Originally Posted by
sltlyamusd
This is really unacceptable, given that 80% of the Airbus fleet still have these legacy VX seats. It also irritates me greatly that they replaced seats on four of the newest A321neos, instead of prioritizing older A320s. Broken seats make it harder for flight attendants to deliver high-quality service when they are forced to deal with pax unhappy with their broken seats. I’ve been on one plane that had a do not occupy sign on one seat, which really sucks when you only have 8 F seats to begin with.
I agree it's unacceptable and irritating. The fact is, AS management is fully aware of this problem and has made a strategic decision to leave their F product in disrepair. After this happened to me 2x earlier this year and I subsequently learned of management's official position of not repairing VX seats until cabin replacement occurs, I stopped flying AS when corporate pays for F.
I know from gate agents and flight crew friends that they are also frustrated by this. It puts them in a terrible position with Alaska's higher paying customers and they are left absorbing customer frustration (which would wear on anyone over time).
It's like seeing a once-beautiful sports car that's never had regular maintenance and is a clunker as a result, or a mangy dog whose owner clearly neglects it. It's tragic and makes you want to step in. A little regular maintenance and care would go a long way.