I was sitting in baulkhead window, guy sit in middle seat and does not move even no the aisle is not taken. Would you say something. Guy was a little strange he had 2 large bags on the floor and the FA asked him 4 times to move them. About an hour into the flight SEA-ORD red eye he goes to th rest room and comes back and takes the aisle seat which give me a little more room. Never had this happen. I would never deliberately book a middle seat and if it was done by accident or automatically assigned logic would say if the aisle is empty take that seat when the door closes.
I was sitting in baulkhead window, guy sit in middle seat and does not move even no the aisle is not taken. Would you say something. Guy was a little strange he had 2 large bags on the floor and the FA asked him 4 times to move them. About an hour into the flight SEA-ORD red eye he goes to th rest room and comes back and takes the aisle seat which give me a little more room. Never had this happen. I would never deliberately book a middle seat and if it was done by accident or automatically assigned logic would say if the aisle is empty take that seat when the door closes.
No, logic says you sit in the seat shown on your boarding pass. You don't know why or how he was assigned the middle set, and for all you know, maybe he likes the middle seat best.
If it really bothered you that much, you could have politely suggested he take the aisle seat so both of you would have more room, but if he wanted to sit in his assigned seat I don't see that you have any right to expect him to move to make you comfortable.
Some infrequent fliers might not feel comfortable switching seats- might feel that it is " wrong". Your seatmate might have appreciated knowing he could move earlier.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gungadin
Some infrequent fliers might not feel comfortable switching seats- might feel that it is " wrong". Your seatmate might have appreciated knowing he could move earlier.
I'd say this is the most likely explanation, especially given that the guy seemed unfamiliar with the protocol about placing bags on the floor.
Less likely is the possibility that he just didn't feel comfortable sitting on the aisle, with the possibility of being jostled a bit by FAs or fellow passengers passing by. But I'd still go with the inexperienced flyer explanation.
I once suggest to a PAX that I noticed two open seats and that he might like to move to another row with the open seats. He said that he was comfortable in his seat. I said no problem and remark that I made suggestion only so we could all be more comfortable with a little extra room. He looked at me, paused, smiled and as he understood my suggestion. We went from 1-3 to 2-2 seating for the flight.
No, logic says you sit in the seat shown on your boarding pass. You don't know why or how he was assigned the middle set, and for all you know, maybe he likes the middle seat best.
If it really bothered you that much, you could have politely suggested he take the aisle seat so both of you would have more room, but if he wanted to sit in his assigned seat I don't see that you have any right to expect him to move to make you comfortable.
Exactly. Some folks won't sit anywhere other than their assigned seat.
I had this situation once, but I was aisle and there was no one in the window. The guy next to me was clearly a nervous flyer so I suggested that he might feel better (read less claustrophobic) if he shifted over to the window seat. His response? "If I move, they won't know which body is mine if we crash."
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Quote:
Originally Posted by croberts134
As far as creepy responses to this problem go....
I had this situation once, but I was aisle and there was no one in the window. The guy next to me was clearly a nervous flyer so I suggested that he might feel better (read less claustrophobic) if he shifted over to the window seat. His response? "If I move, they won't know which body is mine if we crash."
We did not speak for the rest of the flight.
I would have said "Don't worry, your flesh will be fully consumed in the giant fireball. There won't be any bodies. If they're lucky, there will be enough left to match you up via dental records..."
And do you really think the FA would make someone move from his assigned seat just so you could have more room to yourself?
In my posting I used the word "request" as opposed to demanding in reference to the FA speaking to the pax. There's nothing to lose by asking in a civil manner.
In my posting I used the word "request" as opposed to demanding in reference to the FA speaking to the pax. There's nothing to lose by asking in a civil manner.
Well, you run the risk if being told your "request" is completely inappropriate and to return to your seat and not to bother other people with your selfishness, although most (but probably not all) FA's would dress up the wording.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of threads on FT complaining about pax who do not sit in their assigned seats. The OP has absolutely no information on why the pax remained in his assigned seat which happened to be the middle seat; as long as the other person remained within the boundaries of his own seat, the OP is receiving exactly what his ticket entitled him to - transportation in one coach seat of his own - and really doesn't have any right to demand, or request that somebody else move just to increase his comfort. Getting the FA involved to move somebody else so you get the extra space is wrong.
