Originally Posted by
COTraveler123
That is frustrating. United should be required to give compensation for this type of inconvenience. Some people choose to pay for the flight based on the seat they were able to reserve at the time of booking. I have booked away from flights when I did not see a seat I wanted.
The Contract of Carriage makes it clear (as on virtually all airlines) that you are paying for transportation, not a seat. A seat chosen is basically a request that the airlines usually honor. There are fairly rare occasions when one may not get the seat one requested. You agreed to those terms (that a seat request is just that) when you bought the ticket (yes, you did - failure to read the CoC is on you, not UA).