MAZ199

I had 2 bulkhead seats reserved for myself and my wife with the middle empty between us. plenty of seats available in E+ and E-.

Flight in 1 week and someone picked the middle seat. Now that's ok if E+ was full but.....

From EF the maps shows

9 Window seats (with middle empty) in E+ available.

5 Aisle seats (3 with middle empty) in E+ available.

3 emergency row seats (albeit one in the middle)








Wondering if it's a family and we might be asked to accommodate them ?
Are pax normally asked to change seats while checking in ? (First time flying UA on a long haul )

Now, seats J,K and L in row 21 are available, should I grab'em or stick to our plan ? Wife prefers bulkhead and I just want an empty seat between us

PS. Pax in 20J and pax in 22C both have 2 seats next to them blocked

mherdeg

I would hop to 21JL and hope you can keep an empty middle. Space in E+ is okay & a bit better than having someone between you (or, which you will actually end up doing, taking window/middle or aisle/middle).

kenziid3

TPAC. Bulkhead.

DeterminedToUpgrade

There is always a possibility that somebody will ask you to swap on the plane, but I have never heard of anyone being asked by an airline agent at check-in to accommodate other passengers' seating wishes.

flyinbob

Take an aisle or easy access to an aisle. TPACs are long, and you will want to get up and walk a bit. And don't count on middle seats staying empty. Window seats are nice, but really on a TPAC, unless the plane goes way up north there is nothing to see but water.

So take the best aisle and window in the empty row (as advised above) and if someone comes along in the middle just switch with him. Most people prefer an aisle or window to a middle, so worst case is you (certainly not your wife! ) would get the middle. Otherwise, if you both like to get up and walk around, or don't sleep much, like me, go for the 2 seats in the exit row.

And have you checked other recent flights to see how they are going out? Seat maps of course are not too reliable, but might give you some additional info.

mduell

I have been. sCO BF "concierge" wanted me to move out of the bulkhead to accommodate a couple... apparently the wife liked the bulkhead as much as I did, because she stayed there even after I refused to the swap rather than join her husband a few rows back with the tiny footwell.

DeterminedToUpgrade

No kidding? That's very odd. I wonder how many would bite for a request like that.

mduell

Anyone who doesn't know the footwell situation?

The wife staying in the bulkhead was stranger than the request.

PV_Premier

IMO trying to retain an empty middle is a fool's errand. Especially given UA's lack of general INTL reliability this summer, there is a good chance that someone is going to end up in that middle, either a regular revenue pax, a SBY or someone re-accommodated off of another canceled flight.

If it were me I'd grab the emergency exit row 32 pair and be done with it. Even 22E/F look reasonable to avoid people climbing out over you during the flight.

JDS747

+1 to this! I'd grab those two exit row seats and never look back.

DeterminedToUpgrade

This is good advice. That kind of hoping has rarely worked out for me.

mduell

I agree with the above, optimize for only having the 2 seats you paid for, not for an empty middle.

Mama

Good for you. ^

mahasamatman

Always assume every flight will be 100% full. Empty seats are a thing of the past.

manneca

I'd go for the exit row or keep the bulkhead. The downside with the exit row is it's probably at the lav and you'll have people standing in the area. I once had someone trip over my feet when I was in the exit row. He acted as if I had deliberately tripped him. On a TLV flight, I had people praying over my feet.

With two aisles, you can easily get out and move around. You can of course at the exit row, too.

The last few times I've done TPAC in the exit row, aisle and window, the middle has filled up.

(The only time I lucked out was when I chose an exit row with the middle taken. It was a FA flying on her own and she eventually decided to move to a different seat. I think she thought she'd have the entire row. )