Originally Posted by
jsloan
Honestly, I think the seat maps are doing more harm than good.
Here's a fuller piece about the same flight. and there's a quote saying that people were yelling at the middle-seat passengers, because they didn't understand the policy and thought that the seats wouldn't be occupied.
I think you either have to limit the capacity on any given flight -- which, ultimately, is unsustainable -- or just remove the seat blocking and let people figure it out. The current policy makes people feel that they're being lied to.
I totally agree with jsloan. This is causing people to feel confused, angry, and feeling that UA lied to them about having an empty seat guaranteed to be next to them. The reality is it is a reading comprehension issue, as UA NEVER said we would have an empty seat next to us, only that it wouldn't be filled prior to T-24. The reality is that most of the flying public doesn't understand that difference. People are very worried about the potential of illness and death so emotions are running high. UA (and other airlines) are running a skeleton fleet right now so the odds are despite record low numbers of passengers, we will be flying on fairly dense planes. This is not going to change any time soon.