EqualOpp

So...was on a recent Alaska Air flight SEA-LAX and was sitting in first class 3C - aisle. I've had the ticket for many months (Part of a larger int'l trip), and I take care to choose my seats ahead of time.

So no one is sitting next to me on this morning flight. Then at the last minute a YOUNG couple (late 20s-30s I estimate) boards the flight and they apparently are going to sit in first class. There are two open seats - 1C and 3A (Window) by me, They are the last to board.

Immediately the guy asks me if I can change seats so he can sit with his wife. I'm thinking to myself, I don't want to move forward, ask the lady in 1A I say to sit next to me. Turns out she's sleeping.

And by sheer courtesy, I decide to move. I mean he did say if I didn't want to....but putting me on the spot there and I wasn't mentally prepared.

I haven't been asked to move in a very long time - and if I ever did, it was for a family with kids or what not. And only in coach/ econ, and certainly never to a bulkhead seat.

Then I get to 1C and I realize I hate this seat. It's so bright from the flight attendant area (Light doesn't go off apparently) There's no foot rest nor place to put my small carry-on, nor holder to put anything else. There's a reason I don't usually sit in bulkhead seats...but I didn't remember.

So I'm hating this switch. It's a short flight relatively speaking, but still. And I'm thinking to myself, yeah, no problem if it's a parent and child, or what not. But not some young couple that boarded at the last minute, and maybe got a free upgrade to boot, or what not.

So..next time, I'm not moving to a bulkhead first class seat for a young couple who are last minute stragglers. Elderly, parent/child, fine.

AKLifetimeFlyer

About 7-8 years ago, my sister and I had to make a last minute East Coast trip for a funeral. We booked the last two First Class seats available ANC-MSP-BDL on DL. The only two seats left for the first leg were 1C and 4B. We were in our Mid to late 20's at the time but due to the circumstances it meant a lot to sit next to one another. I asked the guy in 4A if he would move to 1C and he agreed. I thanked him and that was that. He really had no idea what the situation was, but he obliged, and I was grateful.

zrs70

Sorry - not sure point of this post. A guy asked you to move, and you did. What does it mean to not be mentally prepared? How does one mentally prepare for a seat change on board?

Lots of assumptions here:

1. What does being a young couple have to do with anything?
2. What does a potential free upgrade have to do with anything?
3. What does boarding at the last minute have to do with anything?

I understand that you aren’t going to move in the future unless it’s elderly/ parents with children, etc. But you should try to keep an open mind and heart. What if it’s a person with hidden special needs? What if the pair who are flying are in distress? What if it’s a couple who just WANT to be together and have asked nicely? You can still say “no.” And saying “no” does not mean that you are a jerk. It just means that you prefer the seat you chose.

But don’t say “yes” and then complain.

david55

I love the bulkhead!

Legend717

Thank you for that pointless rant.
You moved. That was a nice thing to do.
You wish you hadn't, because apparently you're very high-maintenance for three hours of your life.
Fine. I've done similar things and had similar regrets. No one cares, life is short.

985X

Last night SFO-LAX, I was in 4D (E175). Boarded last, saw my seat was occupied, so I asked the guy in 4D, turned out he was traveling with wife and their baby in 4C, and he said I could take 3D instead. Not a big deal cuz it's the same seat no bulkhead difference and I don't want to sit next to a baby anyways, although sitting in my seat before I boarded was kinda rude. Either way, speak up, or let it go, don't be salty about it afterwards. I firmly believe next time you will handle situations like this better.

Eujeanie

I've asked and been asked many times. Good karma to make someone happy. You don't know - maybe one had a fear of flying, maybe they needed to discuss something, maybe they liked to play cards together (oops, that would be us).

And we always choose the bulkhead after once having someone reclined into my lap all the way home from Hawaii.

Once we were asked to move (by the GA) to the second row from the first because someone had a bad leg. Only thing I asked of them was please don't recline too far into me (flashbacks of Hawaii). They said they wouldn't. Guess what. They did. Oh, and since I told the GA why we liked the bulkhead but were willing to move anyway, she said that was very kind and would give us some miles. She didn't.

So my advice is, if you don't want to, politely decline. You could have your reasons that they don't know about.

And you're lucky it wasn't that long of a flight.

Waitlisted

Last year I was returning from FLL to PDX via SEA (because you can’t get anywhere anymore from PDX) and bumped into my son at SEA who lives in NYC who was flying to PDX via SEA due to a cancelled flight to surprise my wife for her birthday. He hadn’t been home for three months. For the SEA/PDX flight on a 739 he was in 4C and I was in 3D on the 11:15pm flight. The lady next to me was asleep as her butt hit the seat so we asked 4A if they would move, and the response was “no, it’s only a short flight”. So I chatted difficulty with my son before takeoff and a bit during the flight. After we landed and all stood up, 4A apologized and said he should have switched and will always in the future and said “because you never know how important it is to the flying passenger”. I never since have not hesitated to change seats as I know I have made someone’s day.

tkelvin69

Yes, life is short so no need to be rude. Try being nice or leave it alone.

Eastbay1K

Me too. If they can get me another aisle seat, it is a probable yes. If it is a swap to a window, it is a most likely no.

And if a young couple really wants to sit together I'll be thinking, but not giving the following advice: "One day you might just appreciate sitting apart for a couple of hours."

notquiteaff

Thread subject should be “No, I don’t want to move to bulkhead. Next time I will say no” because you can’t control what other people do (ask), but you can control what you do.

OP, you did a nice thing. You made someone else’s experience better at the expense of your own travel experience being minimally impacted. I suggest you try to feel good about it. And hopefully karma was ensure payback at some point.

krispy84

Taking my seat before I’ve boarded is a pet hate, immediately gets my hackles up and I’m less inclined to say yes to a seat swap. Though in this case, with the baby in play, I’d agree!

nineworldseries

I have a lot of social anxiety and don't like this situation at all. I feel like if I wanted to have conflict with other members of the flying public over seating, I should fly Southwest. I literally fly instead AA, AS, and UA to avoid these exact type of encounters.

Look, I don't want to move. Unlike most, 1C is my seat, I pick it for a very specific reason, and it's because of my anxiety. 1C is by far the best seat to see into the cockpit, to hear the gate agent, FAs, captains talk about everything. If there's a MX I'm first to know. I have the preflight FA routines memorized and they significantly reduce my anxiety to follow along with the mental checklist that they're going through. 1C is the best seat in the house to study the airline ops and really helps me relax.

My last flight SEA-CMH on AS I was of course in 1C and then the 2 upgrades had the same last name and were in 1A and 1D. I saw this as soon as I got up in Seattle. So my anxiety got triggered and I basically worried the whole way to SEA that these people were going to ask me to move. I was sure of it. I kept debating if I was going to "stand up for myself" and politely say no, I have 1C for a reason, or whether I was just going to acquiesce and let them sit together.

I thought back to the last time I had a similar conflict. I refused to switch, and the husband of the asking party got all mad at me (and the FA seemed quite annoyed) and it was just an uncomfortable flight the whole way. So it's really a lose-lose. I'm anxious and uncomfortable either way unless I'm in 1C like I pay for or save up miles for. (No I'm not in F 100% of the time sadly, and while I prefer 1C, 6C or 8C in MCE or Alaska or United premium is just fine with me. I'm on an aisle with legroom and can still see/hear most of what's going on).

So I decided that I was just going to move if asked and avoid conflict. I really don't like 1D though as it's much harder to see what's going on in the forward galley and cockpit.
It turns out 1A sat down and then 1D did in his seat as well. Uhhhh... wait, they're not going to ask me? So then I thought I would try to conquer a bit of social anxiety and maybe help them out in the process. I offer to the guy to move to 1D so that they could sit together. I really appreciated that they didn't ask, too, and put me in the position, so I thought I would return that kindness and offer up 1C.

Moral of the story: I am not exaggerating a bit, either the lady in 1A or the guy who I switched with stank so badly of urine the entire flight that I had to mask up and turn into the full-blast air vent in the middle of 1D and F to even survive the lengthy flight. It was the worst a fellow passenger has ever smelled next to me on a flight. I assume perhaps one of them had a medical incontinence issue or something, but it was foul, like cat urine foul. So, by switching, it saved me from being in between them. I consider myself very lucky.

Lomapaseo

Next time I'm faced with only the bulkhead seat, I'll be sure to ask 3c to change with me and suggest that I thought they would appreciate being able to hang their feet on the wall

psusaver

People can be "last minute" due to airline connections also. But since you seem to be an inexperienced traveler you would not know that (see how random assumptions work?). I see that the rest of the thread got your good OP, so I will stop myself here.