chavala

I had a situation recently where I am sure a GS stole my seat assignment.

I arrived IAH from the UIO redeye on a R/T paid F ticket, to find I was kicked out of my my perfect 1A seat (on the single aisle side of an RJ) and moved to 1D. I was already checked in and had a BP.
I was gonna let it go since it's only an hour to DFW, but I mentioned it to the UA Club agent. He said it must have been for "special needs". OK, fine.
But THEN I saw the person now in 1A was on the upgrade list. When I pointed it out to him, he suggested I ask the gate agent to look into it, because "something is very odd about this".

The gate agent looked it up and became perplexed, saying this shouldn't happen. She insisted on calling over a a "Team Leader", who looked up both reservations and was also perplexed. She told me he was a GS on an domestic economy ticket, CPU upgraded, and she can't understand how this could have happened.
Then she laughed and said "well, we will just change you back to your original seat!".
I sat down and watched as she called him up to the gate. (obvious who he was because I saw his partial name on the UG list). I couldn't hear from where I was sitting, but he was yelling and waving his arms around (much to my glee).
When they preboarded GS, he RAN onto the plane first. I got on next with the 1Ks and he was sitting in my seat!
I laughed and said "nice try" and pointed my thumb outwards (as in "move your arse!"). The FA came over and he showed his old 1A BP. When I suggested she call the gate agent he got up and moved (huffing, puffing and swearing the entire time).

The Team Leader and the UA Club agent both asked me to please write into 1K Voice about it, but I never got around to it. It was 3 weeks ago -- I wonder if I still should?

I'm sure some FTs will tell me I'm being ridiculous to make such a drama over an hour flight. But I can't help but wonder about next time, when some DYKWIA kicks me out of my desired seat on a 15 hour flight.
So yeah, it happens!

jsloan

Presumably granny couldn't have been GS? Your first thought was that she was married to a GS?

It sounds like both of you were being ridiculous.

transportprof

We must never give in to such aggression!

Fight them at the UC;
Fight them at the gate;
Fight them in the aisle;
Fight them at the seat;
Never surrender, and if they do usurp our rightfully assigned seats, then retreat to our empire of the mind (FT) and avenge the aggression through 1K Voice!

chavala

OMG. Seriously?
Let's all no longer complain on FT. I'm sure you NEVER do.

transportprof

If it were serious, I would not have included the

StuckinITH

It's good that the GS desk reached out to you. I thought that in your earlier post you were quite philosophical about the swap and wished that I could get your good attitude. My reaction to all the seat swaps I had this year is to reduce my travel. First time in years that I don't have any flights booked for the next 6 months......

jsloan

To each his own. There are so many other reasons that things can go wrong during travel, losing my seat assignment barely cracks my top 10.

canadiancow

For me it's highly dependent on aircraft configuration and who I'm traveling with.

One time I boarded an aircraft last, knew I was in row 7, and took the only open seat. It wasn't until the guy across the aisle was addressed as Mr. Kennedy and mentioned "we had swapped" that I realized I wasn't in my assigned seat. This was on AC in a 1-1-1 config, so it really didn't matter.

One time on UA (almost certainly documented in this thread), a HNL-SFO red-eye, paid F, two of us in 1AB in a 2-4-2 config, shifted out at some point. No sympathy from anyone. Upgrades (checkmarks) filled the seats. We ended up in B and E or something like that in different rows. Wrote in, got the typical "seat assignments are not guaranteed", and went back to my pattern of not favoring any specific airline for domestic US travel because they all suck.

I understand we can be moved and all, but moving a pair of people in paid F to non-adjacent seats, and letting upgrades take our original assignment, is ridiculous.

nomad420

I guess I fall in the other group, I am VERY particular about my seat assignments and don't take random changes lightly. I book my flights generally well in advance and make my seat selection immediately. I have even changed flights when the seat I want isn't available. I won't get into a fist fight over a seat change but I have been known to push back.

4wardtrotter

Hi! I'm a new FlyerTalk poster, hoping for a bit of advice and support on how to avoid getting bumped from my reserved seats on United.

A little background: I have been fortunate to be a MileagePlus Gold member for the past few years. The status allows flyers to select Economy Plus seats at the time of booking without paying an extra fee.

On my recent 4 hr flight from MSP to SFO, I had reserved a 2nd row Aisle seat (8C) in Economy Plus (EP) at booking, and checked-in online (the day before flying) without any changes to seat location. On the day of departure, I was re-assigned a different seat, 6-7 rows back without any explanation, to a Non-Reclining exit row seat (albeit still technically Economy Plus, 1 row from the end of EP). It's definitely a far cry from the seat I had originally selected. The gate agent at first assumed the “reason” for my reassignment was because I had booked from a 3rd party site, which was not the case (unless United.com directly is a 3rd party site)! I was further informed that the seat I selected at the time of booking is just a request, and does not have to be honored, even though the seat numbers were clearly printed on my receipt and itinerary, on the same page with my confirmation numbers. We all know airline seats, similar to that of concert or sports events, have different price tags, and location matters! As frequent flyers, we are willing to pay for comfort, including earning the status to ensure a more pleasant experience. Maintaining Gold status equates to spending up to $9,000 a year, plus flying 75,000 miles to re-qualify each year.

My husband was on the same flight (his was actually a cheaper airfare, although we booked on the same day, and same fare class), and he was not re-assigned. At check-in time, the two seats next to his were still empty, plus a few others closer to the front. We were originally just a row apart since we both prefer aisle seats. If United had let me know of the seat change at the time of check-in, I could easily have moved nearer my husband, no problem! However, this unsolicited seat change has happened to me at least FOUR times in the past few years, regardless if we have the same or different confirmation numbers. We both have Gold status, so why am I always the lucky one being moved and not him?? My ticket actually cost more than my husband's, even though we booked only minutes apart.

Having boarded as the first passenger in Group 1, I soon found a middle aged man had occupied my original seat at 8C. (As has been the case every time I've been moved.) I have no problem giving up my seat if it’s to a person in need or uniformed personnel. However I find it odd how United picks who gets moved to a less desirable seat, as this has happened repeatedly to me, a female. With that said, 1) Do you think United has a gender preference? 2) Does UA allow frequent flyers with a higher status to get any preferential seats on board, even though it’s been reserved by another passenger? *** Most importantly, I’d like to find out how common this is. 3) Has anyone had a similar experience being moved unwillingly? I would love to prevent this from recurring on future trips for myself, and for anyone else in the FlyerTalk community. I plan to file a formal complaint with United after I hear from fellow flyers how common this issue is. Appreciate all your input in advance!

tylerdurden4543

I'd say FAM, though they're usually up front in F, though not always.

I'm sorry to hear you've had bad luck four times but I can assure you that United does not have policy of picking this based on gender

LondonElite

WineCountryUA

Welcome to FT!, 4wardtrotter

The loss of a seat assignment is understandingly distressing but the agent is correct, UA nor other airlines guarantee assignments as those can change for various reasons.

One reason is Federal Air Marshall -- the FAMs are assigned to flights at the last minute and will tell the airlines what seat they want. Which many times are a second-row aisle seat. Note -- the airlines are forbidden by federal regulation from telling you this occurred. Middle age man could very much be a FAM.

Another possibility is a person accompanying a passenger needing assistance.

There are other potential cause, such as an aircraft change, even to the same aircraft type, UA's IT is known to shuffle some seats -- why is not understood but it happens.

UA does not, as a policy, bump passengers for elites.

Not aware of any systematic discrimination by UA based on gender.

As for how common this is, it is far from unknown and there is a long thread about this -- will move your post to that thread, Suggest readinf the new thred's wiki for more details on situations in which this happens.

WineCountryUA
UA coModerator

kale73

I was switched from exit row window to exit row middle due to an "Aircraft Swap" earlier this year, although the aircraft I flew on was the same Make and Model as before. Wrote to MileagePlus to request an explanation, got none but received a $100 voucher for my inconvenience.

sexykitten7

United did not give away your seat, they gave away your seat assignment. If they gave away your seat, you would not have made it to SFO!

Economy plus is typically denoted E+ here.

UA Gold is 50k miles + 6k spend (or 60 PQS + waiver)

Babysit your reservations. I'll check my seat assignments every 2-3 weeks after booking and more frequently close in. I always always double check at check in. Rookie mistake. Yes it's unfair but life is unfair.