Ceres

Long answer it was funny.. Flying Southwest I'm in the aisle my Doc buddy is in window seat. Last two people on the plane are mother and daughter. Daughters maybe 14. I'm in row five so when the flight attendant gets on the loudspeaker and asks will somebody move so they can sit the family together he stared right at me. I ignore him. This time he walks forward making it a aparent to everybody around me that he's basically asking me. I tell him no thanks.. He then proceeds to announce on the loudspeaker if somebody doesn't move the planes not going anywhere. I tell him I'm in no hurry. By this time my buddies laughing hysterically cause he knows what an ... I can be.

Now he decides to saunter over to me with the woman and her child in tow. I explained to him this is not a nanny state. I'm telling him on Southwest there's three ways at least to be able to sit together.
One is to pay the early boarding, two is to be in front of the computer to book 24 hours prior online, And three is to be there on time to get up and leave your house so that you can do family boarding between the A group and the B group. And that it was not my duty to make allotment for somebody that refuses to help himself.

But in the end karma bit me in the .... No I did not have to move, But the woman that gave up her seat to sit in the middle between me and my doc buddy, Well let's just say we need to pick up both armrests to get her in between us...

So I did get to keep my aisle seat but I spent half the flight hanging in the middle of the aisle so as not to get crushed

TrojanHorse

LOL too funny

but since when does a 14 YO need to sit with her mother?

I have a 13 & 15 YO; they are totally fine sitting alone if need be. As long as they have their gadgets, they'd be happy in the lav the entire flight

14 YO (barring something unknown such as unable to function alone - then I would move for them although they still should pay for seats knowing that situation but thats another thread) does not need to sit next to mommy

Dugernaut

And my question is "where have you been?" nice to see you back in OMNI.

Occupationalhazard

Generally speaking, no. The person who wants to switch should offer to trade more favorable for less favorable seats, if it's really about sitting together.

I usually don't like to trade under any circumstances. I did once where I was across an aisle from a woman with a broken leg (in a cast) and it made sense b/c in my seat, the cast could be extended out into the aisle, so I agreed. Then someone else wanted me to trade that seat for somewhere waaaay out back and I told him no and he threw a hissy fit. So I suggested that he offer to trade with the person sitting next to his friend/girlfriend/wife/whatever, and of course he declined. Eff him.


Any kind of entitlement or other BS gets an FOAD. I choose the seat I want, in advance, and that's the seat I want, period. What I've learned in life is that 99% of last minute switcheroos tend to be designed to go against my interests, so later for that [noise].

O/H

enviroian

Just say no. I especially say no when it's a couple that wants to sit together. You can't be without each other for two hours? boo hoo not my problem.

kipper

Generally not. If it's a short flight, and I'm feeling nice, perhaps. Otherwise, no.

dchristiva

This. I'm happy to listen to the request and the offer, but am (probably) more than comfortable standing (or sitting) my ground. I never leave my seat to the discretion of the airline, so I'm not inclined to swap the seat that I chose for one someone else offers me. The deal would almost have to be too good to be true.

Jenbel

Probably if it's a small child. After all, I might end up babysitting the small child and that would be worse, middle seat or not middle seat. Not many other situations I would.

On a recent domestic. I arrived to find two small children and a parent already in my front row seat (and surrounding seat. I switched the window (always my preference) for the opposite aisle. The kiddies were all settled in. Yeah, you can rave about the lack of consideration of the parent, but he'd have boarded first, with two small (under 5s)... that's not easy. Cabin crew were very grateful at my lack of fuss. At the end of the day, we're all still people, trying to help each other.

It'sHip2B^2

But this is FT. While I've been married 6 years, I've lived in a different city or state from Mr It'sHip perhaps 3 of those years (I'll not even count the 5 years we dated long distance). Those two hours on an airplane were often 2 of the last 3 we'd spend together for weeks or months.

It'sHip2B^2

The irony of this is that the 14 year old was probably dying to sit on her own like a grown up. The mom was probably a totally buzzkill there.

Skyman65

This.

enviroian

Yes but your situation is not common. If I met you and knew your situation I would indeed switch.

Occupationalhazard

Presumably It'sHip2B-2 and Mr. Hip would not be trying to bogart the "good" seats in a pair, either, but would be happy to sit together in either set.

O/H

Ceres

While I will agree sometimes, Too many people don't do anything to prepare then expect others just to do for them. I took the Extra time to book an EB so I would have the seat that I wanted. As I stated, there were three ways they could've been sure they would sit together. They just figured the world would take care of them.

Skyman65

Or...

They are infrequent fliers unfamiliar with the system and your "three ways". But let's just go ahead and assume the worst of them, that they are lazy with a sense of entitlement. It makes being callous and uncaring soooo much easier.

Seriously, what's wrong with doing something nice for someone, even when, in your mind, they don't "deserve it"? And you end up sitting in a middle seat for a few hours. Oh, the humanity!