Emergency Exit Seat Allocation (again)
Mar 15, 2014, 1:42 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 7,560
Emergency Exit Seat Allocation (again)
I have posted here, on several occasions, voicing my concerns about emergency exit rows which are either left empty because no one is willing to pay for them on short flights (a VERY common occurrence on my usual NWI-AMS route), or which are occupied by random infrequent flyers who probably got them because they didn't check in online and were the last people to check in at the desk.
Here is what happened yesterday on KL1874 (HAM-AMS)... another prime example of why I feel, strongly, that KLM need to review their system (at least with regards to very short flights)
The flight was completely full, and at least four of the six emergency exit row seats (window and middle on both sides) were occupied by random infrequent flyers - two couples travelling together. The two women were in the two window seats, their husbands/partners in the middle seats.
Once boarding was complete one of the flight attendants did the usual emergency exit briefing. Having briefed the occupants of seats DEF he turned round to brief seats ABC... then, at the end of his briefing, I heard him say, somewhat reproachfully:
"You didn't understand a word of that, did you?"
He seemed to be addressing the woman in the window seat.
He then asked her to hand him her carry-on baggage which she had put under the seat in front of her.... first in English, then in Dutch, then in German, all to no avail. Having run out of languages to try he resorted to pointing and gesturing, and she finally got the messages and handed over her belongings.
I expected her to be moved to a different seat at this point, seeing she had clearly demonstrated that she zero knowledge of either Dutch or English, and seeing she couldn't have understood any of the instructions... but, to my utter amazement, she was allowed to remain where she was. (There were no time pressures at that time - we had just been informed that start-up would be in five minutes, so there would have been plenty of time to organise a seat swap without delaying the flight)
The FA walked off at that point to attend to other duties... then, a little while later, I saw him stop by the emergency exit row again where he proceeded to talk to the woman in seat F... and (with the exception of the "You didn't understand a word" bit) it was an almost exact repeat of his conversation with the lady in seat A... he asked her to hand over her carry-on (why hadn't he spotted it before???), he tried again in Dutch and German, he resorted to pointing and gesturing.
So, clearly, the lady in seat F had no knowledge of Dutch or English either...
Had there been an emergency then it is unlikely that either of the window seat occupants would have been been able to cope, and precious time would have been lost dragging them out of their seats so that someone more competent would be able to open the doors... and that lost time could have meant the difference between life and death.
I really don't know what I am more upset about... a system that treats emergency exit seats as mere commodities ("extra legroom seats") and allows them to be allocated bo people who really shouldn't be sitting in them... or a flight attendant who is too lazy to do the right thing and move people around the cabin in the interest of safety.
Here is what happened yesterday on KL1874 (HAM-AMS)... another prime example of why I feel, strongly, that KLM need to review their system (at least with regards to very short flights)
The flight was completely full, and at least four of the six emergency exit row seats (window and middle on both sides) were occupied by random infrequent flyers - two couples travelling together. The two women were in the two window seats, their husbands/partners in the middle seats.
Once boarding was complete one of the flight attendants did the usual emergency exit briefing. Having briefed the occupants of seats DEF he turned round to brief seats ABC... then, at the end of his briefing, I heard him say, somewhat reproachfully:
"You didn't understand a word of that, did you?"
He seemed to be addressing the woman in the window seat.
He then asked her to hand him her carry-on baggage which she had put under the seat in front of her.... first in English, then in Dutch, then in German, all to no avail. Having run out of languages to try he resorted to pointing and gesturing, and she finally got the messages and handed over her belongings.
I expected her to be moved to a different seat at this point, seeing she had clearly demonstrated that she zero knowledge of either Dutch or English, and seeing she couldn't have understood any of the instructions... but, to my utter amazement, she was allowed to remain where she was. (There were no time pressures at that time - we had just been informed that start-up would be in five minutes, so there would have been plenty of time to organise a seat swap without delaying the flight)
The FA walked off at that point to attend to other duties... then, a little while later, I saw him stop by the emergency exit row again where he proceeded to talk to the woman in seat F... and (with the exception of the "You didn't understand a word" bit) it was an almost exact repeat of his conversation with the lady in seat A... he asked her to hand over her carry-on (why hadn't he spotted it before???), he tried again in Dutch and German, he resorted to pointing and gesturing.
So, clearly, the lady in seat F had no knowledge of Dutch or English either...
Had there been an emergency then it is unlikely that either of the window seat occupants would have been been able to cope, and precious time would have been lost dragging them out of their seats so that someone more competent would be able to open the doors... and that lost time could have meant the difference between life and death.
I really don't know what I am more upset about... a system that treats emergency exit seats as mere commodities ("extra legroom seats") and allows them to be allocated bo people who really shouldn't be sitting in them... or a flight attendant who is too lazy to do the right thing and move people around the cabin in the interest of safety.
Mar 16, 2014, 2:14 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Europe
Programs: Flying Blue: Platinum for Life Elite Plus - EuroBonus: Gold
Posts: 933
Well written complaint. I have also exprienced this a couple of times. I guess for KLM sometimes money is more important than the fraction of a chance the plane can go down...
SB
SB
Aug 26, 2017, 7:22 am
#3
Join Date: May 2010
Programs: Delta Silver, HH Gold, Accor Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 5,342
Originally Posted by KLM bulletin
The European legislator EASA has issued new rules
on the seating of passengers on exit rows. Starting
August 15th, seat rows with direct access to an
emergency exit (including the overwing exit rows
on the B737) must always be occupied by at least
one able bodied person. This can also be a member
of the cabin crew.
When at the start of the boarding process no exit
row seat is assigned to a passenger, Ground Staff
will assign a seat to a customer eligible to occupy
an exit row seat. Cabin crew should check if exit
rows are indeed occupied by at least one eligible
passenger and re-seat (a) passenger(s) to an exit
row seat if needed. For this purpose re-seating
before take-off is allowed.
on the seating of passengers on exit rows. Starting
August 15th, seat rows with direct access to an
emergency exit (including the overwing exit rows
on the B737) must always be occupied by at least
one able bodied person. This can also be a member
of the cabin crew.
When at the start of the boarding process no exit
row seat is assigned to a passenger, Ground Staff
will assign a seat to a customer eligible to occupy
an exit row seat. Cabin crew should check if exit
rows are indeed occupied by at least one eligible
passenger and re-seat (a) passenger(s) to an exit
row seat if needed. For this purpose re-seating
before take-off is allowed.