I wonder if there isn't some way to get the FAs/GA/Captain to document the incident at the time, because as 10C scanned in with his assigned seat, when/if he complains Delta won't see any shenanigans in their systems. Perhaps even demanding it be documented would be enough to get the FAs to do the right thing and move the squatters.

I give the guy that was supposed to be in 10C alot of credit for just taking the seat vs. asking to speak to the Captain or asking to be offloaded. (But, I do get he might have no real option because he had to get to the destination on that flight for some reason or another.) I always book Comfort+ aisle, and if I can't get Comfort+ aisle, I book main aisle, and if I can't get either than I do the same process with windows. I have never (and hope to never) book a flight where I have to take a middle seat. I would have been livid.

Moral of the Story
 

Seems to me the moral of the story here is don't be the last one on the plane. I was in an opera seat at the Met when someone else showed up with the same ticket. It was a computer error. No one's fault, but I got there first so I was in my seat for the show.

OK, since getting the flight out on time is important and moving gutsy poachers like this after takeoff likely won't be problem-free, the FA should have told the poachers that the police would be waiting at the gate. No delay to the flight, no impact to all but one pax. Well, and perhaps an FA who really is being lazy.

After all, failure to comply with an FA's instructions is a violation of federal law. That plus blacklisting the poachers from flying Delta again.

Here's my issue: that FA appears to have kicked the can down the road, possibly because the pax was being a pain. Well, I fly Delta, and I don't like thinking someone - maybe even these same poachers - will get away with pulling the same stunt on me. I could be wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if they've pulled this cr*p before.

Once the media gets it, the article would be something like "Woman and infant child dragged off the plane by brutal police show of force." The fact that they weren't in the proper spot may or may not actually make the article, and if it did, it would be buried so far down nobody would read that far.

I have personal experience in combating squatters, so I am not just talking the talk. I have made plenty of seat exchanges, but in every single one of those instances, people ask first, and are reasonable in seat exchange offers, usually people wanting to sit together. Row 10 and row 33 are not even remotely close to reasonable exchanges. Stand your ground. Also, other reasonable minded people will join in to defend for what's right.

Some folks say this proves you should never be last to board. Really? Y'all have never almost missed a connecting flight because of airline delays? I suspect these squatters use early boarding to poach seats and bin space.

Until I know exactly what the bag argument was really about, I'd reserve judgement on calling 10C a DYKWIAist.
Sounds like he was within his rights all around, and the FA punted the situation.

I have no idea. Maybe they said she and her girls were uncomfortable in 33A and B because a dude was being creepy. Maybe she felt ill or unable to walk back that far. Maybe FA would say that due to 10C's aggressive behavior when boarding she wanted him in 13B, further away from aisle or FAs or something. Or come up with a snappy reason why it was safer for the infant in arms to be in row 10 not row 33. The FA could probably articulate some safety/security/operational reason better than I can. And she likely would.

i assume FA instructions trump boarding pass instructions about where to sit. I think if they tell you to sit somewhere, and you refuse, you risk getting charged with refusing instructions of a flight crew, regardless of what your BP says.

I've seen them order drunk passengers to sit in a different seat before.

It's going to be situation dependent and also person-to-person dependent and those are also going to determine how far you'll be able to go before either having to back down, get what you want, or have the police called. And what each person defines as "reasonable" is going to vary. In one respect, you and other people may see it as reasonable while other people may see it as unreasonable. Someone else who has a 35 min connection in ATL may think your action is unreasonable and may think "dude, just sit down and shut up" because they think the extent to which you're pushing things and possibly now causing them to misconnect (particularly if the police now get involved) is more unreasonable than the actions of either the other passengers or the FA, even if they also find those actions unreasonable.

I have in-person experience in squatters as well and only once have I had to get the FA involved, who made the squatters move so nothing further was required. Other times, it's been resolved between me and the squatter (whether they intentionally squatted or not). I'm also not defending the situation. This could have all been resolved by an FA doing what was right rather than what was easy and painless for the FA and while as I said above, DL has to be careful in how it treads because of "hearsay," I hope DL is able to educate the FA on what the appropriate action would be, even if it's not the easiest action for the FA. But everyone else has to also "pick your battles." You may be "right" in some respects but can still lose the battle and the war and other people may not find you as "reasonable" as you think your position is and as I said, I think threats of an FA calling the police against the person who is otherwise "right" will be the limit of where most people would draw a line.

Why are you condoning the actions of the squatters? The lead FA knew those squatters were in the wrong (but didn't do anything). How about the squatter leader, the mom telling the daughter just to play dumb.

The FA didn't move anyone from row 33 to row 10. Those squatters moved themselves.

That's why nobody trusts the media anymore, so I'm not sure that's even relevant.

So then the question is it reasonable to agree to move to the new seat, but only on the condition that it gets updated and documented in the system? Can FAs do this on their ipads?

So much drama upthread. I have been in this situation several times. Onboard FAs have all the power and I have very few rights onboard while DL can ban me, etc. But once I’ve landed I now have the power and this becomes an issue for DL customer service with very detailed documented notes and pictures and FA names.

Another option was to see if the 10C poacher got up to use the restroom, then you could just slide right into that seat and then refuse to move - after all, your boarding pass would have 10C on it.

Was always my thought from the beginning in reading this thread

Had that happen on a LAX-ATL red eye. I was one of the first to board and was in an exit row C+ on an ancient 757. No overheard bin space available as all of those "needing extra time" took the space upon boarding. Thankfully, the FA let me hold on to my camera bag.