Therorectical seating has put me across the aisle (C&D) from the other person travelling before in a small and quite full CE cabin - but again was fine.

I suspect any non-chicken option will always be the less popular on a given flight, but you can always politely ask the cabin crew as they do the hot towels and they may be prepared to definitely save you the meal that you can eat (or you could order the Vegetarian special meal if you want to be sure).

The veggie special meal is often vegan. Unlike the meat-free but not vegan meal that’s *usually* but not always offered in CE. I also don’t eat chicken and just ask if there’s a no chicken option at boarding/towels stage personally if I were the OP. Adding Asian Vegetarian slightly increases the chance of a non-terrible veggie meal.

Before I had status I would often pay for seat selection. I’m a solo traveller with a strong preference for an aisle seat and value speed of service and certainty of meal choice.

Agreed, but I do think some of the FFs here forget how stressed seldom flyers can be, especially if confronted with something like not sitting together. Of course it doesn’t matter whether couples sit together when examined rationally, but someone nervous and in an unfamiliar situation can be panicked into what appears rude but is just stress.

I’ve remember flying from Luton with my brother who’d probably flown twice previously his entire life. After his 3rd attempt to walk around the metal detector, it seemed rude to walk through it, with security berating him, I had to step in and just make him take some deep breathes. I think once on the plane he couldm’t have found his seat he was so nervous and stressed.

Sure there are are a lot of chancers, but there’s also the odd lost soul about to have a melt down.