Originally Posted by ronin
Not to beat a dead horse (well, okay, to beat a dead horse), the flight crew or gate agents are not sworn officers nor are they legislators, nor are they little lords whose arbitrary commands we are beholden to obey under penalty of being locked up. While they may have absolute interim authority during a flight (and of course face the consequences if such powers are exercised sans justification), they are not the ultimate boss of us.
My question about what they would do if I refused to move is exactly that- a question about policy, to which I don't know the answer. So far I've heard speculation, but I am wondering out loud what would happen.
You are not squatting in a seat lightly or arbitrarily. You possess a legitimately issued boarding pass and a seat you earned through payment or whatever other consideration. You are not a thief of any services. The airline offered you the seat in exchange for your custom and in good faith you occupied it. You have the proof in your hand, your receipt and boarding pass.
Now the airline comes- no matter to you the reason- and tells you it changed its mind. Let's turn it around here- why can't YOU call the cops and tell them the merchant is now trying to change things after the fact?
I'm sure most people can come to a reasonable agreement. But the mistake is not the customer's, and in the end the airline needs to eat the result. What gnaws is the unnamed threats, the assumption of absolute arbitrary authority, the implication that your fate is entirely at the whim of some harried and uncaring and most of all unaccountable employee with whom you have never even exchanged a "good morning."
Continental's only obligation is to get to your destination in the class of service you paid for. That is the only contract that exists between you and CO. Please provide any any other written contract terms you can find anywhere that support your argument. You do not have a contract with CO for a particular seat, no matter how much you think or wish otherwise. The seat number they give you is hardly a contract. The ticket terms are fairly explicit if you care to read them. CO has every right, and though the authority they give to their employees, to move you where they think they need to. In most cases, they try to do things systematically and fairly, but sometimes they do screw up and they try to right things in the most logical and fair way possible. If you want to be a cry-baby, go ahead and refuse to move. Under Federal transportation rules, disobeying flight crew instruction IS a crime. The pilot is the ultimate authority on the plane while he's on board, so that's your appeal. In the eyes of the police, you are disrupting the flight and a considered a potential menace to other passengers and will potentially be arrested if you want to play your little game. It's passengers like you who get all bent out of shape for reasons they have no real basis to grip about. Getting bumped back isn't what you want, but it isn't really the end of the world is it? There's more to life than crying about a seat that you didn't pay for in the 1st place.