Originally Posted by
edcho
Unfortunately, no airline I know guarantees any seat assignment. Your ticket entitles you to some seat on the flight, in the class of service you bought, but not any specific seat within that cabin. Seat assignment is an accommodation, not a "right."
I've had situations where i've been randomly moved the middle seat at the last minute (i.e. gate) to accommodate couples and/or families.
It's one thing to read the legal terms and another to provide good customer sevice. True, seat assignments are not guaranteed and UA has a good case in court. But a service company should do what's necessary to make customers happy.
A few years ago when I was GS, I got 9000 RDMs for losing an upgraded seat on a two hour flight because the equipment was swapped to a one class TED. I didn't care while in flight and never complained. The bonus miles were deposited automatically, followed by an apology email from the GS customer service. Based on your logic, UA should never have done that.
Of course, that was before Mr Smisek's reign. Good old times.