CopperSteve

Emphasis mine.



So, if I won't trade for the seat to which I am entitled (your word), then I am a jacka$$? I can't stand people who feel the need to impose their will on others.

Ocn Vw 1K

Although we have a plethora of other seat-switching threads and most have had poor outcomes because of members' disregard of the FT Rules against, e.g., personal attacks and crude language, the fate of this thread will similarly depend on avoidance of FT Rule violations. Thanks! Ocn Vw 1K, Co-Moderator.

flymetokix

I frequently travel alone as well, and over the last year have been asked to trade seats very frequently. I used to trade most of the time, but have grown tired of it and only trade very rarely (almost never) now.

grozzy

I would never feel obligated to change seats. However, I would consider it weighing up:
Whats offered
The attitude of the other person
Their circumstances
But at the end of the day, its my seat and my choice.

Peterpack

[Inappropriate response deleted by moderator.]

If someone was in my seat, i would ask them nicely to move, then i would get an FA to move them, last resort i would 'move' them myself

Geez !

pinworm

Ohhhh...not the dreaded stink eye!! That should show him! Seriously, why didn't you get the FA to move him? It's your seat, period. Let him get beligerent with them instead of you and see what happens.

I myself was in a similar situation last week...I get on the plane last and get to my asile seat...sure enough, there is a guy sitting there. I am polite at first, "Oh, I think you are in my seat"...he looks up from his magazine and says "Just sit there", tilting his head to the middle seat. Then he adds "It's not big a deal". So I respond with "If it's not a big deal, you sit there. I want the seat I paid for". What he said next floored me: "Don't give me back talk.". Okay, the dude is a psycho. I head to the rear and talk to the FA..she waits until everyone boards and then goes to move the guy..next thing I know, the guy is yelling at her, telling her how often he flies and how they "owe" him. She comes back to me and asks if I would mind just sitting in the middle seat. Absolutely not. She goes back and says, in a totally different voice, "Sir, you are going to have to sit in your assigned seat or get off the plane"...now everyone is watching, which is what I think motivated him..he moved over to the middle and I sat in my seat, sensing his seething anger the whole way.

Point is, don't put up with it.

pinniped

Sounds like the main problem was unruly passengers in Row 9, not the seat swap itself. Without knowledge of the Row 9 pax, I would prefer 8H over 11H, especially knowing that 8J was broken and would remain empty.

(Granted, 11H should not have assumed that he was entitled to the seat. He should have politely asked for the swap. Again, without knowledge of the Row 9 pax, I'm guessing you'd have thought "Cool...8H with an empty 8J...I'll take it.")

It reminds me of when people get mad at the guy sitting 3rd base at a 6-deck blackjack table. If he makes the wrong play, chances are roughly equal that he helped you or hurt you. Same thing here: the swap was roughly equal, and without prior knowledge the obnoxious pax could have been adjacent to 11 instead of 8.

Although we have numerous seat-swapping threads here, this one is only marginally about the swap itself.

chollie

^ Thanks, I may not use it, but it will certainly cross my mind and give me a chuckle!

chollie

Every once in a while, I have seen an FA side with the squatter and ask the displaced pax to take the squatter's assigned seat.

CopperSteve

This is a good point. When that happens, what is the next course of action? If the door has closed, it would seem that options would be limited.

amlothi

Why would you want to force the guy to switch? If his travelling partner was seated beside him, than you would likely get the "stink eye" for the rest of the flight if you forced the issue.

I'm with the others who commented that the problem appeared to be the unruly family/children seated behind you.

pinniped

Well, first of all, arguing with the FA at that point is likely to be counterproductive to say the least.

I wouldn't hesitate to write a very detailed complaint letter to the airline if an FA put me into an inferior seat for something as simple as two other people wanting to sit together.

But yes, your options are limited. Fortunately, I've never seen an FA force people to move just to accommodate able-bodied adults who want to sit together. If one of the pax actually requires assistance from a companion, then I can see them taking a few more liberties but some level of common sense should apply (and ideally handled by the gate agents, not the FAs).

chollie

Actually, what I have seen is a squatter in an exit row seat. When the pax assigned to the seat showed up, the squatter refused to move. When the FA got involved, she told the pax to take the squatter's seat.

I've also seen this happen a couple other times with squatters. The FA just told the original seat owner to take the squatter's original seat. No children/elderly/pax requiring assistance involved. I might be willing to brave someone's 'stink eye' because I refused to switch, but I wouldn't want to risk arguing with an FA. These days, it might get me frog-marched off the plane.

onlyairfare

It can happen.

I was boarding a transcon after a TATL, I was exhausted, and I was assigned a middle seat in coach for the next 5 hours.

But when I reached my row, the gentleman in the aisle seat asked me if I would prefer to sit on the aisle rather than in middle! I was astounded - he was tall so the middle would be uncomfortable for him, and he didn't seem to be related to the woman sitting in the window seat.

I gratefully accepted, and even offered to buy him a drink when the opportunity arose, but he declined.

jphripjah

I was recently on a United flight from LAS-ORD. I had used miles to upgrade to first class. After getting the upgrade, I used the online seat selector to select my preferred seat, the last available aisle seat, 1C. I'm not tall, I just prefer the aisle seat so I can have the freedom to get up when I want without having to bother anyone or ask anyone to move.

I boarded the plane, took my seat and settled in. The window seat next to me, 1D, was empty. Across the aisle, a guy was sitting in the other first row aisle seat, 1B. His window seat, 1A, was also empty. The other first class rows were full.

At the last minute, a couple boarded the plane, scrutinized their tickets, looked at the two empty first row window seats, and then spoke to the flight attendant. Obviously, they had the two window seats, but they wanted to sit together. Maybe they were last minute upgrades and didn't realize they had upgraded to two seats that weren't together.

I knew what was coming next. Since my counterpart in 1B was still talking on his cell phone, the flight attendant turned to me and asked if I would move over the far window seat, 1A, so that the couple could sit together. I politely responded, "I prefer the aisle seat."

The flight attendant seemed fairly surprised by my refusal to move a bit dumbfounded at what to do next. Another flight attendant asked her what was going on, and she said, "HE doesn't want to move, HE doesn't want to move," gesturing at me. Then she asked the couple to take their window seats until the other guy got off the phone and she could ask him. I then realized that it might be awkward for me to sit next to one of the couple for three hours after refusing to move to accommodate them.

Anyway, the other guy got off the phone, the flight attendant asked if he would move, and he gladly moved over the the window seat next to me, with the flight attendants loudly thanking him profusely for being such a swell guy, which may or may not have been for my benefit.

Upon reflection, I have the following thoughts:

1. I think I was a bit of a jerk. The first class seats are large and spacious enough that being in the window seat is not really any more uncomfortable than being in the aisle seat. It's easy enough the get up and walk around even from the window seat. If I were in coach, I would have felt absolutely justified in never moving from an aisle seat to window or middle seat to accommodate anyone, but in first class, I think it was kind of petty on my part. First class passengers should be more civilized.

2. I'd like to know what the societal rules are when a couple asks you to move on a plane. I don't think the wishes of a couple should take priority over the wishes of a single traveler, and I think people should have a "right "to sit in the seat they booked/selected. But what if I'm in 22C and the couple simply asks me to move up to 21C so they can sit together? Can I reasonably refuse to do that, simply because: (a) my boarding pass says 22C, (b) I've already sat down and got my stuff out, or (c) the dude in 21B is fat? Even if I have RIGHT to stay in my seat, aren't there some circumstances where I should give it up to be nice, even if I don't want to?

3. Will flight attendants ever order a single person to move to accommodate a couple? That would be interesting.

4. What's the best way of saying no in the "refusing to move for a couple" situation, so as not to look like a selfish jerk?