My first impression is that I think so. I’ll apologize in advance for the length of the post. However, I want to give a complete description and would like to hear what others on the forum think of my experience on CO 2284 from IAH to TYS this evening, November 17. The flight was on an EMB-145, and I had seat 12A reserved. The scheduled departure was 5:10 pm.

I arrived at the gate around T-20 minutes right behind another gentleman, and the GA told us that we were the last passengers to board the flight. My boarding pass scanned with no issues, and the GA did not indicate I had a new seat assignment. As we boarded the plane, the FA asked for our seat numbers. When I told her that I was in 12A, she asked that I take another exit row seat, 12C. This caught me off guard, but I didn’t think much of it as I was contemplating a text message I received at 4:52, according to my Blackberry, as I was going down the jet bridge. The Blackberry syncs with the network, so I am confident of this time and that I had my boarding pass scanned before the T-15 cutoff. I saw a gentleman sitting in 12B, and my brain finally came to enough to realize that I had no desire to rub elbows and shoulders with someone for two hours when I had the single seat emergency exit reserved. There were a number of empty BC seat pairs available, so I asked if I could take one. The FA said it wasn’t a problem, and I settled into 8B.

12A is empty at this point and no passengers board after I do. After being seated for a few minutes, the GA comes on board and she and the FA go behind me to speak to a deadheading pilot regarding the whereabouts of another pilot who was supposed to be onboard. They end up concluding that he was getting there another way, and they closed the cabin door a few minutes later. At this point, I look back again, and there is someone sitting in 12A. The flight pushed back at T-10 according to the PDA site.

When we were served after takeoff, I asked the FA about the seat reassignment. She indicated that there was a duplicate seat assignment given. In her words, since I was not going to show up, she gave the seat to one of the duplicates. A few minutes later, but still in the middle of the beverage service, she did come back and offer me a complimentary alcoholic beverage.

I’ll state that I am not going to ask Continental for any sort of compensation. If I had not been elite and had paid for the ELR seat or had been uncomfortable sitting next to someone else, I might not think the same way. However, the potential to be moved to an undesirable seat on a full flight for no good reason concerns me. The issue I have with the duplicate assignment explanation is that there were multiple BC seat pairs open at the rear of the aircraft anyone could have taken. Why not offer them one of those rather than displacing a fare paying passenger? If this was the case, shouldn’t the passenger already have been in 12A when I boarded? Also, why not wait until the T-15 cutoff before deciding to give this seat away?


So, I am back to wondering what the forum members think. Was this shenanigans with the FA giving the seat to a friend or was there really a duplicate seat assignment and the reassignment handled poorly?

Why wouldn't you just sit in 12A??? Are you that scared of a f/a????

Seat assignments are not guaranteed. You did not reserve a specific seat, but rather a seat on the plane. If the FA asks you to move, and you agree, then I don't know that you can really complain about it.

100% of my travel in 2010 on CO has been on the fabulous E-145...and all EWR-YQB (16 segments no less, all for work).

On 90% of these flights, row 12 has been completely empty, most likely because it's not an elite-heavy route (can you imagine the YQB-based CO PrezPlat?).

Every time boarding has concluded, the f/a suggested to the passengers they could move into row 12. Amazingly, almost no one ever did, except me (CO OP non-elite).

And this was after the implementation of the ELR system.

Obviously, this is a little different than your tale, since no one was ever bumped, but it's interesting to note that the ExpressJet f/a's never hesitated to give these seats away for free, which was great for me.

I did not read anything other than the title, but I can answer the question without reading the post.

No shenanigans occurred. Shenanigans is a specific term which refers to the situation when first class is inappropriately poached from someone by a GA. Since there is no first class on a regional jet, no shenanigans occurred.

You cannot have shenanigans on a CO regional jet. I suppose on the UA regional jets where there is F, shenanigans could occur. Something for us all to look forward to I suppose.

You are forgetting the highly-coveted seat 12A...in the barren landscape of the CoEx E-145, this minor improvement in comfort is a benefit worth fighting to the death over...

LabRat - If that's all you've got to worry about, you're on Easy Street - enjoy the ride !

I did not read your post either, and can tell that the answer is 46. Wait, not it is blue. No, the real answer is Mrfrequent flyer, in the galley, with a seat-belt extender......

Please tell me you are not a voter!!!



Actually, to me, it is a MAJOR improvement. With the age of the ERJ's now getting older, most of the seats seem to not stay up. I really dont enjoy looking at the top of the guys head in front of me for 2 1/2+ hours (Thats right, 'regional' jet shall apply seemingly 90% of the routes CO flies)

Of course it is.

What I meant is that on an RJ the bar is pretty darn low. If the norm is that the guy's head in front of you will be in your lap the whole time, then, sure 12A is a huge improvement.

But on any "real" plane (incl most UA RJ's), you can expect a lot more...

Sounds to me that this is a form of shenanigans, even if not the classic version. SOmeone was on the plane that the FA attendant knew that wanted 12A. Rather than have you go to the seat and compare boarding passes to see who was in the wrong seat, she told her friend to take another seat somewhere and move to 12A when the door closed. SHe asks you to sit somewhere else. You comply and friend takes your seat and FA gives you BS about duplicate boarding passes which you never even saw. Somewhat less bad version.

That seems like an awful lot of work. If someone I knew asked me to do that for them I'd tell them to screw off.

No, but I have seen multiple cases where a seat on one of the RJs was out of service. I thought this was the case until the door was closed, and I saw it occupied.

True, and this is the reason I am not writing to Continental. However, I think it shows a lack of professionalism by the FA in the way it was handled.

Agreed. Perhaps I am way out there, but I find these to be better than the mainline exit rows since there is no one sitting next to you. Not quite first class, but as good as it gets on these planes.

I agree fully. A minor annoyance in the overall scheme of things. I could be driving to work an hour each way every day in rush hour traffic. Instead, I work from home and fly most places.

This is what had me perplexed more than anything. A lot of work to go from a pair of empty seats to 12A. Why go through that much hassle?

I can't believe I just wasted 5 minutes of my life.

Yes, it's the best of the worst....
Now, is it just me or does some sadistic SOB make that particular seat cushion even more uncomfortable than the other seats?
Or maybe I just spend too much time in that seat...

Edited to add; The only time I've ever voluntarily given up that seat was when I saw some 6'-18" giant stooped over walking down the aisle... I asked and he was in another single seat side seat so I traded... He needed it more than I did.