Swapping with upgraded companion during flight
 

I will be traveling with my father to Korea. He will be in lie-flat business and I will be in economy. I'm wondering if we would get away with occasionally swapping seats so each of us could take turns getting a bit of sleep?

I read a post elsewhere that said the attendants don't allow you to swap classes.

Not looking for drinks or meals, just want to sleep for a couple hours.

Is this really an issue?

Thanks.

I don't think there is a firm rule on this issue but I have heard that spouses can switch, but only once. No back and forth. Maybe you can swap at the half way point.

If you tell us what airline you are travelling, you may get a more accurate answer from the regulars on that airline.

But in general I would say that the FAs who try to uphold the airline's policy would prefer if you didn't swap, but if you make it quickly, quietly and discretely sometime after the meal and stay in your new seats (not going back and forth several times), they will probably not stop you.

i wouldn't switch during the flight but before the flight, I feel that if I paid for both tickets, I should have the right to designate which seat goes to who.

I've never done an inflight switch: from reading here, I've gathered that it's considered poor etiquette at best and might not be allowed at all by the FA.

If my wife and I are traveling and we get the single last available upgrade, she takes it... If it were my mother or father, I'd let them take the better seat too. I generally recover from jetlag faster than others in my family - they'd get more value out of the sleep.

This has come up dozens of times before. The consensus, with which I entirely agree, is that you can switch before departure but not mid-flight.

If you decide to do it, I would just ask first so there are no surprises midflight when they think one of you grabbed an empty seat when the other went to the bathroom or something.

No matter what airline it is, it is general a bad behavior even the airline allow (don't think there is one), there will be people watching you go back and fourth and wonder what is the deal with this. Can people just go there and take an empty seat ? This would just encourage that kind of behavior.

Have your father tell the flight attendant that he would like to let his son use his seat for some time. Your father as an older person will have more clout. It is not you who is asking for the seat but your father deciding you should have it. Chances are they won't object, especially if the FA is Korean. They have heightened respect for the elders.

Till

That is most excellent advice.

You do have that right. When you got your seats assignment you can change who gets which seat. Once you board there is no way to officially change and you used you option already. It is not never ending.

Some airlines frown upon swapping seats within the same class, especially if you have different meal preferences, so I am guessing they won’t be very pleased with exchanging places between business and economy. However, you can try your luck by letting them know in advance and swapping seats just once after meals are served.

I would echo other posters that it should be kept to a minimum, maybe just one swap per flight if any at all. I had the great misfortune to be seated next to a woman with a lap-child in F on a CLT-SFO flight a year or two ago; her husband was seated in Y and they switched every 40 minutes or so. Getting the child settled was always an ordeal. After the third or fourth time, the FA told them to refrain from any more switches but by this time I was already more than annoyed.

I would run it by the FAs in the higher class before doing so. Normally they will not be saying anything until both of you decide to make yourselves comfortable in the higher class.