kiwifruit

That simply doesn't accord with my experience as my partner and I often travel together (on separate record locators) and select seats where we can see from the seat map that the middle seat is free.

I would estimate that 2 out of 3 flights the middle seat remains free but if we find the middle seat taken we will always offer to swap so the person in the middle can take the aisle seat and we feel no guilt 😉

rankourabu

Oh please...
I have every intention of using the seats exactly as booked, A and C. If NZ puts someone in B, so be it.

Exactly. Obviously noone is going to make anyone sit between us. Noone has ever refused to switch out of the middle seat.

This is a domestic flight, so there really isnt a choice - but knowing this, I will never book AirNZ where other options exist.

nzkarit

Lucky I'm not cabin crew I would take far too much enjoyment telling people to sit in their assigned seats when they are inform the cabin crew that moving/switching seats when they have tried to game the system and failed.

nzkarit

Must be on different flights can't remember the last time saw an empty middle seat while I have flying domestically.

sbiddle

With the exception of flights over the past 8 weeks or so I wouldn't even remember when I last had a spare middle seat next to me either. Maybe they exist further back in an Airbus but they're incredibly rare up the front.

samyoull

JQ will happily take your business, nobody's going to miss you on NZ 👋

SeaProf

I'd just like to suggest that this behaviour is horribly selfish if the intent is to switch if someone is placed in between you. Single travelers have no idea who will be sitting on either side of them, including if those people next to them are couples traveling together but selfishly wanting extra space. Single travelers are constantly up against issues couples do not face (per person double occupancy is a phrase that ignites anger in me - just tell me what the price is for me as a single person, or just explicitly say you don't want single people using your hotels/cruises/air services!). Single people don't need additional obstacles such as the one you are forcing on them because you selfishly want additional space between yourselves. You are effectively forcing a single traveller to sit in the middle when they don't have to because it will benefit you. That is the definition of selfishness.

rankourabu

say what now? Forcing you into the middle seat because you fly alone?
There are like 30+ rows and 200+ seats on the plane. Pick a different one.

bce1

So the world can be split along those that think trying to chance having a free middle seat by booking A & C is ok vs. those that think its selfish.

SeaProf

Missing the obvious point. What you are doing is a deliberate attempt to gain an advantage over others because you are a couple traveling together. Single travelers do not have the same opportunity as you to manipulate seats in order to gain extra space. By definition what you are doing is selfish behavior. Instead of telling others to "pick another seat" to accommodate your selfishness (which is simply a ridiculous request if everyone acts like you do), the logical solution is for you to act with consideration for others and choose seats that you will actually use, not ones you hope to use but will relinquish if your selfish scheme doesn't work.

prp343

Take a breath. Alternate thinking would be that a single traveler placed in that seat would actually be lucky because they can then switch to an aisle/window seat rather than a middle.

SeaProf

In other words, single travelers should be grateful they get to play the lotto, instead of being able to book a window or aisle seat, all because couples are trying to game the system.

MSPeconomist

There was a big discussion (IIRC about a year ago) about this in the UA forum here on FT about UA switching seats to reunite couples who picked A & C (or equivalent seats, hoping that the middle would remain open or that they could switch onboard if necessary.

rankourabu

Exactly what system is being gamed?

Everyone is free to assign any seat on the plane on every airline, except on NZ apparently.

nzkarit

No most people need to pay for the privilege of seat select. Also at a certain percentage full or near departure they close seat select and the system/check-in/gate agent assigns the seats.

Also a lot of the seats on the plane are only available to be selected by Koru or Gold Members. And PE & J seats are only available to people coming in that class of travel. So a lot of people can't just pick any seat they want.

You are trying the game the system to get a free middle seat by seperating your booking. If you want a free middle seat book works deluxe or a sky couch, so there is a product for what you are wanting to do.

As myself & others have said, COVID over last couple of months aside, free middle seats are rare, so you trying to game the system is making others get put in middle seats by no other seats or being put there by check-in or gate agent.

You will also be slow boarding down by having to ask cabin crew if you can switch seats. And when I last traveled they made of point of saying don't change seats for contact tracing purposes.