Seat Blocking/Disability Override
 

Bit of a grey area here so I thought I would ask the people of FT.

I have a lot of metal and a history of injuries in my leg/arm. It's not a strength/capability issue, but certainly a comfort/pain issue.

I have a Y ticket with my wife on a 772ER, and requested 56A/C as they were seat blocked and not allocated. DL agreed to assign them to me given my situation, but had to re-assign our exit row seats for our other domestic leg.

Those exit row seats are still available. If I change back to them now, what are the chances I will lose 56A/C on that particular leg?

The exit row agreement is "willing/able" which is indeed still the case - thoughts?

I would suppect if you are requesting disability seats, whether or not your specific condition is a disability, the phone Rep is going to default to you can't sit in an exit row. If you were to change it online it's unlikely anyone will notice unless you've got a wheelchair request, infant in arms, or a few other SSR's on your record the system won't inhibit you from the exit row, if you have the status to get them. (Or pay for them)

Thanks. That's what I was thinking but I am nervous to lose some of the better (free) seats for someone in my situation (15hr leg in a 2 pocket vs. 5hr leg in an exit row). Maybe I'll roll the dice and see, it's a long way out at the moment. It's possibly I might get lucky with an equipment change B772ER to A350 this far out, which would make this moot anyhow.

DL provides priority bulkhead seating for passengers with disabilities, which is why you were removed from the exit row (as passengers with disabilities are prohibited from sitting in an exit row). There is no grey area -- if the issue is "comfort/pain" rather than disability, then you should be paying for a Comfort+ seat rather than manipulating your way into a preferred seat assignment (after all, we'd ALL like a better seat). This is a pet peeve of mine -- my elderly mother has had double knee & hip replacements, walks with a walker and needs additional space to get herself up yet the bulkheads are often taken by people who've manipulated themselves into the seats. The good news is, she survived our 30-hour journey from DPS to DTW last week.

That said... while the agent would've documented your PNR to justify seating you in the bulkhead, it's unlikely anybody at the airport will read those comments; DL doesn't police seat assignments. Ultimately, DL expects its passengers to act honestly and ethically.

Source? These are DL's exit row rules. Despite being disabled, I am physically able to open an exit door and lift and stow a 31-52 lb. window exit. I often see elderly people and very, erm, round people in exit rows. Being able and being ideal are two different things.

Okay? Manipulating? It's not a preferred seat (it's regular economy but was simply blocked by DL). I explained my situation and they agreed to release them for me.

It was my exact thought when I read the thread.
You want to be disabled for a better seat on the long flight and then not disabled for a better seat on the shorter flight.
thats my interpretation on the surface.

This. Exactly. You want to have your cake (disabled enough to want the blocked, better seat on one flight), and eat it too (not quite disabled enough to disqualify you for the better seat on another).

You had to get an agent to unblock a seat that is designated for people with a disability. Seems you are trying to justify it by saying you explained it and the agent made the call when an agent will never question your level of disability - if you say you need it, they can not and will not challenge you on it. And the agent did, in fact, tell you that you can't then have an exit row on the following flight for exactly this reason.

I think you know it is ethically questionable and are trying to justify it to yourself.

No one "wants" to be disabled. Disabilities impact people in different ways.

My word. I forgot how toxic the FT community is. I don't need to justify anything. My question was fairly straight forward.

For the record, it was blocked for airport use which gives the GA's discretion to allocate to passengers. It wasn't blocked on the return route. The agent didn't tell me I couldn't have an exit row - they said they can't release it for disability reasons and keep an exit row on another leg. It seemed to be a process issue on their side.

In any case if they do want to challenge me on it, I have the proper ID and carry it with me just in case people do decide they know what pain I do and don't experience.

EDIT: and another thing, this "better seat" thought process is off the mark. I was hoping for a two seat pocket on the long route because I've had my knee and elbow bumped by other passengers before which can be painful - this means my wife is the only one next to me. I was hoping for the exit row on my other leg because I can keep my leg stretched out to reduce cramping (and it also happens to be a two seat pocket).

OK, let's simplify this. Let's not worry about what seats you want, or why you want them. Let's not worry about how any disability affects you. Let's boil it down to one simple question: are you disabled?

Yes. I am legally disabled.

OK, then you shouldn't sit in the exit row.

As above, source?

In your OP, you asked for 'thoughts'. Well, you got them so don't complain and call us 'toxic' when you don't like what opinions you were given. Oh, sorry, I guess you only wanted to hear thoughts that agree with your actions.

WRT "The agent didn't tell me I couldn't have an exit row - they said they can't release it for disability reasons and keep an exit row on another leg", I'm not sure how that is different than what I said. That is, if you claim to be disabled enough to warrant unblocking the seats that you wanted - which are presumably the best (or only pair of?) seats left or you would have selected others - on the basis of medical need on one flight, how do you magically become not medically bad enough to disqualify you from exit row seating on another?

Again, you are trying to justify forcing your way into one or the other set of the seats you want by changing your level of need and it isn't passing the smell test to me.

Around seating rules. Not my physical capabilities.

Magically? How is any limitation or issue directly contradictory of exit row requirements? Do you actually know anyone with physical constraints? Categorization and impacts make for a damn long list.

Forcing? Okay. At no point was anything forced, demanded, or manipulated. I simply explained, and asked.

A lot of unnecessary assumptions and comments. I've asked for a mod to close this thread.

No one has any idea of your physical capabilities other than your own assertion that your are disabled enough to require seats to be unblocked due to this disability.

The agent made it clear - "The agent didn't tell me I couldn't have an exit row - they said they can't release it for disability reasons and keep an exit row on another leg". You claim you are disabled to get the better seat. Then you claim you are not disabled to get the exit row.

And for the record, I am a person with a disability.