Originally Posted by
zitsky
Did they know where the seats were when they booked? That would have been a clue about basic economy, wouldn't it?
for most FTers probably it would be a red flag, but OP says in the very post you're replying to that they're infrequent travelers. With the added info later of an unfamiliar airline, and booked through an unfamiliar channel, maybe I'm just feeling more charitable but I'm inclined to cut them some slack.