jamesteroh

^ Agree totally with everything you said.

jamesteroh

If I am paying for EBCI, I would find moving back 5 or 6 rows a pain because someone is saving an entire row for their family or friends who are too cheap to pay for EBCI.

The main reason I pay that fee is so I can board early and find the best seat and find bin space. I usually get stuck with a 35 minute connection which means I want to sit as far up as possible so I can be to the gate to board with the A group and ge3t a good seat on my connection.

If someone is too cheap to pay for EBCI and insists on saving seats, they should sit in the back and take the least desirable seats.

TSparky

^

MsRoadwarrior

**Ditto!**

InkUnderNails

Last year I spent over $11,000 on airfare, most of it on WN. It was enough to earn A+ and preferential boarding. Other folks pay for the privilege through BS and EBCI. Boarding order is the only real boarding/seating perk that is offered to people on WN. There is no first class, reserved seating, priority bag handling (but there are Fly By lanes). There is only the position in line. That is our earned or paid perk.

The only purpose of that perk is to get to pick a seat before someone else that has not earned or paid for that perk. If someone holds a seat it takes away that ability and that person has effectively stolen the value for which I paid or which I earned.

When my family flies with me I T-24 or buy the EBCI. $60 is a lot less than the value of my integrity.

MsRoadwarrior

Entitlement and "I am special the rules don't apply to me" mentality prevails! Why should "you" get to save a seat when others, like myself, actually earn the status for the preferential boarding passes the old fashioned way, by purchasing air far and traveling x number of times per year? I've had to sit a lot of hours in airplane seats to get my A Preferred designation and if "you" think I am petty because I want to choose my seat as close to the front as possible, well get over it.

jamesteroh

^ If someone earns the a-list status on WN or pays for EBCI, they should be able to chose the first open seat they see. If it's that improtant for someone to sit with their friends/family then the other people in their party should fly enough to get a-list status or pay for EBCI.

It isn't just WN I see this on and don't think assigned seating would reaely fixs this problem. I fly Delta a lot and a lot of times I will be asked by people to switch seats so they can sit with their travel companion. I find it a lot in frist class with lower level elites who get upgraded later than me or who have no status and will pay for a gate upgrade if F has empty seats. What really amazes me is when people get nasty if I refuse to switch seats. I see that in Y as well. One of the perks of flying a lot is getting first choice of seats.

QuietLion

Southwest doesn't have a rule against saving seats, right? So I don't understand all the complaints about violators of a rule that doesn't exist.

QL

MoreMilesPlease

Correct!

Southwest has an "open seating" policy that allows a person to sit in any "unclaimed" seat. This is so vague that it has no meaning and WN refuses to clarify what their policy actually means.

The main problem is that Southwest sells the Early Bird product that allows the possibility of getting on the plane before those that don't pay the money. But because WN has no rule against seat saving it devalues the A-List, BS, and EB perks.

The problem is WN's rather schizoid attitude in this matter.

LegalTender

I think I would.

jamesteroh

Do they say you have the right to an "unclaimed" seat or an "empty" seat??

I honestly don't understand why people that are too cheap to pay for EBCI for everyone in their party insist on sitting up front instead of taking less desirable seats in the back instead of taking up seats in the front of the plane or the exit row. If an exit row aisle or window is free you better believe I am grabbing it if I pay EBCI.

If I get upgraded on Delta and am travelling with someone from the office who is non-status, I certainly don't expect for them to be able to sit next to me if their companion upgrades clears. And they realize that is a perk of being an elite and flying a lot of miles, I am going to stand a lot better chance of b eing upgraded. If their companion upgrade clears, I never ask anyone to switch seats so we can sit together since we didn't pay to sit up front.

TSparky

The FAQs say "We have an open seating policy, so feel free to sit in any available seat when you get onboard."

I doubt if they'll make it any clearer. Less issues for them, since most people won't make an issue of someone saving a seat.

jamesteroh

Yeah available could be interpretted a couple ways. I am surprised they don't discourage seating saving from the people too cheap to pay for EBCI. It means lost revenue to WN. Maybe they figure most people won't be that cheap.

chuckworth

It has been my experience that a majority of "seat savers" are saving one seat, generally the middle seat next to them, for their spouse or colleague. This actually benefits everyone else by opening up an aisle/window seat elsewhere. I'll make that trade any day of the week! If I purchase EBCI, I don't expect to pay $10 to sit in a middle seat. The real problem exists when "seat savers" save entire rows or sections of the plane.

I personally have a hard time justifying and quantifying the value of the EBCI product solely due to the fact that no firm policy exists on the seat saving issue. Yeah, it's only $10 but there are no guarantees with it and every dollar counts these days. Without a firm policy in place, you are giving your $10 to WN and may not see the expected benefit in return. What happens when all 137 passengers on a flight purchase EBCI? Many are back at square one and paid $10 for nothing. Heck, it's even nonrefundable which should tell you something. How customer unfriendly is that? I guess it's buyer beware, like it or not.

InkUnderNails

In the days when I did not travel as a COS, if I had a 30 min connection in MDW, BWI, DEN or anywhere for that matter, the first open seat closest to the front of the plane is mine even if you are saving it for someone. Sorry, making my connection is more important than the $10 you saved.

As someone that flies nearly 100 segments a year, close to 150 flights including connections and directs, only some of the savers save middle seats. The most common is the couple that attempts to commandeer a middle so no one will sit between them. There are also those that spread stuff out across three seats to save a full row. I have seen an attempt to save two rows by standing behind a middle seat and splaying out to effectively hold the row they were standing in and the row in front. Some will sit in the middle seat and scoot to the window when the companion arrives and the companion will sit in the aisle. All of these infractions have occurred in the front of the plane as that is where I sit as an A+ that preboards.

I have even seen a man bring his whole family into line in front of me at A-16 and after the BS passengers, seven of them total. He said he was entitled to get in line anywhere he wanted with his family. The confrontation I caused was loud and obvious. When they called for A16-30 I quickly went around the whole family and the OA at the gate stopped them all and told them to get in their proper location. They boarded by their number and ended up together just a few rows behind me. He caused all of that for essentially nothing. Line breakers are another form of seat savers/status thieves.

So here is my guideline, but not quite a rule. Save one middle in the back of the plane, avoid the exit row and the bulkhead, and you will not be viewed with contempt for effectively stealing the earned privilege of another passenger. But, you seem to think that is fine.

It is really not about WN or its revenue. It is about the respect shown for your fellow passengers and the price they have paid for the few extra privileges they have. For goodness sakes, it is WN. We do not get much for our loyalty. Do not take the little that we have.