I think you should not feel guilty at all. Clearly he was not willing to give up his seat and take 18e instead. So why should you? I understand that they want to sit together, and the situation might have been different if his request to sit in 18e would have been denied. In his case, I would have tried switching to 18e.

Yes, I will be honest, I was not in the best mood. lol.

The guy was a complete buffoon and no doubt his wife was too. Expecting you to give up prime real estate for his benefit but unwilling to trade down to cuddle w/ Mrs. Buffoon? I think not. They're lucky they got seats at all.

I never understand why some people think it is acceptable to trade their miserable situation with someone else. :confused:

this +1

you should have a clear conscience ^

I think you're fine. As a rule, I'll trade an E+ window or aisle for another E+ window or aisle or an E+ middle for another E+ middle to help someone out. I'd even give up the bulkhead to do so if they were nice.

However trading windows/aisles for middles doesn't work. Anyone who flies with any frequency would know better than to even ask.

Also your comment about trading for 18E was spot-on. If they wanted to sit together that badly, then it is they that should be inconvenienced, not you.

nrg

I only trade for "better", unless we're talking about a parent/small child adjoining seats situation (and even then I'll carefully ponder what other seating is available).

Selfish? Maybe. Self interest? Certainly. Rational? Overwhelmingly.

Ditto what everybody else has said. If all the guy wanted to do was sit with his wife, he would have tried the middle seat option you suggested. The fact that he didn't shows that his real motive was to trade his middle seat for your aisle seat, and he was just using his wife as a prop.

For a 2 hour flight or less I'd give up a coach middle to let a kid sit with a guardian. For a long haul, forget it. There's a reason why we have elite status and it is for just this situation: stay out of middle seats on mid to long hauls. Never have flown a middle seat coach in long haul, and I'm pretty sure I never will. I was in two middle seat on mid cons last year due to irrops and I've vowed never again.

a lot of times when I get upgraded to F and my wife doesn't i ask the guy sitting next to me in F if he'll take her middle seat in row 32, i never understand why people care so much where they're sitting, i mean i just want to sit next to my wife, he just wants to read the paper. he doesn't need that F seat to read the paper.

ok, not really. clearly you're a nicer person than I am, i'd have probably laughed in his face if i politely said no and he found an attitude about it. and that would be on a 60 minute flight. on an 8 hr flight i'd have had probably asked him how much cash he had.

The best part about stories like this is how not only do people expect you to switch with them, but they only want the more favorable switch. So you are actually supposed to make two sacrifices for them while they make zero.

Exactly. The most recent time I saw an inequitable trade, the donor was clearly
"just trying to be nice," and the recipient was clearly pulling a swindle. As the
donor got up, a neighbor said, you shouldn't have done that, and the donor
pulled a face and said, no, I shouldn't.

Don't do it even to be nice. It irritates you, it irritates your neighbors, and it
just encourages the perps.

Frankly, I don't understand why married people feel that they'll just die if they don't sit within 6 inches of each other. ESPECIALLY after a couple of decades or more of togetherness. I would NEVER take a middle seat just to sit next to my husband: I've heard every one of his stories, thanks very much, many times.:rolleyes:

I always reply "Nice try", laugh, shake my head, and stick my head back in my book, and don't have to talk to anyone for the rest of the flight. Sweet.

On the opposite side of the equation I have seen people swap an aisle for a middle seat and I want to scream "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" as they agree to it as they are being had imho (I am talking long haul here).

Yeah, it's your seat and it's your right not to give it up. The only reasons I would ever give up my seat would be to trade up for a better seat or if the person asking was an elderly or disabled person. Other than that they're stuck with the seat they got assigned.