Jazzop

I have two issues with the OP's account:

1. As others have pointed out, giving the F seat to such a whiny jerk only reinforces that person's behavior by rewarding them for making a fuss. This is disservice to the rest of us who may have the misfortune to fly with that anonymous jerk in the future.

2. Reading between the lines, I detect that the OP was a bit miffed that the other person actually accepted the offer, rather than politely refusing it. This is a social custom that drives me crazy. Don't offer something unless you truly mean to give it away. And for cryin' out loud, please don't get indignant when someone calls your bluff!

Tomphot

At which point you say - oops, sorry - no thank you, no seat.

dtw_brad

today at dtw the guy in front of me was stuck with a five hour layover and had already lost a travel day.

since dtw is my home base, most of my flights are direct, and they expire on August 31, i gave him one of my sky club passes (via amex)

he did say thanks, but mostly continued to rant about delta rather than his good fortune.

i dont regret doing it, but i would think most would be more appreciative.

i suspect the OP was left with a similar thought

Italy98

+1

I've given my seat to soldiers and like CJKatl have reaped the benefits from the FAs.

With regard to the OPs seatmate, I would have offered the seat and upon his accepting the switch I would have said "not when you throw a temper tantrum like that, such manners don't belong in F."

CJKatl

There is a limit to my altruistic nature...

I don't give away the F seat until we've boarded because I want to board first and make sure my carry-on is stowed. The seat itself isn't a big deal to me: I'm UGed often, it's usually a short flight, I don't drink that much and can live without Twix/Banana/SunChips. But I'm not crazy enough to give up the boarding priority!

As for the man in the wheelchair, I had actually been standing next to him prior to boarding (near the first row of seats, quite some distance from the boarding door) and he had struck up a conversation about, of all things, the morons who were blocking the door and keeping the people who needed to get off the plane from doing so. He loved the term "gate lice." I've volunteered my seat in similar situations before (elderly people who really cannot make it back to Row 10) but always wait until we are on the plane.

runfit

1. Yeah, because with over 300 million people in America, the odds are pretty good that you will be on the same flight
2. C'mon, that is ridiculous to criticize someone based on what you THINK you DETECT in an online forum. It sounded more to me like he was just surprised that there had been no thank-you.
Continue on...

Jazzop

You're right. There is no reason to consider the consequences of my actions, since they will be diluted across this vast and populous planet. I'll keep your sage wisdom in mind the next time I need to dispose of my used motor oil. I'll also make sure to megadose on broad-spectrum antibiotics the next time I get a sniffle.

Canarsie

This is a topic interesting and worthy enough to share with everybody on FlyerTalk and not just Delta Air Lines SkyMiles members, as it is general enough to move to the TravelBuzz! forum, which is now the new home of this thread.

Thank you.

Regards,

Canarsie
Co-Moderator, Delta SkyMiles forum

tgtg

Had a strange musical chairs day a few weeks ago in the bulkhead seating with an elderly couple that was split apart, double assignments to the same seat, no upgrade, etc.

Through all of this the GA comes on board and invites a man in the D seat to come up to F that had a duplicate seat.

He is a nervous wreck, heads up to F and comes back and offers me the seat in F. I asked why, and he said he was too claustrophobic to sit at the window. I checked and he had 5B, and was confused by the graphic on the row marker.

I let him know that he indeed had the aisle and should enjoy the trip.

I then bought the entire row's AVOD for the flight, put on my noise canceling headphones and went to sleep. Very pleasant flight. ;-)

-=tg=-

dollerman73

I thought initially that by the scene he made, he needed the seat far worse than I did.

On a related note, I have to laugh when I see husbands (or the FF males as is normally the case) sit down in F and wave goodbye to their significant other as they retreat to the back. If there is ever a good time to give up your F seat that would be it IMHO, and I do that every time without question!

dollerman73

You misread between the lines. I was happy to give up the seat at first, it genuinely seemed as though the man was having a bad day. Seeing a grown man whinge like a 3 year old is really sad. I, like some of the other posters don't really care too much for the seat itself, and I don't drink, so there isn't a huge investment there for me. There was NO bluff at all. I was just more than a little surprised that there was not even a hint of gratitude, more almost a sense of disbelief, where maybe he felt like he better bugger off and take the seat quickly before I changed my mind. Regardless, I hope the trip into SLC was a little less painful for him, and who knows perhaps he was able to have a good nap and felt better upon landing... One can only hope!

PTravel

This rings a bell. Which airline was it?

WChou

I always give my F seat to a uniformed soldier. Whenever possible, I try to do it as anonymous as possible. The recipient is usually caught off guard and initially hesitant. It always ends with a smile, thanks, and handshake.

cam_macleod

No kidding! Always always always give your significant other the better seat. My husband and I are both male so no gender or chivalry issue here, but still. I upgraded myself and my husband on YYZ-NRT once, but had only one upgrade left to come home. My husband got to sit up front for 12 hours, and I sat in back with the occasional amazed FA visiting to say how odd it was.

bocastephen

Delta...reported right here at FT after it happened.