FAMed Again, but maybe a solution
 

Checked in last night for my flight today on a A319. Selected 2B and confirmed my check in.

This morning I check my itineraries for a future flight but accidentally take a look at today's flight.

My seat is shown as N/A.

I go to seat assignments and all of 2 and most of 1 is taken, leaving me with a choice of 1A or 1D.

:mad: Call 1K and they say they have no record of my seat selection, etc.

I say three words: Federal Air Marshal.

The CSR says yup.

I go on about how I hate those .......s. Etc.... She says that given the fact that they have no control over which flights these guys are on, at least UA should block FAM favorite seats and open them up at the airport if no FAM is on board... this would at least keep us from being so pissed off.

What do you think? Should they automatically block one FAM fav on every flight and release at the gate for non-FAM flown flights?

I wouldn't have been so pissed if it was already occupied.

Not sure if we would really want that either, especially on the 737 and 319 where those are the only two non-bulkhead aisle seats. I would much rather have the remote chance of it being "stolen" than not being able to select it at all.

Moving this to Travel Safety/Security.

iluv2fly
Moderator, UA

And don't expect UA to do anything that would give a hint as to where a FAM would be seated on a flight. Those in the know may be able to guess, but there is no sense making it easier to figure out, annoying as that may be.

Agreed. Terrible as it is, UA probably doesn't want to raise the ire of the DHS by blocking seats preferred by the feds on every flight - even though anyone who frequently sits in F can probably guess who they are and where they prefer to sit.

Hope that CSR and UA get written up and fined.

:td:

They're just doing their job. They're not trying to jack up your day. Just like you do what you're told in your job, so do they.

Let them do it in coach.

Why?

It's all too obvious when a passenger is evicted from their selected seat and nothing can restore that seat to that evicted passenger.

We should stop kidding ourselves about government theft - "You Know Who insists on placing a "person for your safety" in seat 2B, enjoy the bulkhead." Nuts to that.

Too bad you did not/were not able to print a boarding pass with 2B on it. Then march on board and tell the useless aircop to get the hell out of your seat.

As soon as coach is close to the flight deck, I'm sure they will.

And as soon as every other government regulation that costs the airline money is labeled theft as well then I will accept that label for FAMs.

I labeled the government as thieves, not the air marshals. @:-)

Yeah... So it's ok for the government to go to Fred's TVs and help themselves to a couple of 50" flat screens whenever they feel like it instead of taxing Fred fairly?

Sounds like organized crime, not good government. :td:

Coach begins with the row behind the seat the security guard took. I think that would have been close enough.

And they are thieves in many ways, I guess, with all the safety regs and requirements they have as well.