Originally Posted by Allan38103

Got it. Thanks for clarifying.

OP started in 1A, got up and went to the lav during the boarding break.
Companion was with COS. Both boarded together. COS's companion took OP's 1A seat while OP was in lav. COS took 1B. FA told someone in the lav (OP? COS? Companion?) to sit in 1C. (It doesn't matter who the FA actually told because there wasn't enough room in 1A 1B and 1C for all 3 to fit anyway)

If WN didn't have an open seat elsewhere, it's a failure on their part. The policy isn't at fault; the execution was faulty in this case. It doesn't help to say "well, I would have...", or "OP should have done..." It's too late for that. The flight is over. They need to do better next time. OP is entitled to compensation commensurate with the failure.