Swapping Seat Etiquette (and my excellent euroflyer experience)
Mar 28, 2023, 12:27 am
#31
Join Date: Dec 2022
Posts: 825
I had a similar thing going from a flight from OTP recently into Heathrow. I was travelling alone and the flight was full. There were eight rows of CE.
I am usually one of the last to board (bearing in mind I can board early as group 1) but cannot stand all that waiting around at the gate and people on group 9 trying to board first et al.
On this occasion, when I boarded there were around 6 CE left to board and I was in 2F. Got on and saw a guy was sitting in my seat. I was asked would I mind sitting in 3F as he wanted to be with the wife. The fact he was already sitting in my seat meant the answer was NO - the height of rudeness. He seemed shocked and then whilst still sitting in my seat tried to re-arrange the cabin by talking about if the people who are yet to board in row 4 would move then he would be happy.
Jesus, in the end he got up but before doing so mentioned he needed to sit with his wife.
He was told by me that the conversation has now ended and he should have booked two seats together and he moved. I dont mind the confrontation so it easy for me, and if he had sat in his booked seat and asked I would have moved. But to try and rearrange the cabin takes the P I double S.
Maybe I was being petty?
the irony was he slept during the flight so why on earth did he need to be next to his wife.
maybe I was too petty?
I am usually one of the last to board (bearing in mind I can board early as group 1) but cannot stand all that waiting around at the gate and people on group 9 trying to board first et al.
On this occasion, when I boarded there were around 6 CE left to board and I was in 2F. Got on and saw a guy was sitting in my seat. I was asked would I mind sitting in 3F as he wanted to be with the wife. The fact he was already sitting in my seat meant the answer was NO - the height of rudeness. He seemed shocked and then whilst still sitting in my seat tried to re-arrange the cabin by talking about if the people who are yet to board in row 4 would move then he would be happy.
Jesus, in the end he got up but before doing so mentioned he needed to sit with his wife.
He was told by me that the conversation has now ended and he should have booked two seats together and he moved. I dont mind the confrontation so it easy for me, and if he had sat in his booked seat and asked I would have moved. But to try and rearrange the cabin takes the P I double S.
Maybe I was being petty?
the irony was he slept during the flight so why on earth did he need to be next to his wife.
maybe I was too petty?
Mar 28, 2023, 12:44 am
#32
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: 38,000 feet
Programs: LH HON, BA GGL, AF Plat, EK Plat
Posts: 6,440
I had a similar thing going from a flight from OTP recently into Heathrow. I was travelling alone and the flight was full. There were eight rows of CE.
I am usually one of the last to board (bearing in mind I can board early as group 1) but cannot stand all that waiting around at the gate and people on group 9 trying to board first et al.
On this occasion, when I boarded there were around 6 CE left to board and I was in 2F. Got on and saw a guy was sitting in my seat. I was asked would I mind sitting in 3F as he wanted to be with the wife. The fact he was already sitting in my seat meant the answer was NO - the height of rudeness. He seemed shocked and then whilst still sitting in my seat tried to re-arrange the cabin by talking about if the people who are yet to board in row 4 would move then he would be happy.
Jesus, in the end he got up but before doing so mentioned he needed to sit with his wife.
He was told by me that the conversation has now ended and he should have booked two seats together and he moved. I dont mind the confrontation so it easy for me, and if he had sat in his booked seat and asked I would have moved. But to try and rearrange the cabin takes the P I double S.
Maybe I was being petty?
the irony was he slept during the flight so why on earth did he need to be next to his wife.
maybe I was too petty?
I am usually one of the last to board (bearing in mind I can board early as group 1) but cannot stand all that waiting around at the gate and people on group 9 trying to board first et al.
On this occasion, when I boarded there were around 6 CE left to board and I was in 2F. Got on and saw a guy was sitting in my seat. I was asked would I mind sitting in 3F as he wanted to be with the wife. The fact he was already sitting in my seat meant the answer was NO - the height of rudeness. He seemed shocked and then whilst still sitting in my seat tried to re-arrange the cabin by talking about if the people who are yet to board in row 4 would move then he would be happy.
Jesus, in the end he got up but before doing so mentioned he needed to sit with his wife.
He was told by me that the conversation has now ended and he should have booked two seats together and he moved. I dont mind the confrontation so it easy for me, and if he had sat in his booked seat and asked I would have moved. But to try and rearrange the cabin takes the P I double S.
Maybe I was being petty?
the irony was he slept during the flight so why on earth did he need to be next to his wife.
maybe I was too petty?
Mar 28, 2023, 1:09 am
#33
Join Date: Dec 2022
Posts: 825
this is always the worry when they are behind you. I did get a look as we were disembarking but who cares!! Like you, being direct and blunt usually solves the issue.
Mar 28, 2023, 1:10 am
#34
Join Date: Dec 2022
Posts: 825
I recently boarded an A380 quite late (with group 9!) and as I walked through the first cabin, the lady in 3A was stood up and looking anxiously back towards door 2L. As I went past her, she enquired if I was in 1A (I was) and asked if I would swap with her, because she had an injury. As a Doctor, I was naturally curious as to what injury had allowed her to board the plane, but would stop her walking the extra distance to 1A to get to the bathroom. She mumbled something incoherent, so I said no, and went to my seat. After I settled in, it became clear there was a child in 3E, who apart from a few loud questions to Daddy, was exceptionally well behaved on the flight. The woman in 3A went past me a few times to the bathroom. Sometimes a limp was present, sometimes she forgot..
Mar 28, 2023, 2:24 am
#35
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: BHD
Programs: BA Executive Club Silver
Posts: 579
On a Finnair operated BA flight to FCO on Sunday evening, Blurt junior in 2A, Mrs Blurt in 2C and I in 2D. American woman in 2F. Her husband a couple of rows back. She asked if I minded if he moved up to sit in 2E...(Finnair don't block the middle seat they just leave it empty) I felt a bit uncomfortable, but explained the concept of CE seating and so she then asked if I would swap with her husband and if I had been travelling solo I would have. Because Mrs Blurt is a bit of a nervous flyer I wished to stay next to her. She thanked me for being honest about the situation and by the end of the flight we were actually having a good old chat. I still felt uncomfortable having to explain my reasons for wanting to stay in the seat that I had selected months beforehand, but glad that I did.
Mar 28, 2023, 4:28 am
#37
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,709
Not by my book. I actually dislike confrontation, but precisely, I also dislike the fact that the cheekiest of people use the fact that many people dislike confrontation to try and push for outcomes they know (or should know) are unfair and make their interest count more than that of others.
In that sense, I think that considering the other person's attitude when deciding whether to accept a swap or not is absolutely legitimate, and as it happens, whether the person chooses to use a "fait accompli" to push for their outcome by being already settled in your sit when asking (because they know that it means that there is an additional "cost" to you by saying no: you slow down the process, have to wait longer to be able to settle in yourself etc compared to accepting their unilateral deal) is in fact an excellent proxy to assess that attitude. It's for the person being asked to swap to decide whether the swap is beneficial, indifferent, or detrimental to them and not for the person who asks to assume that they should be fine by it. Taking a seat you know is someone else's without asking is not a nice way to ask, and refusing something which is not asked nicely is not petty.
In that sense, I think that considering the other person's attitude when deciding whether to accept a swap or not is absolutely legitimate, and as it happens, whether the person chooses to use a "fait accompli" to push for their outcome by being already settled in your sit when asking (because they know that it means that there is an additional "cost" to you by saying no: you slow down the process, have to wait longer to be able to settle in yourself etc compared to accepting their unilateral deal) is in fact an excellent proxy to assess that attitude. It's for the person being asked to swap to decide whether the swap is beneficial, indifferent, or detrimental to them and not for the person who asks to assume that they should be fine by it. Taking a seat you know is someone else's without asking is not a nice way to ask, and refusing something which is not asked nicely is not petty.
Mar 28, 2023, 6:09 am
#39
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BKK
Programs: Mucci Chevalier de la Brosse a Cheveux Dore, SK *GfL, BA Gold, WY G, HH DIA, IC Plat Amb., Hertz PC
Posts: 3,825
I think my first encounter with this was on the good old SK MD80s which had 1DF as only two seats with no E in the middle. Someone insisted that her 1F was my 1D, even when the crew (whom I knew well) told her off.
Another on BA 10, where we had row 2 seats (on the G-YMMx old 772s) where someone had made themselves very comfortable - I turned straight around to the pursor asking them to evict the people and replace the by now used duvets and everything.. The crew handled it perfectly.
Last was recently on a QR A380 flight where we were running very late due to a connection, yet they had someone meet us at the inbound gate, and run with us to the outbout... Only for them to have given our seats to someone else (incl. crew!) and have us at opposite sides of the cabin... To be honest I was not happy, but when they started begging other pax to change seats, I asked them to stop - we would take what they had given us, as it was not other pax's fault...
On a sumilar note, an upgrate with a screaming baby was put next to me on MH in first row, with the husband in Y.. I had 1C reserved in an otherwise empty cabin, so on boarding complete the pursor offered me two seats to myself in row 3... I took it, and appreciate that, but tbh, it should be the upgrade pax being moved, not the full fare revenue pax...
Another on BA 10, where we had row 2 seats (on the G-YMMx old 772s) where someone had made themselves very comfortable - I turned straight around to the pursor asking them to evict the people and replace the by now used duvets and everything.. The crew handled it perfectly.
Last was recently on a QR A380 flight where we were running very late due to a connection, yet they had someone meet us at the inbound gate, and run with us to the outbout... Only for them to have given our seats to someone else (incl. crew!) and have us at opposite sides of the cabin... To be honest I was not happy, but when they started begging other pax to change seats, I asked them to stop - we would take what they had given us, as it was not other pax's fault...
On a sumilar note, an upgrate with a screaming baby was put next to me on MH in first row, with the husband in Y.. I had 1C reserved in an otherwise empty cabin, so on boarding complete the pursor offered me two seats to myself in row 3... I took it, and appreciate that, but tbh, it should be the upgrade pax being moved, not the full fare revenue pax...
