just want to add my thoughts....


I think middle seats(in coach and business) should be banned.

Agree. One of my sons was recently involved in a serious auto accident overseas. I called the airline to ask about an early return. The CSR was great. I explained the circumstances and the extent of his injuries and she said " I will do my best to find 3 empty seats for him." I have to say that the other pax and FA's were very understanding and no-one begrudged his seating arrangement.

I say it depends on intent. If the pax wasn't trying to be a hog, then it's OK. If no one sits there during boarding, then why not take advantage of the space? I think if the rest of the flight was completely full then you might be justified in saying "excuse me, could I switch from my middle seat to one of these".

I don't mind sharing space, but I also think I should be able to take advantage of the situation if a row I'm sitting in happens to be empty.

I once had a chair with extra legroom, but because a family wanted to sit together I was asked to change seats. I explained I wanted to have the extra legroom and that's why I checked in as early as possble, so I had no problem changing seats, only wanted extra legroom.

Unfortunately there was no seat with extra legroom available at that time, but I was offered a complete row of four - as far as I could see there were not many free seats, but there was one free row for me.

Later on the flight other pax wanted to sit in my row, but the FA clearly told them that it was for me only...

Quite a few times I snagged a row of 3 seats on a 757 all to myself on SFO/SJC/LAX-JFK/BOS redeyes, usually when every other seat was occupied. For me, the 3 seats were more comfortable than AA's 757 F seat, so I'd downgrade (relinquish my upgrade) when I could get the entire row. Usually one of the last rows, the last of which was (and still is) informally held as FA rest seats unless needed for passengers.

Back then, AA would block the adjacent seat for elites, so all I had to do was ask the Admiral's Club agents to block the window, which they gladly did. That seat block could have been lifted by the gate agents, but most of the time it held.

As a top tier elite, I could board immediately after First Class, and within a minute I was reclined, defending the row against seat poachers until the seat belt sign came on and the door closed. At that point, the FAs are telling everyone to be seated for pushback and nobody could switch seats. As soon as we were wheels up, I'd be reclined again, belted in with the middle seat belt. 4.5 hours later, I'd wake up when the FAs told me to sit up for landing.

On lightly loaded international flights, this is routine. Passengers will stake out empty rows of 5 seats (more than enough room to stretch out). I've done it on lightly loaded JAL 747s between NRT and SIN on the 4 seat middle section but learned early on that you don't do it without asking the FAs if it's ok with them. Never been refused.

Inconsiderate? Perhaps. But frequent flyer status comes with perks, the exercise of which might look inconsiderate to the non-elites. The airline was always more than happy to help me carry out the plan by blocking the middle and window seats.

I was on a UA A319 once from LAX to IAD (Saturday night redeye). Not many elites on the flight, so E+ was empty (maybe 5 of us in there). Coach was pretty full (a few open middles, but no one person-to-three seats ratio). Made for a nice flight up front (I could lie down on the row of three) but not so much for the folks in back. Still...was a nice thing to have given my FF status.

An Eye Opener
 

Was unaware that one could be qualified to do psychoanalysis over the internet.

some airlines have empty seats closer to the back of the plane, everytime I travel internationally people always seem to want to sit nearer to the front when they fly but me i am happy to be sitting in the back hopefully having more than one seat so i can put my feet up some of the journey....

If i saw someone do that i would say well done as we are all the same with wanting something more for less, but nothign is guaranteed so if you want to guarantee more space then pay for it

I do this all the time and see others, although I can't say I've seen it on a crowded flight like that. But I would have been highly pissed if someone woke me up. It is a first come, first serve type thing, especially when people probably sat there looking at the empty seats and didn't bother to jump in them before take off.

Agreed. If no one moved to the empty window or aisle seat before takeoff, shame on them. Once the boarding door closes and the FAs indicate everyone's on board, if I see a better seat available in the same class of service, I'm taking it.

To those who say it's not rude or wrong (not that I'm saying it is): What if the person was using the other seats for storage, say sitting in the window seat and putting clothing, books, etc. in the other two seats?

In NYC they arrest people for using two seats in the subway, or at least occupy more than one seat after being told not to (a relative of mine has seen it happen).

Perhaps they were respectful and waited until the door closed (isn't it rude to take someone else's seat before the door closes)? Then once the door closed they could not legally get up until the aircraft reached cruising altitude.

Huh ? It's not only rude to take someone else's seat, it simply is not allowed. Taking an unassigned seat though is usually OK, and the door closes before the plane starts to move; ample time to switch. For the clued-in, anyway.

That nobody did and the guy ended up with the entire row is their fault, not his. Inconsiderate ? Not in the least.

And do you really think the FA gave a damn one way or the other ? :rolleyes:

You only know that the seat is unassigned when the door closes. I guess there may be some time (seconds to minutes; I haven't really paid attention) between door closing an when it becomes illegal to stand.

One could ask the GA for a list of unassigned seats. :D

It may be their fault, but one could certainly say it's slightly inconsiderate of the guy. To put that in perspective: I say it could be called inconsiderate, but it's something I'd do myself. :)

Would it be inconsiderate to take two of the seats (three if none was originally assigned) if the guy goes to the lav?

No; I never said I did. No need to roll your eyes.

I've done a middle seat on a red eye. Of course, I had an eye mask, ear plugs and a travel pillow. It would have been hard for me to be upset at anyone with a full row. I was prepared so I slept the whole time.