Outrageous Seat Swap Requests From 30,000 Feet
Jeff Edwards January 23, 2020
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There are plenty of valid reasons to ask a fellow air traveler to swap seats: an equipment change separates a child from their parent, or long-lost friends reunite in-flight and have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reconnect. But there are also some pretty ridiculous reasons and you can find most of them in the “Would You Change Seats with Me?” thread.
What’s Yours is Mine
Should you be able to stay in your seat if someone else wants it? Not according to the other passengers on one FlyerTalker’s flights. “The last three requests I got were:
- Please trade your First Class seat for an Economy seat because my daughter prefers First Class.
- I upgraded my wife and thought she had a First Class seat, but it’s actually Main Cabin Extra. Can you switch with her?
- I don’t like sitting in the bulkhead row, so will you sit there instead?
“So I’ve adopted the ‘headphones go on immediately and we simply don’t talk to these people’ strategy. I genuinely think people should be kicked off the flight for making these types of requests.”
What’s Good for the Goose
“The version of this I experienced was the lady who was in First Class near me and said her husband was in Economy, had never been in First Class, and would sure like to experience it,” said another FlyerTalker. “I told her that it was okay if she switched with him.”
Chuck Berry
“I was flying St. Louis to LaGuardia. I was in the aisle of the last row in first, 6B. As I am walking down the jetbridge to board I discover that Chuck Berry is on my flight. He sits in the window, A seat in the first row in first, which I believe was row 3 (MD80). I’m sitting there and these two older women come down the aisle and one says, excuse me, sir, I am in 6A and my friend is in 3B, and I wonder…..
I didn’t even let her finish, I bolted for the front row, quickly exchanging tickets as I passed them. I had a brief but very pleasant and memorable conversation with the first member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
Just Desserts
“I once was aboard a flight to Honolulu from Los Angeles in First Class,” explained a FlyerTalker and British Airways crew member. “I was a proper fare payer rather than deadheading or positioning.
“As we landed late, I had to race to get to what was the last flight of the day, so much so that I had no chance to change out of my BA uniform. I was tired and Nearly dozed after having the welcome aboard Bubbles as they now call them.
“This man suddenly laid into me. ‘What are you doing in First Class?! My wife didn’t get her upgrade because of the likes of you. You’re an airline employee so you should be in the back. I’m Executive Platinum and we should not have staff upgraded over us!’
“I was in no mood to start arguing so I just got one of the Flight Attendants who happened to be the lead to deal with this. He kicked off at her, his wife started screaming and yelling and by this time the Captain came back. Everyone went out on the jetway and I have no idea what was said, but they went past me again down to Economy.”
Go Ahead, Call the Cops!
“I just hate it when you arrive in your seat and someone has decided that they want to sit there. I just call the flight attendant and tell them to go eject them. I will not enter in to any discussion or talk.
“One time I delayed departure for an hour because no one would take the responsibility to remove the passenger sitting in my seat. They even brought the police.
“Actually, this was the masterstroke, the police told the passenger that if he did not vacate my seat he would be arrested and removed from the plane. At last, I had my seat.”
Never Trust a Seat Request From a Flight Attendant
This one comes from Seat Swap Request Horror Stories:
“The boarding process was almost complete when a flight attendant came up to me and started telling me about an elderly couple with separate seats who really wanted to sit together, so would I mind moving?
“I got seated in my new seat, and then my new seatmate showed up: an ex-NFL nose guard. He was about 6’7”, and as wide as both seats. It slowly dawned on me that I had been completely hoodwinked by the flight attendant and the whole story about the elderly couple was a lie.
“I was replacing the ex-NFL nose guard’s former seatmate who had complained loudly. I was the flight attendant’s solution to the seating problem: someone young, skinny, and stupid to put together with this guy. By the time I realized what had been done to me, we had pushed back and were headed for the runway.
“Even though I wasn’t very big, it was still a very bad match-up, as this guy needed both seats. I was smashed into the fuselage, bent like a pretzel. At one point we traded seats so I could get a break from kissing the window, and I ended up smashed against the aisle armrest, hit by every passing pax/FA/drink cart. It was the most miserable long-haul flight I’ve ever had.
I learned from that experience to NEVER, EVER agree to a same-cabin seat change request, especially if it comes from a FA. Like another poster in this thread, I refuse to be moved, even if the FA tries to order me to do so. If someone wants my seat, the crew will have to kick me off the plane.
Cry Me a River
“I just got to experience this on a flight from JFK to Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic… I board and settle in. The rows start to fill up. A woman sits down next to me, her friend seated the row behind her. The friend starts asking the aisle passengers if they’ll switch so that she can sit next to her friend. The aisle passengers decline to swap an aisle for a middle.
“I’m not really paying attention but gradually become aware of some drama on the other side of the woman next to me. It seems her friend has called the FA over to see if they can get seats together. The flight attendant is speaking to the gentleman sitting in the aisle seat on the other side of the woman next to me (who is now crying).
“The gentleman is calm and declines the flight attendant’s suggestion that he swap seats. He explained that he purchased an aisle seat because he prefers an aisle seat. The flight attendant then offers to get him an aisle seat in economy.
“He says that he purchased a seat in Premium Economy because that’s what he wanted. The flight attendant starts to argue with him. Seriously! This guy is in his rightful seat, remains calm and is totally cool about it but won’t be bullied. The flight attendant goes off in a huff and a second flight attendant comes over and apologizes for the first flight attendant.
“The gentleman says that he’s happy to move up to the front of the plane but not back and is pretty surprised that he was expected to move back to Economy when he hadn’t done anything but sit in the seat he paid for.
“At this point the first flight attendant came back AGAIN and tried to persuade him to move, saying that it would be uncomfortable for him to be seated next to someone that was upset for the entire flight. The gentleman says that it would be fine, he’d be asleep as soon as they hit cruising altitude. He was a total rock star… I only wish that I could think that fast. Kept his cool the entire time and did not give in.
“Both the crying woman and her friend were eventually seated elsewhere by the flight attendant which left me with an empty seat next to me in Premium Economy. And the original occupant of the aisle seat enjoying both the aisle and the extra space. I did suggest that he email Virgin’s customer service about the incident.”
The Right Way to Ask Someone to Swap Seats
There is always the chance anyone might find oneself in the uncomfortable position of having to ask a fellow passenger the favor of swapping seats. In these circumstances, the Flyertalk community of expert flyers has a few guidelines to help avoid becoming a nuisance. The rules of thumb involve asking nicely and never assuming a fellow flyer will agree to the deal, trying, whenever possible, not to put oneself in the position of having to beg for another passenger’s assigned seat, never expecting an ‘upgrade’ out of a seat swap, simply remembering to say “thank you” and perhaps most importantly, be ready to take “no” for an answer.
A few other observations?
- People are kind to parents with small children and will often agree to swap.
- Board early. The later you board the more likely you are to find someone squatting in your seat.
Do you have a strategy in place to avoid swapping seats with strangers or do you happen to believe that changing seats costs nothing but can make a fellow traveler’s life much easier. No matter which camp you belong to, the Flyertalk “Would You Change Seats with Me?” master-thread will help to make YOUR life easier.
I once snagged an upgrade from NYC to LAX ... in first class, but on a bulkhead. As the doors closed, I spied an empty window seat one row back on the other side of the plane. There *was* someone sitting in the aisle seat, so I asked him if he minded whether I took the seat next to him. He must have misunderstood ... instead he picked up and moved to the window seat, leaving me on the aisle. Fine. It wasn't long before I started getting a *lot* of flight attendant attention -- the good kind. (I recognized it only because it never happens to me.) It took about 10 minutes for me to realize the FAs thought I was with Mr. window seat. Who?? It turned out to be Brad Pitt ... dressed head to toe in black leather, and as kind and accommodating as could be. Mr. Pitt fell asleep for most of the flight, leaving me to wonder how best to take advantage of my windfall. The more I thought, the more nervous I got ... and twice had to stop my hand from spilling orange juice all over his suit -- channeling Lucille Ball. The mind can be a terrible thing. In the end, I didn't ask the questions I wanted to ... and God bless him, Mr. Pitt was an absolute gentleman ... and a great attractor of FA attention! One of the longest 6 hour flights of my life.
As a Private Pilot, I have traveled with GPS since 96, before most people knew what it was. On one flight from BWI-SAN, I was one of the last people to board. The last available seat was next to a cute young lady in the window seat. I explained that the GPS needed to be near the window to work, and would she swap with me? After some consideration she said that she wanted to see the Grand Canyon, and if I would swap back so she could see it, then OK. During the Pilot announcement, he said that we would be passing by the grand Canyon, so things were looking good for her. Things were going great, I monitored our flight path and would point out the cities as we went by.Then somewhere around gallup, NM, we turned about 20 deg, south. At first I thought that it was for traffic, but after about 3 min. I told her that we had made a turn direct to San Diego and would not be able to see the Canyon after all. A male FA overheard me telling her this and heard how disappointed she was. He told her that we were going past the Canyon, because the pilot had said so, After some back and forth between the me FA about a possible route change, and the fact that we were now on a direct track to SAN, He said that he would check with the Pilot. After about 10 min. he came back and sheepishly confirmed what I had been saying.
There are a few instances where unfortunate seating circumstances occur (irrops rebookings, aircraft swaps)... but most of the time, people can avoid seating nightmares by doing due diligence and verifying seating assignments immediately upon booking a ticket. If this cannot be done on the website, you can always call the airline (I have never had an issue reserving seats on any airline in the past). In some cases, you will need to pay for seating assignments. If you are not willing to or capable of following these simple steps, you are not in a position to be upset at the gate when you and your companion are not seated together.
The comments I have read on seat swapping and poaching from my perspective seem to come from one general place: feeling put on the spot. The feedback I have read on this thread, and on others on this subject, is that most passengers book their flights in advance, and select a seat from those available. Other passengers book their flights closer to the departure date and/or select a fare class (or an airline like Southwest) not allowing advance seat reservations. My expectation (and, to be sure, yours, too) is that a seat I reserved be open for me to sit in. If another passenger was occupying what I believed to be my seat, I would ask an airline employee to sort it if I could not. If another passenger approached me to ask about swapping seats, and if I did not want to move, I would ask the other passenger to summon a flight attendant or another employee to sort their problem. On the job, I am required to solve problems that are clearly my responsibility. I cannot expect others to do my job or to suffer the consequences of my inaction, most especially customers. As a passenger, my (and your) fellow passengers cannot rightly expect me (or you) to solve their seating problems.
@PapaJack: Nothing wrong with politely declining their request, but why lie? What great offense did they commit against you?