Ever seen an FA boot someone from an exit row?
 

I haven't - but last week I seriously wondered if I should have!

I had a "front row" seat for the following - being seated with my family across the entire aisle behind the exit row.

CRJ200 COS-DEN so *short* flight and small plane. Mom with 2 tweens gets on, has 3 seats - 2 in exit row, one of which conflicts with a seated passenger. Exit row passenger shuffles seats, FA shuffles seats, we end up with mom and kids in non-exit rows, and an empty seat in the exit row. All looks good until the elderly woman laboriously makes her way down the aisle and attempts to take a seat now occupied by mom. Mom/FA explain and after several repeats for obviously hard-of-hearing woman, newcomer takes exit row seat.

At this point I'm thinking "No way is this woman capable of operating the exit or even clearing out of it in time! Me and mine are going out the LEFT side of the aircraft if it all goes to pot!!!"

FA comes by to get the verbal "Yes" from the exit row pax, asks the usual "Are you willing and able to blah blah blah..." 3 pax all say yes, newcomer looks puzzled. FA repeats loudly "Are you willing to blah blah blah..." - conspicuously (to me at least) omitting the ABLE portion of the speech. Newcomer smiles and says something affirmative.

Needless to say the 15 minute flight was uneventful, but I spent a good portion of it questioning my own decision not to intervene.

I'm curious if anyone else has experienced a situation like this and how it got resolved?

Richard

UAX flight attendant here, and I've booted many a person from the exit row. Grandmothers, seat poachers, elites that won't get off their phones (post door closure) long enough to pay attention to my briefing. It's my cabin, and should something go down, I want to make sure my exits are covered with the most willing and able people possible. I have no qualms about reseating someone.

And for the record, no one has ever complained about me reseating them.

Yes, many times. For instance:

- Passenger in row 9 on ps with a lap child
- Seat poacher from E-
- An unaccompanied minor
- Passenger who did not understand English

Many years ago on a domestic flight in India my friend's elderly dad was asked not to sit in his assigned exit row seat. He objected, and I think they relented.

Yup. Seen it too. Everything hmy1 saw plus a parent traveling with a number of pre-teens sitting nearby and a passenger who refused to place her bag in the overhead bin.

Have seen it happen a couple of times but, like the OP, I am more amused when it *should* have happened but didn't. For example, some time ago I was on an LAX-LAS flight with a two-seater parked in the exit row. Given their size and impaired mobility, there was no way they should've been left there.

No, I haven't, but wish they'd do it more especially in the ME routes. Seen many pax that clearly should not have been in the emergency row, but left there.

I saw a group of adults who did not speak English booted before getting on the plane on a US domestic flight. Glad the gate attendants caught it and resolved it.

Per policy, customers of size are permitted in exit rows.

I've seen it on occasion.. for safety reasons..

Gotta be able to handle the safety requirements.. Exit Row isn't just for leg room.. it's meant for individuals who can carry the responsibility and meets the FAA and airline criteria

FWIW - Understanding of English is not a requirement but rather "Understanding of the Flight Attendant". I say this as I once had to go to another seat after the Spanish speaking flight attendant talked to me on a ACES Colombia flight. I didnt speak Spanish so I had to move. No worries!

Curious. Whose policy? Is it set by the FAA or by each airline?

And regardless of who sets the policy, the pax in question wasn't just large, he had, as I stated, impaired mobility. Not to mention the fact that had he be injured it would have been very difficult/virtually impossible to move him out of the way. Ever tried moving a few hundred dead-weight pounds in a burning environment? No way he should have been seated in an EER.

As recently as last week on WN leaving HOU. A family group with a couple of young teenagers sat down in the exit row. The FA came over, sized up the teens, and diplomatically arranged for them to swap with the folks sitting behind them.

It was probably easier than some of the other examples, since the kids were clearly too young to meet the rules (though they were the sort of suburban-looking, athletic boys who could have easily hefted half the passengers out the door if needed).

A few years ago on a DL regional jet...very fat dude gets on and sits in the exit row aisle seat across from me. Reaches into his briefcase and pulls out his personal seat belt extender and buckles up. I was going to rat him out, but the FA caught it on her own and booted him out of the exit row.

My wife and I were seated in an exit row and she got booted (served her right) :D

The FA stand in these rows as we boarded and and she complained about her bad shoulder lifting her bag into the overhead and would they help?

They certainly did. Of course I just stayed out of it as there was no appeal allowed and sat by myself in the exit row. Now the wife knows not to whinge about a heavy bag when sitting in the exit row.

and the FAs are especially leery about early boarders sitting in exit rows as they suspect that the early boarder probably claimed a handicap reason like a cane.

They need the fit and the alert sitting in these rows to open the hatch and assist others. My wife was always fit and now is more alert to the watchful eyes of the FA :)