Originally Posted by
PTravel
I would not have switched. Next time, she'll know to book seats together if that's what she needs. As we used to say in the aerospace industry, "The lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine."
While I agree with this philosophy in general, I don't think it applies in this case. No amount of planning can guarantee you seats together, as the airlines are all very clear on the policy that seat assignments are not guaranteed. Also, IME it can be very difficult to get seats together in the first place for a group of more than 2-3; I had to split up the group 2-2-1 on one flight the last time I booked a trip for my family.
That said, none of this excuses the seat poacher's behavior. While I have sympathy for the people who can't manage to get seats together, all that sympathy goes out the window if you pull a stunt like this.
My response: calmly pull our my boarding pass, ask to see the seat poacher's, and politely direct him/her to the proper seat. If they complain, suggest that they talk to an FA who might be able to assist them.