More seat swapping/poaching fun!
#302
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First of all I want to thank you again for being nice
I am the person who does everything possible to avoid the middle seat so I will book flights at times that are not the times that work best for me to get an aisle seat and I will be more than happy to buy economy comfort to get an aisle seat however most of the time on the flights I want none of the seats are
available.
I am the person who does everything possible to avoid the middle seat so I will book flights at times that are not the times that work best for me to get an aisle seat and I will be more than happy to buy economy comfort to get an aisle seat however most of the time on the flights I want none of the seats are
available.
Yes when I had to experience the couple who intentionally booked the window and aisle seat and when the lady was sitting in my middle seat when I went to sit down explained how nice it was of her to switch with me it did not fly with me so yes I made my point so maybe next time they will think twice about not picking the seats they want. Guess what they were the ones who were uncomfortable on the flight and were very quiet so it was a nice flight considering they were probably afraid to stick their arms in my seat.
#303
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I don't see booking the window and aisle as a scam. After all, two people, two seats. And if that leaves only the middle for people booking later...that's what they deserve for booking late.
But I DO think it's naieve to do this. After all, the vast majority of domestic US flights are full. Odds are against this actually working anyhow. It's a shallow hope and when you look at the seat map, it's obvious someone thinks they are being clever.
But it's not a scam. It violates no rules.
But I DO think it's naieve to do this. After all, the vast majority of domestic US flights are full. Odds are against this actually working anyhow. It's a shallow hope and when you look at the seat map, it's obvious someone thinks they are being clever.
But it's not a scam. It violates no rules.
It is perfectly legal for a couple travelling together to book a window and aisle, though I think it's wishful thinking, especially towards the front of the cabin, seeing how full flights go out these days. What iritates me though is when a couple does this and doesn't offer to swap the middle seat out and then insists on chatting over you the entire flight. Fortunately I don't have middle seats very often but one time sat in C+ in a middle seat do to rebooking because of irrops and a couple did just that. It wasn't a bad middle seat since it was an exit row where the aircraft had the boarding door and more room than a first class seat but neither the aisle or window offered to switch but they insisted on chatting with each other most of the flight which was very annoying. If they insist on talking to each other in flight then at least offer to swap the middle seat.
#304
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SFO/TPA
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Posts: 199
...What iritates me though is when a couple does this and doesn't offer to swap the middle seat out and then insists on chatting over you the entire flight. Fortunately I don't have middle seats very often but one time sat in C+ in a middle seat do to rebooking because of irrops and a couple did just that. It wasn't a bad middle seat since it was an exit row where the aircraft had the boarding door and more room than a first class seat but neither the aisle or window offered to switch but they insisted on chatting with each other most of the flight which was very annoying. If they insist on talking to each other in flight then at least offer to swap the middle seat.
#305
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[QUOTE=dalehill;30354807]
Did you offer to switch with one of them so they could chat more easily and they refused? Genuine question, as it’s unclear from your description.
[/felt QUOTE]
No and in hindsight I should have. I felt awkward asking someone to swap an aisle or window for a middle since it was clearly a worse seat, but seeing the circumstances....
Did you offer to switch with one of them so they could chat more easily and they refused? Genuine question, as it’s unclear from your description.
No and in hindsight I should have. I felt awkward asking someone to swap an aisle or window for a middle since it was clearly a worse seat, but seeing the circumstances....
#306
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Atlanta
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Posts: 246
My wife and I always book aisle and window when flying in Economy or Comfort+. I'd say we have about a 25-33% success rate on snagging an empty middle seat - certainly worth it to me. Most of our joint flights are to/from SFO, so we're in the exit row of the 739ER a lot. I get the window seat with massive legroom, she takes the aisle that has no more legroom than a standard coach seat. The sad thing is that Delta charges extra to move into an exit row seat, and people will pay it to sit in the middle seat of that row (same as every other middle seat in Economy).
My wife is 5'5" and sleeps the entire flight, so doesn't care about legroom or space. We always offer to switch out the aisle seat with the middle person - never had them turn it down. To be honest, a person turning down the swap would be funny to me, because I barely interact at all with my wife during flights (seeing as she's asleep).
My wife is 5'5" and sleeps the entire flight, so doesn't care about legroom or space. We always offer to switch out the aisle seat with the middle person - never had them turn it down. To be honest, a person turning down the swap would be funny to me, because I barely interact at all with my wife during flights (seeing as she's asleep).
#307
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
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I always say that I will be more than happy to switch an aisle for an aisle to help them however I prefer an aisle because I like to get up during the flight and all they hear is that I am unwilling to resolve their problem which disappoints them and makes for an uncomfortable situation if you get stuck sitting next to the person you are unable to help
Yep, that happened to me recently on a LGW-JFK flight. They called me to the desk before the flight asking if I'd be willing to switch my seat to accommodate a family that wanted to sit together. I didn't want to move, as I had paid extra to choose that specific seat. I did say I'd move if they upgraded me (ha) and they said sure, that will be $600, please. Yeah, no thanks. Anyway, the whole family glared at me for being difficult, but eventually they did manage to find someone to switch so they'd all be within a row of each other.
But of course, guess who I ended up sitting next to for over 8 hrs. Yep, the dad. Talk about awkward.
#308
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[/LEFT]
Yep, that happened to me recently on a LGW-JFK flight. They called me to the desk before the flight asking if I'd be willing to switch my seat to accommodate a family that wanted to sit together. I didn't want to move, as I had paid extra to choose that specific seat. I did say I'd move if they upgraded me (ha) and they said sure, that will be $600, please. Yeah, no thanks. Anyway, the whole family glared at me for being difficult, but eventually they did manage to find someone to switch so they'd all be within a row of each other.
But of course, guess who I ended up sitting next to for over 8 hrs. Yep, the dad. Talk about awkward.
Yep, that happened to me recently on a LGW-JFK flight. They called me to the desk before the flight asking if I'd be willing to switch my seat to accommodate a family that wanted to sit together. I didn't want to move, as I had paid extra to choose that specific seat. I did say I'd move if they upgraded me (ha) and they said sure, that will be $600, please. Yeah, no thanks. Anyway, the whole family glared at me for being difficult, but eventually they did manage to find someone to switch so they'd all be within a row of each other.
But of course, guess who I ended up sitting next to for over 8 hrs. Yep, the dad. Talk about awkward.
#310
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
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Yep, that happened to me recently on a LGW-JFK flight. They called me to the desk before the flight asking if I'd be willing to switch my seat to accommodate a family that wanted to sit together. I didn't want to move, as I had paid extra to choose that specific seat. I did say I'd move if they upgraded me (ha) and they said sure, that will be $600, please. Yeah, no thanks. Anyway, the whole family glared at me for being difficult, but eventually they did manage to find someone to switch so they'd all be within a row of each other.
But of course, guess who I ended up sitting next to for over 8 hrs. Yep, the dad. Talk about awkward.
#311
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
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I'm so sorry, I forgot this was a Delta thread! Whoops. I was on BA. Anyway, they offered me a different seat, but I didn't want to move. Not their business, but I have anxiety issues and have a hard time dealing with being surrounded by people on all sides, especially behind me. So believe it or not, I paid, 6 months in advance, a $58 seat selection fee just to make sure I could sit in the very last row of the plane. I know that's not the done thing, but it is for me. And no way was I moving to the middle of some crowded section. I would've freaked out. But again, I planned and paid for my own circumstances 6 month in advance. I wasn't just saying no to be difficult or prove a point. I knew what my own personal difficulties were and took care of it well in advance.
ANYWAY, it was a big family. Parents and 4 kids, youngest was around 10-12. It was a bit much to expect so many people to move to accommodate them.
ANYWAY, it was a big family. Parents and 4 kids, youngest was around 10-12. It was a bit much to expect so many people to move to accommodate them.
#312
Join Date: Jan 2010
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No, they wanted to charge ME $600 for an upgrade to accommodate their request! I politely declined that "offer."
#313
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Not everyone gets to see their loved one everyday. Sometimes the plane is the only place I get to meet up with loved ones/friends due to work travel schedule. Labor Day weekend I got to see my mother for three whole days for first time in two months. We booked on same flight out of town we meet up in, in order to have a few more hours together. I've done a SDC to get on flight husband was flying, not having seen him in a month. Etc, etc...
When we booked, there were not seats together in our cabin, so we booked an aisle in one row and a window in the row in front (two seat rows), with the goal of asking one of our rowmates to swap - aisle-for-aisle or window-for-window, and just one row forward/back.
Luckily, two days ago, a pair of seats together opened up on the opposite side of the cabin, so we've switched to those and I can now stop following this thread. Sheesh.
#314
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This is no different than basically every other contentious topic in this forum. You've got a bunch of people who basically think "well *I* personally don't care about X, therefore it's ridiculous than anyone else cares about X and those people deserve nothing" and then you have a bunch of people who actually understand that humans have different circumstances and preferences and have some empathy and decency.
#315
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
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Posts: 198
This is no different than basically every other contentious topic in this forum. You've got a bunch of people who basically think "well *I* personally don't care about X, therefore it's ridiculous than anyone else cares about X and those people deserve nothing" and then you have a bunch of people who actually understand that humans have different circumstances and preferences and have some empathy and decency.
This "poor family" who, I might add, caused havoc for several passengers and the woman manning the desk (which was not at the gate). She had to call many of us over the loudspeaker to gather our bags and go over there to find out that we were being asked to move. Of course we all lost our seats in the waiting area too. And it took a while to rearrange people just to accommodate this "poor family."
Last edited by Freckles68; Oct 27, 2018 at 6:19 pm