I regularly sit wide/kids on one side an me on the other aisle.

So far, the answer appears to be - yes.

Bolding mine: Agreed ^ and goalie-parents do this all the time when they fly. I do try and upgrade them but if the upgrade doesn't clear, it's so much better for them as where they don't book aisle and window*, one of them is not stuck in the middle seat

*and with flights being as full as they are, the odds of booking an aisle seat & a window seat with the hopes of the middle seat staying empty are very slim

Don't all passengers get to choose where they sit. Why should your choices be any different because you are a couple?

Likely not, but please do take the window and middle so we can have the adjoining aisles.

I took what FlyDeltaJets87 said as a response to your comment that "a lack of planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on your part". (Especially as that was what was quoted in their response :))

Not to put words in peoples' mouths but I think the point was that there are many reasons people ask to switch and many of those reasons have nothing to do with a lack of planning. So for people to get so bent out of shape because someone had the audacity to even ask seems to be a bit of an overreaction.

I use the same system/logic.

I cannot understand why someone objects to a person sitting in the seat that they selected. We all have preferences. Maybe yours are different than mine ... maybe they are the same (or similar).

The issue here is in 3-3, 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 seating in economy, there are relatively few aisle seats and these seem to be the preferred selection for many. So you need to book as early as possible (and select your preferred type of seat) and then board in a timely manner to make sure you get it.

There are reasons why you cannot do this (last minute travel, delayed connecting flights, traffic getting to the airport, etc). When you do, you get what is left, either due to all the preferred seats being taken or seat poachers or whatever. Not defending someone's rude or inconsiderate behavior but it does happen.

I don't think it is that they get bent out of shape for merely asking... it is from the actual poaching and assuming....

As to planning ahead, short term planning counts in this. If your seats are reassigned, have a plan B that does not involve poaching. Some people make huge scenes out of these situations, holding up boarding,... My comment still applies and has nothing to do with a simple asking to switch.

Flying from MCO, I am asked to ewitch nearly 50% so maybe I have seen more scenarios and am therefore desensitized. And for the record, surprisingly it is not usually the families with SMALL kids who ask....

We travel as a party of 4 and on a 3-3 configuration we usually take the bank of 3 seats and the aisle accross.

I like window seat and was thinking maybe getting a window middle and another window and middle behind. My kids are smaller in size and with my 6'5" frame I could take advantage of more leg room sitting beside one of my kids.

Probably most annoying if we get aisles accross, with aisles accross second row behind. That's 4 precious aisle seats taken.:D

My wife and I book aisle/aisle whenever we fly on a 3/3 layout plane. We both hate middle seat and while we do not chat often, feel it's rude to talk over someone. On an aisle/aisle we do not disturb other pax.

Was on an WN ATL-LAX nonstop. Did EBCI and got a nice aisle seat. As boarding was about to close, the only two seats left in the plane was the middle seat next to me and the middle seat in the row behind. Opened my big, fat mouth and told the pax in the window seat, "Cool, an open middle seat, we lucked out."

Just then a very "urban" couple gets on the plane. The very assertive female was yelling and cussing up a storm and complaining about everything; Southwest Airlines, TSA security, the weather, her hair, her nails and the geopolitical struggles shaping Middle East politics (not sure about the last one but she was complaining about everything else). Her male companion just looked tired and defeated. Her lack of seat choice only led to more colorful language. The male of the group took the seat next to me and the chatty female took the seat behind him.

Seems within seconds of wheels up, she pushed her way into the aisle to talk to her boyfriend. Seems like I wasn't there as she leaned over me and verbally knifed into him. "Yo! Gimme my purse!"

"Honey, I don't have your purse"

"Nah. Stop yo m......f.... BS and gimme the purse."

"Honey, I said I do not have your purse."

"Oh don't you be trippin like dat! Don't you dare tell me yo punka.. lost my purse. You da dumbest mother......" and so on until the flight attendants came and forced her to take her seat.

I offered to trade seats but the FAs told me they wanted to keep the pair separated. For the next hour her colorful language covered the entire Pantone spectrum. She was a living, breathing Urban Dictionary.

At the one hour mark, the boyfriend tried to get some sleep. This was her cue to rear back and kicked the back of his as hard as possible. "Hey, don't you dare sleep. Yo sorry a.. should be thinking of where my purse be. You be one dumb piece of s........" and so on. After several kicks, the flight attendants came to try and calm her down.

Never in my life has I prayed to see Little Rock, AK but alas the plane was not diverted to eject her from the plane. By the time I got to LAX, I knew what it felt like to have my head in a Home Depot paint shaker.

The next day, I went to my boss's office and told him I would never fly WN ever again.

I don't think choosing aisle-aisle is rude, but it is a bit selfish.

Most people are more comfortable being in close proximity to someone they know than to someone they don't. If you are traveling with someone you know, it is more comfortable for one of you to sit in the middle seat, with your companion on one side, than someone else sitting there with strangers on two sides. The more couples who start taking aisle-aisle, the more people will have to sit in middle seats between two strangers.

Of course, this being Flyertalk, where people don't care about anyone besides themselves, I don't anticipate much support, but that is my opinion.

Oh, and contrary to what someone posted, flying Southwest is a good way of avoiding this situation, provided you check in early enough and have a good enough selection of seats when you get on.

Isn't inevitable on a 3-3 configuration if lots of people are in pairs or fours?

Anyone a party of 4 choosing 3-3, 3-3 row after row?

I personally don't like the aisle as carts and people bump into me all the time. I prefer window so I can lean my head on the wall and sleep.

I'm forced to take aisles with a party of 4 on a 3-3 configuration because we can sit together all in one row. I'm thinking of doing 1-2 and 1-2 configuration row after row, because I'm tired of getting bumped.

Sitting aisle-aisle on a 3-3 configuration actually leaves more opportunties in the row for couples to sit together, not fewer. If it's A-B-C /D-E-F, choosing C and D leaves A-B and E-F. Choosing B-C leaves room for only one pair, in either D-E or E-F, but not both.

That does mean the the couple won't get and aisle-middle combo, but they might not have otherwise anyway if, in my latter example, somebody else comes along and grabs D. You simply can't predict every combination and every preference of the remaining passengers when you pick your own seat. For that matter, aisle-aisle couples are choosing to each sit next to a (gasp!) stranger in order to have two aisles--if they picked aisle-middle only one of them would be exposed to stranger's cooties.

Bottom line: as somebody said, it's first come-first-served, within reason. I normally fly solo and take sitting beside strangers totally in my stride. When I do fly with my travelling companion, we both like to sit aisle-aisle and we barely communicate with each other en route. It's really no different than having two unaffiliated people choosing those two seats becasue they were available at seat-select time.

Just book economy seats - DH and I across aisle (we read and don't talk) and the kids behind us in aisle/window. If we have to fly E we will always sit aisle to aisle - selfish, I don't think so.