I've ended up with the short-end of the stick.

pinniped

Might've simply been the short flight duration. If someone's stowed a bag in the overhead bin and settled into their seat, I can see how they might be happy to just stay there. Especially if the Y cabin is boarding and the very act of swimming upstream back up to F is going to be a pain.

I mean, *I* would take the swap and enjoy the one Heineken + little bag of nuts and faster departure from the plane in Vegas. But I can see how some wouldn't. If you don't plan on having a drink and you've checked a bag to Vegas, then you actually be happier in the exit row than F depending on what kind of plane it is.

Being asked at all: I'm okay with it if common sense has been applied and I'm getting at least a like-for-like seat.

E+ to Exit Row: on most UA types, I'd say this is okay since exit row is usually the most desirable seat in E+. 16F on the 757 is my chosen seat, for example.

The exceptions I can think of would be (a) a non-reclining exit row on an overnight flight (e.g., 757 Row 15) or (b) a type where there's an exit row far back in the E- cabin. (The 744 perhaps?) Then, I can see people not wanting to move backwards in the cabin by 20-30 rows, especially if it's an international flight where everybody on the plane is going to have to clear immigration.

But I certainly it's an acceptable proposal in most cases. It passes the "common sense" test, even if the person who happen to ask declines the offer. (The exit window is frequently colder and narrower than other seats, so don't be surprised if someone does decline.)