Is it worth fifty dollars to you if I switch?

Travel tips:
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One of the reasons that I cut back flying CO is that the seat I selected in advace was being changed too often. I went from years of Plat to Silver because the incentive to fly CO was constantly reduced.

What is the deal with pax seats assignments changing from the time that they booked the reservation? SOOOOO many pax tell me that the seat they got was not what they had "booked". Any insight into this would be greatly appreciated

It amazes me that pax ask us (the FAs) to have their seats switched for them! Most of these folks are adults and for one should be able to be apart for the length of a flight, and two should be able to coordinate it themselves. Trying to put a puzzle together without all of the pieces is next to impossible. Only half of the pax will have boarded many times, and folks ask us to get their seats together for them, but the flight is going to be full and I dont know who is sitting where and next to whom for what reason. It can be a huge ordeal switching folks around.

And please give some of us FAs credit. I will NEVER ask someone to make a trade to a worse seat. And that too amazes me...that people actually expect that someone else must want their middle seat in the last row. C'mon! Often when people board they will ask whoever is standing at the boarding door. i will look at their boarding passes, and of all the seats they have, i zero in on the worst seats in the rows furthest back and tell them to take those seats and ask to switch the window/aisles since those will be easier to trade. 9 times out of 10 they will end up not doing as i suggest because although they HAVE to sit with each other, they had better be able to keep the good seats while doing so and it just puts more people in awkward postions and more peple pissed off.

Then you get someone who is sitting in the last row, and they tell you they have to have a seat that reclines. How do they expect me to coax someone else into switching seats with them?

People lose all common sense and GUTS when it comes to switching seats. And they usually want the FAs to do their dirty work. Sometimes I just tell people...you know if I ask for you people will think they have a choice, and will be less willing to switch, but if YOU ask, they will feel as though they are doing you a favor. They will be much more willing to do YOU a favor than me. By the time we get up in the air I will see the the people who did not want to sit together will not be seated together because they were too chicken $hit to ask or they did not want to give up their window or aisle.

Again...we cannot win!

Very interesting if I may say so. I couldn't agree more with you. I would take offence if a F/A asked me to move rather than the person who requested. Is there any reason why that person has to ask the F/A to intervene? Having checked in at the last minute on a recent flight from SFO-JFK (not CO) I was seated in the very last row in Y by the window. There were two ladies in the middle and aisle next to me. Another lady was in the aisle two rows in front and asked me if I wanted to swap seats with her to be with her friends. I willingly agreed as she had asked me herself but more importantly I always prefer an aisle seat on a long flight.

Funny story about a recent flight from TPA to EWR last week...I am in a bulkhead first class seat. The guy sitting in the window bulkhead sees a buddy if his sitting in row 3 and asks me if I can switch from the bulkhead to row 3 window seat. I politely say no thank you as I am comfortable where I am seated.

He proceeds to tell me that its a good friend of his etc and if I move back I would have a window seat...I am thinking ...? What am I five year old who wants a window seat???

Again I politely say no thanks and say to him why don't you ask the person that is seated next to your friend in row 3 to exchange seats with you...the idiot gives me this look wonder.

Well he sat down in his seat and I stayed in my assigned/chosen seat. So for the majority of the flight he is standing in the aisle of Row 3...idiot what happens if we hit some air bumps and he goes flying about the cabin.


ak_co

I have a simple solution when someone asks me to move from one F seat to another. I ask to see the sequence number on their boarding pass. If it is lower than mine, and their status is the same, I agree. If their sequence number is higher than mine (which is almost universely the case since I try and check-in at the 24 hr mark), I politely say something like "I'm sure if your seat selection was as important to you as it is to me, you would have at least tried checking in earlier. As you'll see, I was the 3rd person to check in, so I think I'll stick with what I have." Yeah, the offending late-checker usually grumbles, but so what.

The only time I didn't stick to my guns was when the request came from Carrie Fisher.

This seems to be a popular topic.

See Harassed by passenger for not giving up seat! UA forum (19 Mar 05)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412463

I have refused a seat switch in FC before. What chesses me is that you consider it mean when a person proactively ensures that they get the seat they want and then will not change for what they consider an inferior seat for someone that hasn't made that effort? It doesn't matter whether you agree with that person's "seat value system". Just because you consider 2B better than 4B doesn't mean everyone else does. Some people like bulkheads, some don't. Some strongly prefer aisles to windows and vice versa.

That said, if the request moves me to what I consider I comparable or better seat, then, I'm usually more than happy to accomodate. But there should be absolutely no expectation on anyone's part that someone will move for them.

Also, re. my comment about the "requestor" not making the effort to get the seats they want, I understand that sometimes they can't always control that, e.g. last minute upgrade. However, in some of those cases, the parties should be happy they got the upgrade and just take their seat. Is it that critical to be together for the duration of a most flights?

1) I agree any insights on this issue would be great and if you don't have them then who will? Maybe a GA or some one from IT.

2) inexpereinced flyers expect FA to have the power to make these changes. Afterall, once they are actually on the plane who elese are they going to ask. People who fly infrequently are unaware of the many pre-flight options for switching seats such OLCI.

3) I think seat assignments are one those things people get neurotically charged about. They fear that somehow they are goingto miserable for thei 90 minute flight if they are not itheir perceived favorite seat. Yes, I am guilty of that sometimes...Love my bulkheads! But had a great ride a few weeks back on the 2nd to last row of Y on a DL 737-200. Aisle with no one in the middle pitch was great and so was flight crew.

Nothing quite like riding a museum piece!

:)

How can DL afford to fly a 737-200, considering today's fuel cost?

Looks like they have alot of them!

I have been reading this thread and like others find it very enjoyable. I too agree that the people wanting the change should be the ones to ask. I try not to get the flight attendant involved unless I fell it is neccessary.

Interesting enough, I have two types of seat preferences after flying so much over the years. If I am in coach, give me the asile seat with the adjustable arm rest. If I get the upgrade put me in the window seat to see the world below. I usually try to set towards the front, as I just want to get off the plane once at the gate.

I think they are retriing them but actually many of them are no older than 737-300's which were made at the same time for awhile in the 80's when the 300 was released

I flew on one down to ATL and really enjoyed the opportunity. I am amazed that anyone is still flying them, much less Delta flying a heck of a lot of them!

F9 may still have a couple, as does Aviacsa (I think). I also saw one at Gatwick a couple of weeks ago, belonging (I think) to Air Croatia of somebody like that.

I bet they're all over South America and Africa...