We flew LGW-MEN yesterday and I had preselected 1D/F - my preferred seats in CE.

At the gate the boarding pass pinged and I was told we had been moved to 1A/C. Ok I wonder why, not great but whatever. Or so I thought.

On this A320 1A-C are basically in the boarding zone/crew area/toilet line. There is no divider and no comfort. I couldn’t sit in 1C as it was effectively in the aisle, so had to move to 1B, and I only managed to discourage people (including crew) from scooching into the 1C space by putting out the table.

When I saw two people happily seated in our original 1D/F seats I asked the crew why we had been moved. They checked the manifest and told me it was because I am a GCH! Whoever wrote the algo that says 1A/C is an “upgrade” needs to actually get on a plane. And why do the seat shifters think they should move a GCH who had pre-selected and actively checked into a chosen seat just a few hours before.

Fuming.

I already hated 1C on LHR-based aircraft. It sticks out into the aisle but at least the row is separated off with a barrier. On this LGW aircraft the row just should not be there, it’s unacceptable in business class.