Reassigned Aisle to middle seat, minutes before boarding
Aug 25, 2017, 10:41 pm
#16
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This is not how it's done. If they need a seat, they page people and ask them. Maybe they preferred to relinquish the window, not the aisle. Maybe they preferred their seats and did not care about seating next to each other.
Last edited by dayone; Aug 25, 2017 at 11:09 pm Reason: Remove OT reference.
Aug 25, 2017, 11:11 pm
#17
Join Date: Oct 2006
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He planned to trade if necessary so they'd be configured in the aisle and middle, not window and middle which is what happened. If he has a strong preference for an aisle then he has every right to be very upset. Alaska can and should do better than what happened here.
Aug 26, 2017, 12:41 am
#18
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Agreed. Not to be rude, but that's a crappy strategy. I'd surmise the GA noticed it too. Leisure routes during peak travel are usually jammed and there are always families with small children. You either book seats next to one another or across the aisle...or you take your chances.
Aug 26, 2017, 12:47 am
#19
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In this case I would definitely side with the OP...it boils down to AS changing someone's seat assignment at the last minute without permission from the passenger....at the very least the OP deserved to be given a reason...why wasn't the aisle seat passenger placed in the middle that was unoccupied? My wife and I do the window/aisle combo all the time....it's a smart seat selection strategy....this is not about playing a "game". I would drop a note to AS listens...I got moved to a different seat without my permission last month and they were never able to tell me why it happened....I didn't ask for anything but they still sent me a $75 ecert for the hassle and I eventually ended up in my original seat.
Aug 26, 2017, 12:54 am
#20
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In this case I would definitely side with the OP...it boils down to AS changing someone's seat assignment at the last minute without permission from the passenger....at the very least the OP deserved to be given a reason...why wasn't the aisle seat passenger placed in the middle that was unoccupied? My wife and I do the window/aisle combo all the time....it's a smart seat selection strategy....this is not about playing a "game". I would drop a note to AS listens...I got moved to a different seat without my permission last month and they were never able to tell me why it happened....I didn't ask for anything but they still sent me a $75 ecert for the hassle and I eventually ended up in my original seat.
Aug 26, 2017, 3:49 am
#21
Join Date: Jan 2015
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Agreed. My girlfriend and I do the same thing. In the end OP's motives were not a factor in the GA decision (how could they have known what the intention was), and they were moved aisle to middle without permission. OP, reaching out to AS probably won't hurt, and they've always done a great job (in my experience, can't speak for anyone else here) about rectifying situations where I've felt slighted.
Aug 26, 2017, 4:40 am
#22
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You are missing thr point. I am not pissed about "losing" the middle seat. I was anyways expecting that someone might show up on the middle seat and I make the switch with them. I am angry about my aisle seat replaced with middle without my consent, for no good reason at all. I don't find this acceptable!
Totally understand your fustrations and anger. But if you were expecting sympathy on here, don't bother. This mob would rather embarrass and make you look like a fool than actually try to understand the issue here.
This only happens on American flights...crap like this (re-assignment of seats) rarely happens anywhere else in the world because customer service is dead over in the states.
Aug 26, 2017, 5:12 am
#23
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We all understand the issue here. AS has every right to move him without asking him first. He wasn't moved to some seat back by the lavatory, just one seat over where he belonged in the first place. if it were a different row while they were reaccommodating families it would have been a $100 voucher.
Aug 26, 2017, 5:41 am
#24
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Sounds like a bad GA.
the folks in the row behind me on ANCSEA were called to the podium by a GA and was asked about moving seats to accommodate a family and they said no. Problem was a family member was right there and protested. People said, rightfully, this is why they chose those seats when they booked.
so it goes both ways. At least AS *asked*.
the folks in the row behind me on ANCSEA were called to the podium by a GA and was asked about moving seats to accommodate a family and they said no. Problem was a family member was right there and protested. People said, rightfully, this is why they chose those seats when they booked.
so it goes both ways. At least AS *asked*.
Aug 26, 2017, 7:20 am
#25
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 499
We all understand the issue here. AS has every right to move him without asking him first. He wasn't moved to some seat back by the lavatory, just one seat over where he belonged in the first place. if it were a different row while they were reaccommodating families it would have been a $100 voucher.
However, two things perplex me:
1. If the OP was generally expecting a likely move to a middle seat, then what is the complaint? I personally am more with those that choose window and aisle or two aisles as a couple and intend to keep them.
2. There didn't seem to be any point in particular for the GA to make the move. This particular move was not to the benefit of a family or other meaningful issue but just gratuitous seat shifting by the GA. What was up with that?
Aug 26, 2017, 7:22 am
#26
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It's not the most compelling complaint in the world, but what could the airline's rationale have been for putting the last minute solo non-status lady in occupied 11C instead of in empty 11B?
I can see no valid operational reason for doing that, except that this lady asked nicely for an aisle seat and the gate agent was sharp enough to notice a couple on the same reservation or with same name trying the split seats/empty middle seat gambit and she said "Oh screw them I'm giving this lady the aisle seat."
I can see no valid operational reason for doing that, except that this lady asked nicely for an aisle seat and the gate agent was sharp enough to notice a couple on the same reservation or with same name trying the split seats/empty middle seat gambit and she said "Oh screw them I'm giving this lady the aisle seat."
Aug 26, 2017, 7:31 am
#27
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We all understand the issue here. AS has every right to move him without asking him first. He wasn't moved to some seat back by the lavatory, just one seat over where he belonged in the first place. if it were a different row while they were reaccommodating families it would have been a $100 voucher.
He may well have been a larged size gentleman who needed more space with the advantage of an aisle seat rather than squeezed between two passengers in the middle, no?
Aug 26, 2017, 7:55 am
#28
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When couples do this it can lead to more passengers complaining and moaning to the gate agent about not getting seats they want.
So she torpedoed the couple's scheme and probably enjoyed doing it.
Aug 26, 2017, 8:40 am
#30
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,832
The gate agent realized exactly what this couple was doing and considered it to be bad form and violation of the unwritten rules of air travel seating courtesy. To her, splitting seats like this couple did and leaving an empty middle is an abhorrent practice, because it makes it harder for her to seat other passengers near each other (like aisle-aisle) and harder for her to accommodate other passengers' window/aisle seating preferences..
What would you say if your grocer asked you to buy the spoiled produce so later shoppers could have the fresh items?
The fact that the window and aisle passengers are traveling together, or even married, is not relevant.