Originally Posted by markraby

I am so jealous of people who don't even believe that swapping seats from a volunteer is common. I have volunteered exactly three times ever (2x on Delta and 1x on United) and *every time* I was made to wait like a fool while I watched everyone else board the plane. Then at T-5 minutes, GA calls me up, tells me they don't need a volunteer anymore, slaps me into the least desirable seat on the plane, and I walk on with the added benefit of watching other pax's faces as I look like the unprepared late passenger taking over the middle seat they had just begun to assume would be unoccupied.

After that happening three times without a single successful volunteer situation, I just decided I will never go through that hassle again.