rbwpi

Exactly.

Tchiowa

Not if an FA gave him permission to move.

teddybear99

It would be if I purchased the seat because I felt I could not fit comfortably in one seat being a POS of which I am not thankfully. Sometimes, I wonder if I were to purchase an entire row in coach, would it be cheaper than purchasing a first class/business class ticket for a TransPac/TransAtl flight? Then I could lay down and sleep on the flight. Sometimes with the bulk ticket brokers you can get these seats cheap when buying early.

cbn42

If that happened to me, I would say "oh really, I never knew you could pay for an extra seat like that" loud enough for the FA to hear.

belfordrocks

Last time I was stuck on long haul Y I relentlessly refreshed the seat map and as soon as an empty row became open (at T-1hr) I went to the podium to change my seat. As soon as the door closed, I sprawled across all three and lied down across the row. Did some people think that was tool-ish? Probably. But I landed as well rested as I would have been in J.

StartinSanDiego

We call that "Red Neck First Class." I can tell ya'll, it ain't bad.

HomerJ

....plenty of times.
Not as well rested as J but still beats the hell out of being cramped.

WillCAD

Never done that, but personally, I don't think it was toolish at all, I think it was brilliant.

I've been lucky enough to be the only person in a row by random chance a few times over the years. Even on short-hauls of about two hours, it makes a tremendous difference in comfort. So if it's available without inconveniencing anyone else, or if you pay for all three seats, go for it, and good luck!

belfordrocks

Well for the times I've had a whole row open up at T-1hrs, let's just say if I had $1 for every time I refreshed the seat map on the UA app, I probably would have enough to pay the up-fare to J

#10

In the days of bucket J, this was a better lay flat sleep when you could find it.

jphripjah

I flew from Jeddah to Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines yesterday. Typical 3-3 seating configuration (seats marked ABC and JKL). I called a month in advance to request an aisle seat and they gave me 18J.

Sitting on plane in 18J, it's about to take off, middle seat is empty and there is a guy in the window seat 18L. Flight attendant asks if I will move to the middle seat, 18K, because a Saudi woman in burqa has boarded and she's assigned 18K and she says it's against her religion to sit between two men.

I refused, saying I prefer the aisle because I get up and walk around a lot.

If they were moving people around so that solo women didn't have to sit next to men at all I would have been more accommodating. I was just skeptical of the claim that her religion allowed her to sit next to men if she's in the aisle seat, but that her religion prevented her from sitting in the middle if between two men. I'm not an Islamic scholar but it reeked of b.s. to me.

Anyway, the flight attendant made other arrangements for her and the middle remained empty.

nk15

I have done this once (not the lie down, lol, just claim it with stuff), and if there is a reliable way to do it, I would fly Y long haul more often. Unfortunately I think there is a huge risk for seats to be filled at the last moment, often times seat selection is disable at T-1 or around that, and a lot can happen 1-2 hours before departure. This can really work only if the plane is seriously empty, like 6-7 middle rows empty in the back, usually in winter flights Nov-Feb. Or just by chance, last moment.

Usually the best approach is to book last couple of rows, middle seat in middle row, or something like that, and monitor the map. What also works, but takes some courage, is to monitor seats up until the door is closed, and immediately move to the center of an empty middle three-seater and claim the two aisles as well with your stuff. The key here is to be quick and also have a good sense that the door has closed, so no new passengers will come in. Sometimes it could be hard though to see that the door has closed from the back, so the safest is when the captain says the door has closed.

But some times you have to hedge your bets right and go for at least an empty middle (while you are on an aisle seat), that's all you can hope for in a full or almost full flight.

jphripjah

If you book the middle seat don't you highly risk being stuck in a middle seat?

nk15

This is a tricky question, this is advisable in a relatively empty aircraft (think 6-7 middle back rows empty 1-2 weeks before the flight), in an empty middle three-seater, in an effort to discourage anyone booking a row seat next to you. And you keep monitoring the situation closely. If you want to play it safe, book an aisle on same middle three-seater, and when boarding take the middle seat and spread your stuff (but you have to monitor the map to make sure no one else booked in that row, as late as you can). This would work best in a x-3-x coach configuration, if it is x-4-x it is tough. When I say spread your stuff, I mean light stuff (so you can move quickly if things change), like a light jacket on one seat and a newspaper on the other.

Proudelitist

If someone's religion is causing them a problem functioning in public, that is their problem. There is no way I am going to accomodate someone's religion. I cannot wait for the day I am in a similar situation and am asked to move because some other pax is stuck in the Iron Age.