Originally Posted by
Mizunara
It's to make the boarding process smoother. Since the person in the middle seat is Group 4, then your companion in the aisle doesn't have to get up and get out of their way in order for them to get into your seat. Keeps the aisle unblocked as well.
Is this a domestic or international flight? If domestic, overhead bin space is a non-issue. For international, it's also usually been fine for me on ANA. It's not nearly as competitive for that space compared to flights on other carriers.
I know the logic, but we are seated together in Premium Economy. There is no middle seat between window and aisle. Most groups on the same PNR have contiguous seat assignments, and can be expected to figure out how to best seat themselves..
Good to know about bin space.