Yea, I'd agree with this.

I would have done almost exactly what you did...I say "almost" because I wouldn't have even bothered to offer an explanation. I would have said "No" and left it at that.

I used to be accomodating for equal or better swaps, but I have been screwed too many times in what initially APPEARED to be equal or better but turned out to be worse. By that I mean although the swap was aisle for aisle, I did not see the 500 pound lady in the middle seat before agreeing, or was not aware of the seat back kicking tyke behind the swapped seat until I got there.

Now, I just don't swap. It's not my problem, it's the requestors. That may be cold, but I have been burned too much when trying to be kind.

This ahole was flying standby all day, he must have known the chances of sitting with his companion were next to nill.

^

It's not cold and you're not an ahole.

I totally agree. Every seat I choose to sit in, is because I like the seat for one reason or another and I would have no remorse for some one not being able to sit next to their traveling partner for what ever the reason.

This is where I push the attendant call button, right over the seat in question. Sometimes this is enough to dislodge the squatter, and when the FA shows up, I simply say "no problem". Otherwise I try to stay out of the aisle and wait for an FA to sort it out.

I couldn't agree with you more, Pinworm. One thing I have learned when confronted with a potential seat swapping request not to my satisfaction is to simply to pleasantly reply "no" and nothing further.

Giving an explanation or other conversation opens up more unnecessary and unwanted dialogue. You owe nobody a reason for wanting to keep the seat you were assigned.

Question for readers of this thread
 

Not too long ago, I was travelling from LAX to EWR, and both my wife and were upgraded at the gate, to seats 1A and 1F. This was on a CO 757-200, so legroom is not a big deal on this particular aircraft. While I always understand someone not wanting to change an aisle for a window, usually one of two people will make the change if asked nicely.

In this case, both really wanted the aisle and said no. As is my style, i did not whine or complain, but just unpacked my gear and settlled into 1F. After departure, the guy in 1E plugs into the power outlet and finds that it is not functioning. He throws a fit, and demands that the flight attendant fix it immediately (fat chance of that). He then stews for a few minutes and demands to be switched to a seat with a functioning power outlet, because he absolutely must finish his PowerPoint presentation during the flight. The flight attendant then turns to me and asks if i will switch.

Would you put this irate customer (I would use another term but am polite) into 1A in a switch your spouse at this point? Would you refuse out of spite (nice and polite only goes so far)? I am interested to see what this crew would do.

[Deleted -- I didn't realize I was responding to a nearly year-old post]

I'm not sure what no one gets about the idea of seat-swapping. YOU don't care if you sit next to your husband, therefore EVERYONE shouldn't care.

It doesn't matter why someone wants to switch. It only matters whether it is desirable for you to do so, i.e. is the other person offering something of benefit to you, e.g. a better seat, a preferred seating position, etc.

By the way, my wife and I like to sit next to each other because, particularly in coach, personal space is so restricted. If someone is going to intrude into my personal space, I want that person to be my wife, and vice versa.

No, I would not refuse out of spite. Are you willing to be less happy just to prove a non-existent point?

What you don't seem to understand is that different people place different values on aspects of seating. For 1E, having an aisle seat was important, but having a working power port was even more important. That's an entirely reasonable position to take. For me, having a window seat is important, but having the ability to recline on a long haul is even more important.

When you first requested the swap, you were not offering anything of value, i.e. it was a "trade down." No reason why 1E should have agreed. Once he learned that you had a working power port and he did not, the proposed trade contained significant greater value for him. Why do you have a problem with that? Do you think he should have inconvenienced himself for you benefit?

Incidentally, sometimes disfunctional power ports can be fixed if the FA re-sets the system. That is probably why he asked her.

I'd avoid any emotional tiff and do what makes sense for me. If five minutes ago I thought it was desirable for me to sit with my wife, that is still the case. So yes, I would switch and be done with it.

I refuse if they don't ask beforehand. If you ask to switch seats when I get there (approach me before you take my seat), I might consider it. If you're in my seat already, get up.

If I'm willing to split up a party of Chinese women whose collective proficiency in English is surpassed by a 3 year old, there's no way I'm going to accommodate an adverse possessor of my seat. I have zero sympathy for people who take things that aren't theirs without permission.

Some of us very much do care about sitting with spouses, but we won't die if we're away from them for a few hours. YOU care if you sit next to your wife, therefore EVERYONE should care? My partner and I sit together all the time. Not too long ago he was offered an upgrade from C to F in the new UA configuration. I wouldn't have blamed him if he moved up. He saw the evil eye I was giving him and declined the upgrade. ;)

I think it certainly matters why someone wants to switch if they are asking me to get out of my seat. Do they want to sit with a spouse or kid, do they want to move from aisle to window, do they not like the person next to them, does their power port not work, yadda yadda yadda. The advantage/disadvantage of a seat swap may not be immediately apparent. As the story by dsweet shows, perhaps I swapped seats with someone and ended up without a working power connection when I really needed one. Suppose I notice this 30 minutes or so into the flight. It might be awkward to go back and ask for your original seat just to resolve that problem.

PTravel, you seem like a reasonable person. It's all the unreasonable seat changers/requestors that most of us have a problem with.

As this guy told the story, the guy in 1E threw a "fit" when his power plug didn't work. And for what it's worth, if somebody refused to swap first class seats with me so I could sit with my wife, I don't think I would then swap with them so they could get power.

I, for one, am willing to be less happy to prove a point.

The real question is how does your wife react to your "out of spite" :D

People saying "no" to a swap wouldn't bother me. People acting like 2yr olds . . . :mad:

I'm making the change but would have to drag it out "I'm sorry, did you want to sit here?"