Originally Posted by
PTahCha
I have been seeing a lot of "squatting before asking" lately. Although, on a recent flight, the guy who took my seat asked passive-aggressively, added 'it's ok if you don't want to" even though he was already in my seat, and it was a window for an aisle. I did a quick calculation and agreed for a short 2 hour flight. Well, karma played itself - the couple was on my connecting flight, and we also ended up on the same parking shuttle, so it was a good thing that I agreed, otherwise it would've been awkward.
Squatting before asking immediately triggers me. Almost every time, I'll do any even or better switch with people if they're nice. Aisle for aisle, middle to aisle, etc. Only time I don't switch on an "even or better trade" is into bulkhead if I don't have underseat storage available.
My latest very annoying experience was on a 777 where my wife and I were in 11 DG (straight Polaris seats with easy seat partner communication). We got on and 10 DG occupants were parked in our seats completely settled in. I was super annoyed -- wife didn't want any issues so we just took the angled seats.