The situation the OP posts is really untenable, and no one should have to put up with the heavily entitled doing as they please and then getting their panties in a bunch when they get caught sneaking seats or trying to pull fast ones like a Y for F swap.

I have been asked many times to swap, and as with everyone else, if it's an equivalent swap, I'll entertain the idea. But, I won't put up with snotty demands and whiny complaints. Not my problem.

I have asked to be seat swapped exactly once, and the situation was that I was boarding a flight that we'd been switched to because of a mechanical with our original flight. In addition to that, I was trying to walk with crutches and had my left leg in a "boot" due to an injury I sustained while on the trip (I was returning home). It was sort of the trifecta of lousy timing and flight-related mishaps that I hope never happens again.

Anyway, at the gate, the GA had tried to get us together in HJ so I could get a little leg room once we were seated and so that my spouse could help with the carryons, etc. However, the best the GA could do was me in one aisle and my spouse in an another row and across the plane (it was a 2-5-2 configuration). After she gave us our BPs, she decided to come onboard and see if she could facilitate a swap for us -- even though I told her I thought we could manage.

It was a same-cabin swap, so no class issues were involved. Even with that, no one was willing to swap, and one woman got positively angry and was spitting in our faces in anger at the GA for even asking. We kept telling the GA that if it didn't work, we'd just take our original seats.

She then offered us an upgrade on the next flight. As it was an overseas flight, that meant the next one wouldn't be until late the next day, and they weren't offering a hotel or anything. We thanked her and took our seats.

At that point, another passenger came down the aisle and suggested to the GA that he and his wife could change with us (they were several rows ahead of us and had boarded after we did). They had overheard the woman who got angry .....ing about even being asked to change, and decided to come back and offer us some help. They were so nice and generous that we did accept their offer. The woman who was angry was seated a row in back of us and continued to ..... out loud to the FAs that she'd been asked to swap and couldn't believe the nerve of some people. Finally, I just put on my headphones, took a painkiller, and went to sleep.

Because of that experience, I am sensitive to folks who may have a legitimate need to swap, as I did. I know how it feels, and that's the only time I'd ask for a swap. But, that's it. Particularly if I've paid for an F-class seat, or whatever, I'm not likely to want to change for something that I didn't select in the first place.