I think Air Canada works along those lines - either Elite / SE get to choose those seats free, other folks have to pay (but can pay at time of booking rather than wait for SEs to decline to take them etc).

The bulk of airline certification authorities require a passenger to be seated in the exit row to operate the door immediately if required, along with all the specification of who can sit there or not. The Irish Aviation Authority very recently got into a compliance ruling on Ryanair, who were charging extra for the seats and letting them go empty if people didn't pay, and were giving the door opening additional briefing to passengers in seating rows BEHIND the exit rows to try and get compliance with their AOC.

I didn't hear what the final result of this was.

Damn! Are even CO & Star Alliance members doing that now?

I would love to see a no alcohol policy for exit row seating; just to hear the howls from the elites sitting there.

There should be a height requirement. If you're 5'4 you don't need that extra leg room.

This does not seem to be the case in the Netherlands, unfortunately - either that, or no one has drawn the authorities' attention to all those empty exit rows, especially on short Cityhopper flights (like NWI-AMS). Had a chat about this with one of the cabin crew once who confirmed it's now very common to have entire exit rows with no one in them.

You're not the only one. Read somewhere that airlines in Europe may be facing suits against them for that practice on safety grounds.

As for denying alcohol to someone seated in an emergency row, works for me. The effect of alcohol at altitude is well known, and even a single drink can (and I do stress can) have adverse effect on an individual. Since cabin crew have no way of knowing how passenger A, B or C reacts to alcohol, a blanket ban seems like the safest option. If you are unable to complete a flight without tanking up, there's a simple choice: Don't book an emergency row seat. And I really don't care how many million miles you fly every year.

Recently I was seated in the exit row aisle of an RJ and the guy sitting next to me was very old, frail, and senile. It seemed obvious that he was incapable of flying without a companion (who was seated in the opposite exit row window), who had to help him down the aisle and point out/direct him into his seat. The FA didn't seem at all concerned and at first seemed to assume that the old guy was with me. Even when I emphatically corrected that and gave the FA a very pointed look when I stressed that the FA should be asking the "are you willing and able" questions to the old guy and not addressing me so that I could answer for him, the FA was oblivious to the situation. I was shocked and reported it very emphatically to the airline, although during the flight I reassured myself that in an emergency I could easily shove the old guy out of the way to get to the emergency window exit.

More on the IAA investigating Ryanair over this :

http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airpo...ml#post7091012

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/ar...=feeds-newsxml

In Australia there must be two passengers per exit row where the exit does not have a crew member. This basically applies to the 737. Because there has to be people in this row Qantas doesn't charge for it either.

lol ...

What's next, no sleeping in the exit row? They say being tired can you impair your driving as much as being drunk. If you aren't too drunk to walk, you probably aren't too drunk to open a door.

OK, the Irish Aviation Authority have now SPOKEN !

http://www.iaa.ie/index.jsp?p=93&n=9...nn=327&lID=953

"DIRECTION

Pursuant to its powers under the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 and articles 3 and 4 of the European Communities (Harmonisation of Technical Requirements and Administrative Procedures in the field of Civil Aviation) Regulations 2008, S.I. No. 283 of 2008 and to the provisions of Article 8 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 of 16 December 1991 (as amended) the Irish Aviation Authority hereby directs that:

Non floor level aircraft emergency exits, when required to provide evacuation capability for the aircraft passenger numbers to be carried on a particular flight, shall be attended by an able bodied and briefed passenger at the immediately adjoining seat to the exit concerned. Immediately adjoining means a seat from which a passenger can proceed directly to the exit without entering the aisle or passing around an obstruction."

That's as close as you can get to a Bo11ocking without a slight mis-spelling ! And the end of Ryanair's little game.

^^^

On my last flight with Ryanair last weekend there were several empty exit rows, because the FA refused people without reservation to sit there. After completing boarding she was looking for healthy young men to reseat them in the window exit row seats.

I think booking the XL-Seats when flying Ryanair is the best deal in the air. For 10 Euros I get a lot of extra legroom. High chance of an empty row, as they block everyone without reservation. And I can skip the (often long) line at the boarding gate.