Empty first row?
 

A friend of mine received an e-mail from Aegean today with the details of a booking she had made months ago. After spending a few minutes wondering why they would resend the booking details, she realised they had moved her from row 1 to row 2, without any warning.

I tried booking a business class ticket on various Aegean flights, including some in 2021, and on every flight the first row now appears to be occupied.

Could this be an attempt to protect their crew from infected passengers? I seriously doubt this will be effective when they have to walk up and down the aisle all the time. Or maybe protect the food preparation area from someone coughing and sneezing in row 1? Or maybe they want to always have the first row free for any passengers requiring medical assistance? Business passengers won't be happy if every sick person is brought to the front.

Anyone have any better ideas or any actual info?

The "isolation" area is the back of the aircraft - last three rows are blocked, so it's not that.

I made a couple of tries booking various destinations and it allows me to book a sear at row 1.

Same here as of today, though I was facing the issue of not been able to book a first raw seat earlier in May. The three last rows are blocked.

also confirming that I have already booked 1F seating for my next A3 flight in 2021

In an e-mail I (probably we all) just received it is stated that according to the aircraft type either the first 3 or the last 3 rows will be left empty as a precautionary measure, should anyone be suspected to be infected.

More infos here...
https://en.aegeanair.com/togetherwit...el-experience/

I'd expect the first 3 rows only to be used for this purpose on aircraft where boarding is from the rear?

This is great, so now we don't know if it is safer to book front or back of the aircraft...

If you want to feel safe that nobody will develop a fever during the flight who'll have to be moved to a seat away from the remaining passengers, there is a very simple solution: stay home!

I just want to know where the quarantine section of the aircraft is, so I can book away from it, is it too much to ask?

So book towards the middle of the aircraft :D​​​​​​.

I believe it's more to do with where the air is removed from the cabin.

I read somewhere in the last week or so that on planes where the air circulation was from front to back, with the air being "sucked" out of the cabin at the back, then the final 3 rows were kept clear for "isolation" purposes, the idea being you don't want any particles from the isolated passenger to have to travel the entire length of the passenger cabin.

Unfortunately the middle is also the most risky area statistically, with the four corners or the cabin being the safest ones, as it is all about how many people you have around you. The more people around you, the higher the risk. That's why A3 also picks the first or last 3 rows for the quarantine zone, for the good of the plane (on average). However, this uncertainty is not helping your individual risk.

Practically though, if you can see the blocked quarantine section when booking and choosing seats, this will solve the problem.