Someone in your seat
 

Recently I had an exit aisle seat. When I arrived at my seat a gentleman was stood by the seat with his computer bag on my seat. I politely said "this is my seat". He said "no, you're in the middle". I showed him my boarding pass. He then asked if I would switch seats with his wife who was several rows back in the middle. I politely told him I really wanted the exit row, so no. He continued to stand by my seat and did not move his bag. I then asked him to please move his bag so I could sit down. Finally he sat in the middle seat.
If he had really wanted to sit with his wife he could have asked one of the people on either side of her if they would like to switch with him. Either one of them would have preferred the exit row I am sure.
He did not do so.
It really annoyed me to have to "push" to get my seat.

I hate folks like that.
Just the line "no, your in the middle" is ignorant in itself.
Their is not a whole lot I would give up an exit aisle seat for, It would have to be a real special circumstance.

While people like this "gentleman" are in the minority, if you fly enough, you are for sure going to encounter them.

You handled the situation just right. ^

I was assigned an aisle seat on a one hour flight. When I boarded, a woman was in my seat and loudly declared that that was her seat--that she had asked for an aisle seat, even though her boarding pass indicated the window seat of a 3 configuration. If she had been polite about it and indicated a need for an aisle seat(she was quite short, so leg room wasn't a factor), I would have graciously given her my seat. But her confrontational attitude(and lying about it) made me decide to keep my assigned seat. I went to the FA and explained that someone was being territorial about my seat--FA sent her out to Gate Agent to be reassigned.

So I was seated next to her husband, who was a kind, gentle soul, and she didn't like that one bit. She wanted him to move as well. He said that she didn't need an aisle seat--just wanted one--and was being difficult.

Do people ever actually get away with stuff like this? The times I've found someone in my seat, it's always been a mixup in aisle number or something like that. Something I've done myself - thinking I'm sitting down in Row 15, when I am really sitting down in 16.

Congratulations on your well-mannered response. Don't know about the use of the term "gentleman" above. I can think of several terms that would be more appropriate.
Interesting how his "logic" changed. First, he said that you were in the middle, even though he hadn't even seen your boarding pass yet! (Maybe he thought he was psychic?) Then when he had seen your boarding pass, now he wants you to switch seats with his wife several rows back! :rolleyes:
You did the poor lady a good turn, gave her a few hours of respite from what must be chronic embarrassment.

mr tinky and I were on a flight lima to santiago on lan chile. we got to the "economy" seat(I almost cant say the word but it actually wasnt too bad)
there was someone in one of them with a BP so we went to the FA who said.
oh mr tinky you are in business class!!(OW sapphire-at the time I was nil)
he asked if I could take the seat and they said no only him so I insisted he take it. better for on eto be upgraded than none!!

heheh awww reminds me of the days when i went on swa. People lying and cheating their way to empty middle seats and such.

My worst experience was when someone told me i was wrong and had me put all my stuff down in the aisle and get my ticket stub out and tell them yo you are in my seat. and the guy has the nerve saying it's his seat and if i wanted to see his ticket as if i'm going around stealing seats

good job in handling that gentleman

Glad you put that fellow in his proper place. The rudeness. I've never had anything like that before, but I wouldn't trade.

I did have a person with the same assigned seat as me. I was in the seat and the other person looked like he was going to make a stink and hold up the flight. I just took a seat a row or two back that was similar.

Same assigned seat as you is a different situation. I would probably not care too much, unless it was a double-booked exit row, then I'm sorry, it's mine! I barely fit anywhere else on the Qantas sardine cans (6"4' and above weren't meant to fly QF comfortably :P). Either way, if someone was in my seat (and I expect something like this to happen when I go to the USA) I'll be demanding my seat. If you don't like yours, get it changed. You could almost argue it amounted to theft ;) :P

i do that all the time.. usually with seat letters, like sitting in D instead of C.

I woulda lost it if he didn't move. It's your seat - the airline assigned it to you.

I would have been shouting telling him to get out of my seat and that he needs to sit in his correct seat NOW.

Me too. The mistake I usually make is to remember that I'm in row n on the aisle, but mistakenly sit on the wrong side of the aisle. When called on it, I say "Oh, my mistake, I'm in 2C", kind of in the hope that the person in whose seat I'm sitting will say "Oh, that's just as good, I'll just take your seat." But if (s)he doesn't, I switch seats immediately.

If someone is in my seat, and I believe it's a mistake, and I really don't mind, I'll volunteer to take their seat. If I do prefer my assigned seat, or if it's clearly not a mistake, I politely ask them to take their own seat. If I get any flak, I go to the FA.

I have had people in my seat on a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney, this couple were assigned the two middle seats in the middle section on a 744 (3-4-3 config) and the woman had her bags on my seat and removed them reluctantly when asked politely. Shortly after sitting down she asked if I wanted to change seats with her husband and when I declined gave me a dirty look. Fortunately the FA's found them other seats (they had 3 bags each so there was no space in the overheads anymore and had to store their stuff around their seat) so I got 3 seats for myself :)

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I am short, but the exit row is still nice to have. I also prefer the aisle. Of course when traveling with DH he gets the aisle! One thing about being a US preferred is you can book the exit row up front.

I'm sure they do. Some people are too timid to stick up for themselves. I used to be like that. Now, I'd stand up to the guy.

Sidenote: Why are you using the term "gentleman" to describe this guy? As other people have pointed out, he was far from being a gentleman. He is a jerk. I hate it even more when I hear the police or media misuse that term. Sometime you'll hear about some rape or murder suspect, they'll describe him as a gentleman: The gentleman pulled out a .357 and shot the victim in the head. I happy when I don't hear that and instead hear something like: The suspect/man/person of interest/ did xxxx....

Edit: I've only had someone sit in my seat once. I've mentioned this before in other threads. On a leg of my return trip from Hawaii, we got on board the plane late and found a couple in our window/aisle seats (on a 777 with a 2-5-2 configuration). We looked at our BP's and said "I'm sorry, but you're in our seats." The couple then feigned ingnorance and apologized for making a mistake. I'm sure they had just been trying to "upgrade" themselves as they were one row ahead in the aisle and next seat in the 5 seat middle. How could they confuse the window/aisle of the row behind them as being their seats? :confused:

I've given up my aisle seat twice... both times for the elderly. My problem is that I think it's the elderly that use their age to get waht they want. But how can you say no to them without looking like a callous a-hole? At least one of the times (the first, I think), before I moved I stated that I booked myself an aisle seat specifically because that's what I prefer.

There was a period of about 2-3 months a year or so ago when there seemed to be a disconnect between the London Paddington Star Alliance checkin (ah, how I miss it...) and the bmi checkin systems. Just about every time I flew, there'd be somebody in my seat.

So I'm very polite about it, and got into a routine of asking them to double-check, standing out of the way of the aisle, pressing the crew call button, and waiting for them to sort it out.

Which, every time, resulted in an upgrade for myself, so I'm not complaining ;)

"I am sure someone sitting next to your wife would be happy to switch into the exit row so that you can move back and sit next to her." ;)

Gotta remember that one. ^ ^ ^

Recently I was flying SCL-EZE on LAN. Wonderful experience (i'm AA Plat, and they treat you REALLY well down here...5x better than American treats its own plats). Got put on an earlier flight (as I was to the aiport before Chilean standards) and got an very roomy bulkhead seat on the A340. When I get there , there's a woman with 8yr. old child asking if I would switch seats with her (center block aisle pretty close). I immediately said yes, as I didn't want her separated from her son. In some situations I'm willing to be very accomodating, as she was very nice about posing the question. (That and it was 1hr 40min flight).

Recently on a flight ORD-MSY i had a window bulkhead seat, got up during flight to visit bathroom -- upon return found someone had taken my seat!!! Actually went to the FA with that one.....

Nope, you're not. Sadly, the sense of entitlement among some passengers gets so inflated they think they have a right just to take your seat because you aren't nearly as important as they are. It's people like that who will fry at the end.

If the man REALLY wanted to sit next to his wife, not give the better seat to the person seated next to her so he could join her IN THE BACK? Funny how he doesn't want to be with her THAT MUCH?? :rolleyes:

Last March, I had quite an experience with a woman who thought her baby carrier should be situated in my seat.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...eferrerid=5479

Ha ha - I once had an old guy sitting in my seat and I politely pointed out to him that I was flying to Miami (as was the plane) and he was flying to (if memory serves Pittsburgh). If I'd been a gent about it and just sat somewhere else then he could have started a whole new life for himself...

I don't know how old people always seem to manage to do this sort of thing although I doubt it would happen post 911.

Here's What I Happened to Another Pushy PAX last week
 

I was on ORD-RDU flight last week, when pushy passenger starting negotiating with all of us in exit rows, with request that one of us give up our seat so her boyfriend could sit with her. Boyfriend's original seating assignment was somewhere near back. My husband and I wouldn't budge. Nice man across aisle graciously volunteered. Here's where it gets good: Women and boyfriend get settled and are so happy. Another women, with 3 children takes row right in front of them. Three children (ages 4, twins ages 2) cry almost entire trip, most often hanging over back of seats crying right in faces of women & partner. Children (twins) climbed over, completely over, seatbacks at one time. Child spills one of those little cups on woman who negotiated these seats. Mother seemed to think it was funny. I was so sorry that the man, who so kindly relinquished his seat, could not have seen this all unfold. I endured it all from across the aisle and I just hope he was sitting quietly, with good seatmates, someplace in the back.

This has happened to me twice. Once on Lauda there was a guy in my seat and for some reason the FAs just would not move the guy. They found me another aisle seat and I got to site next an attractive member of the opposite sex - so all was not lost :p

Then once on VS this extended American familiy had seats over a couple of rows and decided their assigned seat numbers were really only guidelines, as opposed to any requirement to actually sit there. Needless to say they left me the middle seat - and as you know with VS, this is not good.

The FA talks to them and triumphantly tells me I can have the middle seat in the next row back! (I had an aisle). Took some negotiation to secure another aisle seat...

Not good when the FAs aren't on your side :td:

A few weeks ago: I was one of the first to board in Y on a UA flight LAX-ORD. About 3/4 of the way through boarding, the woman in the bulkhead row in front of me & across the aisle asks me if I'll switch with her because she doesn't like the bulkhead. Sure, no problem. I get settled in, and put my nose in my magazine. A few minutes later, a straggler arrives, and accuses the woman in the original seat of being in "her seat," demands to see her boarding pass, etc. Minor chaos ensues because her boarding pass was for a different seat, and as I try to calm the woman down, the FA comes over and asks for my boarding pass. She tells me and the bulkhead woman to take our original seats, that she'll straighten it out, and walks away. I knew I had been op-upped, but I played it cool, as these two women were obviously not FF'ers, and I wanted to wait for the FA to "make it official." As I was walking up front, I heard the FA tell the latecomer that there was a woman who was going to ask her to switch seats, but "don't you switch with her if you want to keep this seat."

As I'm gathering my belongings to move up front, the woman who was originally assigned the bulkhead asked out loud why I was bumped up front instead of the latecomer. (Another clue that she was obviously not a FF'er.) Shortly after takeoff, I looked back into Y, and I saw that the original bulkhead woman had convinced somebody else to switch with her.

Well the pushy passenger met up with a parent who let her kids go wild to the effect of having one her offspring spill something on someone else why the parent thought it was FUNNY. So for all you pushy passengers, be careful what you ask for. You might just get it.

It still happens. I was in Pittsburgh on a Miami-bound flight, and the person next to me was supposed to be on the Orlando-bound flight at the gate next door. He caught the mistake on time.

I've had it happen coming out of BOS. Two kids ended up boarding the wrong Chicago bound flight on UA (the one flight was boarding at the latter flights boarding time due to delays). The kids went to the back of the bus, only to discover that row 32 did not exist. At this point an FA caught them and sent them back to the other plane. How do these people board the flight. Doesn't the GA scan/look at the BP?

W

I'm sure your memory serves correctly in this case.

Gotta tell this. Read it somewhere a few years ago:
John von Neumann, one of the most incredibly intelligent mathematicians of the twentieth century, called his wife from another city. Was on a flight, switching from one plane to another. He had two questions:
(1) Where was he going?
(2) And why was he going there?

Remember (uh, maybe a different word is more appropriate here): If you forget, it's not necessarily forgetfulness, it's probably genius. ;)

A fella in the row behind me was approached by a guy asking if he'd trade seats with him. They were in exit rows in Y.

He said "hi, you're sitting next to my wife, i'm seating in seat 5b, it's a first class asile seat, want to trade?"

Wanna sit near your relative? That's how you do it... move back don't insist on moving up..

On a flight ARN-LHR on BA a year or so ago I found someone in my seat who had the exact same seat assignment on his BP. Brought over the stewardess who left with our BPs, came back a minute later and told my wife and me that we were flying "in front of the curtain". I guess it was an operational upgrade that should have been caught as we were boarding. In either case I said thanks and enjoyed the hot breakfast.

On a recent 6 am flight, fully loaded, I encountered two 4 year old sisters, one of whom was sitting in my seat at 21C. I was already a little edgy from the usual lack of overhead bin space and the early-ness of the morning, and I could think of no way to gain my seat without looking like an evil bad-man. Unbeknownst to me, someone else was sitting in one of the sister's seat.

But I knelt down and asked the girl in the most polite voice possible for me at 6 am, "Excuse me, are you sitting in the wrong seat?". And she replied, "No I'm not". I thought Delta made a booking error. Fortunately, she got out her ticket for me to look at, and it was for the window seat at 21A. I repeated the same question to the gentleman in 21A, and he insisted he was in the right seat. After 30 seconds more of haggling, and me looking ever more foolish, he pulls out his ticket to prove me wrong - and it's for 20A, the row in front of us.

Fortunately he realizes his error and moves. No blood is spilled. The rows in our Delta MD-88 are one-off on the three seater side, and unfortunately he looked on the two seater side to figure out which row to sit in. Next time I run into this situation, I'll be sure to look at the other person's ticket first, or get a flight attendant :-)

That's true. I guess it would also depend on who the person is . . . someone mentioned, for example, an older person. I think I might have a harder time in that case insisting on sitting in my assigned seat. Fortunately, though, I've yet to have to deal with the situation.

Fortunately I wasn't involved, but I did see a couple being a problem on a Delta flight recently. The person with the real seat had to get the FA. When she asked to see their boarding passes, they said they gave them to the gate attendent. :rolleyes: She then reminded them that they got the stubs back. They then made a big production out of trying to find the passes. I lost track of what was going on with them at this point, but I think they did end up having to move.

:eek: Your story leaves me speechless. The person who did that is beyond obnoxious. What did he think you were going to do? I guess he was hoping you would be on of those unassertive people who would just suck it up and sit in another empty seat. If it happened to me, I'd have to take a few seconds to get over the shock that someone had down that. It just not something I'd expect to happen on a plane.

Did the person pretend it was an accident? I'm just curious how he responded when you told him to move.

Yup, that is indeed how you do it. Unlike the person with whom the OP had been confronted, the man above really DID want to sit next to his wife. Imagine that. :D

Welcome to Flyertalk! What a great first post. You handled that situation so well especially with the way you spoke to the little girl. ^