windhund

Thanks WineCountryUA. So on the 772 return flight (where we are in Y), I guess only UA knows the reason why one of us was moved a row back – but as a customer, the lack of transparency is frustrating. I know seat assignments aren't guaranteed, so UA isn't obligated to do anything in this case. (Though it is a bad experience, IMO!)

What have others done in this situation? I'd like to stay put in case we get swapped to an aircraft with PE/P+ rather than move back several rows (out of what could be P+ seats) to be together. And, regardless of what configuration we get, try and swap so we're sitting together. (We were in 20AB together - 20B got booted to 21C.) Open to other ideas, though.

I am watching the seat assignments closely; I have an EF alert set for an aircraft change on both flights as well.

eng3

I was on an A319, had 7F at T-24. Then in the morning, I noticed it got changed to 8F which I immediately changed to 21F (but was eventually CPUed). I overhead that row 7 was blocked. Not sure of the reason they would block a whole row. It was PHL-SFO, so having the seat I want is kind of important.

findark

There is an accommodation block at 7DE, so picking 7F runs the occasional risk of getting kicked out for a party of 3 being seated by the accommodations desk. I'm not entirely sure what the policy is around moving paid pax in this circumstance, but 7A is definitely safer if available and otherwise equivalent.

However, 7F gets empty middles more often because of the block at 7DE, so you win some and you lose some

eng3

Yes, I have noticed 7DE being typically blocked. I guess I assumed the FA meant 7ABCDEF but I have no idea.

I didn't think a party of 3 wanting to sit together was reason enough to kick someone out of their seat.

findark

Like I said, I don't know the policy, but I do know that pax with mobility issues that need extra leg space and an aisle seat can be put in 7D (this is why it is blocked). I suspect if that pax has two companions they may book 7DEF and turf out a pax from 7F, but I am unsure how "accepted" this is. There have been sporadic reports of it on FT.

Kacee

Yes, this would be one of the legitimate reasons why "seat assignments are never guaranteed." Booking 7F thus carries some risk (relatively low) that you'll be booted to accommodate a party which includes a disabled pax.

chavala

Be careful with that. I've found EF to be very unreliable lately. I changed my seat recently but didn't change the alert to test how long it would take them to notify me. It's been over 3 hours and still nothing. And yes, it's still empty.

findark

IME, the polling frequency of EF alerts is pretty low (a couple times a day). It's not useful if you're checking regularly, but great for things you want to go forget about for a month.

chavala

I think it's gotten worse since they upped the alerts to 200 per account.

Kacee

It varies by carrier. They're still useful for UA flights, but are not a substitute for checking obsessively

Aussienarelle

I have been warned by a phone agent about 7F but have never lost the seat.

However, it is very rare that 7E is empty as most of the time STBY pax are given the seat and they seat front to back. My last trip in 7F it was a POS squeezed into the seat - uncomfortable flight.

If I want an empty middle seat next to me I have found 12A to be the best, but it is rare these days as planes are so full - last trip I had a 9 year old boy in the middle seat (12B) and his friends were in the middle seats all around us. He lost his power cord, rummaged through everything very distraught, opened a bag of jelly babies that went flying, started crying so I comforted him that all would be okay, he then found his power cord plugged it in and sent his glass of OJ flying - he was having a bad day. Well mannered kid just being a boy.

Kacee

Row 21 will sometimes also go out with an empty middle. I agree row 7 the middles almost always fill.

COSPILOT

Friend (Silver) with a RPU applied (sponsored from a 1K) for months, had 7C at check in for a 737-800, DEN-EWR last Sunday. Prior to boarding, airplane swapped from Version 1 to Version 2, and somehow they switched him to 15C, which is a standard economy seat. Never seen so many texts with foul language from him during this. He is flying home via Alaska today, vowing to never touch UA again.

nycflyer222

WineCountryUA

This thread has gotten long and cumbersome to many. Will create this archive and let's continue the discussion in Random seat changes to UA itineraries after having an assigned seat [Consolidated].

WineCountryUA
UA coModerator