I'm confused by your question
 

The person in 12A (a he, not a she) decided to move to an empty row and the deadheading pilot moved from 12B to 12A, leaving me in 12C with no one else in 12B. Perhaps your confusion stems from the fact that I used the pronoun "she" when describing the deadheading pilot moving to 12A? It was a female pilot.

I am against poaching seats when they could be assigned to another passenger, so I would not be comfortable sitting in 12B until the "owner" arrived. But it is a good point that I could move into 12B after the door is closed, thereby making it less likely that someone would try to move to either of the two seats. Again, I'm curious whether FTer's think that this is appropriate.

i book a c seat when the a is already taken. b is less likely to be assigned, especially when soft-blocked due to my status.

i check the night before and at the airport kiosk right before boarding and move myself again if appropriate.

Or, perhaps
 

I should have been more precise with my sentence structure! I went back to re-read it and I can see where there might have been some confusion.

Hunki and I (we are both 1ks) were recently booked in seats 6-A and 6-C on an Airbus 320 SEA/IAD. We were assured that first was wide open and that we would get upgraded when we checked in.

As luck would have it, at about 8:00 p.m. the night before our flight, it was discovered that the checked baggage scanners were not working. Every passenger, together with their luggage, was removed from the planes still on the ground, as well as from the entire secured area. Everyone was required to reclaim their checked luggage and recheck it, and re-enter the secured area.

Needless to say, a many, many people missed their flights out that night.

When we arrived for our flight the next morning, there were 28 people qualified for 12 first class seats. We didn't get two of them. :(

We boarded, took 6-A and 6-C and prayed, while the FAs announced over and over again that this was a totally full flight, please stow you luggage accordingly, that the person who was assigned to 6-B would be of a reasonable size.

We were shocked, when the doors finally closed, to learn that 6-B was the only empty seat on the plane and that it had been blocked for us. WOW!!!

No one tried to claim the seat, which we promptly filled with stuff as soon as we could after take-off, but I did wonder if we would have been within our rights to claim that the seat had been blocked for us because of our status, which, of course, was the absolute truth, in the event that someone had tried to move into it after take-off.

What do you think?

Thats why most times before boarding I ask the GA if I have any neighbors for this flight, when the answer comes back no- then yes I feel that either me or whoever else is in such a situation that the row is theirs. In as much as if the other person/s would have switched their seats before boarding I too could have done the same if I had wanted.

I feel its wrong when after takeoff someone wants to come into my row and I see that they left their belongings at their old seat- knowing that they will return to it for the landing, I simply tell 'em get an FA, then Ill flash my Elite card and explain how they didnt want to be there for take off or landing and would appreciate having the extra room, in almost all the cases the FAs told the person to take their assigned seat and asked if you didnt want to sit in your assigned seat why didnt you change it before you got on.

And yes on a couple of occasions I didnt have the time to check what was available and had I,no question I would have switched for a better seat. and no I did not get on the other persons case for having 3 seats when I had an aisle but on a full row. At times Id ask the person if it would be possible for me to join them, if they said they wanted to sleep etc I just return to my assigned seat, knowing full well that had it been me with the 3 seats I probably would have sent the other person packing.

The worst thing one time on a BA EWR-LHR I knew that there was only 1 row that was unoccupied. When I got on near the end of the boarding I simply went to that row even though someone was seating there, which was past my assigned row and proceeded to put my stuff in the overhead, I said Nothing to the guy, however he told me to wait a minute as this wasnt his seat and he would get out of my way. I said OK, he never asked if it was my seat or not, and I never offered the info. Had it been me I would have asked to see the BP as I was told it was empty, if the person produces a BP for that row I would leave promptly and say thought it was empty, sorry.

A bit OT, if all thats left are middle seats then I always ask for one between 2 people with the same last name,(most likely 2 pro travelers hoping to have an empty seat between them.) this way Ill end up with the aisle as most couples of whatever relationship wont want to sit with me between them, just a better pro at work. I do pity the person who gets the sit between my parents as they will Not switch and prefer an aisle and window to either and the middle.

In the no-assigned sitting scenario ( i.e. my, er, beloved Southwest), this is how I keep the seat next to me vacant:

I sit in the middle seat on an empty row. No one wants to sit next to me of course (making sure I look especially unfriendly ;)) When the door closes I have a row to myself.

craz writes:

While we do everything in our power to avoid any row with a middle seat, ;) we are much like your parents--I love my window and Hunki loves his aisle. The only time we have actually ended up in coach, however, the middle seat remained blocked.

Absolutely you would have been.

A few years ago, I had a similar setup on a longhaul international flight. I was flying the route twice a month and got to know the local staff very well. The previous trip, I had been inconvenienced badly due to delays, etc... and to make up for it they blocked an entire 3-section in coach for me on the trans-Pacific leg.

The flight was absolutely full in the end and out of maybe 5 open seats in total on the plane, 2 were right next to me and 2 were next to my colleague in the row behind. The cabin crew had been notified that the seats were blocked for us and they very politely explained to one passenger who tried to relocate that these seats had been reserved for us and hence we were entitled to them.

We got some dirty looks, but its hard to notice those when you are sleeping soundly! ;)

I should have asked this higher up in the thread but --- do people really ask to take a middle seat between occupied aisle and window seats that much if window seats elsewhere are available?

So long as your parents are not rude you don't have to pity the person sitting between them.

OK, I was a bit harsh. I tend to look at situations like this from the point of view of the poor soul who may be 6'3" (gee---just like me...) and stuck in, say, 13B next to Fat Albert due to a last-minute flight change. While I would LOVE to have 12B empty, I would err on the side of the Golden Rule.

I just flew IAH-GSO (2.5 hours) in 12A, and found that I had plenty of room, so I think that you would be quite content with that seat (not to mention a much lower stress level).

Allan J,
I said pity only cause Im sure others out there will do as I do, hoping that they wont end up staying in the middle seat. Any one who ends up between them wont have any problems being between them other than being stuck in a middle seat. As my mother usually rips out a book and shes gone.

On the A320 Row 6 actually has better leg room than first class. With 6-B blocked between us 6-A and 6-C were extremely comfortable seats. If I had been stuck in the back in th emiddle I would have been lusting after 6-B.

I am much like your mother, craz, I starting reading before the plane takes off and don't stop until we land, unless I decide to take a nap. :D

I don't think the OP is being selfish in wanting to claim an unassigned seat next to her for herself. Since the seat is unassigned and unsold, thus no one on that plane technically has any right to that seat, including the OP. However, since many people move about the cabin and look for "better" unoccupied seats, many good, unsold seats become occupied. Now, can someone explain to me how other people have "more right" to that empty seat next to the OP than the OP? Therefore, I don't see why the OP is inappropriate in guarding that empty seat.

LAX

It is not hers to guard; that's the crux of the issue. It is as available to her as it is to anybody else.

Not if she's an elite and it's a perk. And the door is closed.