milepig

And we're repeatedly telling you that this happens all the time and is nothing to be embarrassed about. They needed to rearrange seats and your wife actually WON by getting an identical seat further up. There is no shame unless one has an extraordinarily thin skin. Ruin a vacation? Over this?

physioprof

I once sat in 1E on a 737 by mistake instead of 1B. I only discovered my mistake halfway through the flight when I happened to look at my boarding pass on the app again. I then asked the passenger in 1B if she was actually supposed to be in 1E. She said yes, and that when she boarded and saw me in 1E with 1B open, she just went ahead and sat in 1B. So different people will definitely handle these sorts of things differently.

HomerJay

Common courtesy would seem to dictate not only asking if it's okay for United to switch your seat, but asking if you have any luggage stored overhead and if you need help with that.

If I had my carry-on stowed overhead and the bins were full, there's no way I would want to change seats and leave it five rows behind me...and then have to fight like a salmon swimming upstream to get to my luggage when the plane lands and the bell goes off.

This may not have happened to OP, but it's something that a GA should consider, and should offer to help.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

I think this thread demonstrates the stress that is created by the airlines' increasingly complicated passenger choices. The average passenger thinks selecting a seat means they reserved that EXACT seat when, in reality, they are just indicating a seat preference. This misconception is understandable because everyone is not going to read the fine print or CoC. But nowadays, it seems every misunderstanding gets amplified into a hysterical "I've been done wrong and the whole trip was ruined!". I'm not sure what UA can do but add a little pop up at seat selection that the seats are only an indicated preference (which happens to stick probably more than 95% of the time) and are subject to change. In the case of these seat changes, UA should do its best to communicate these changes before the boarding scanner. Implementation can be tough because the boarding area can be a pretty hectic place - accommodating seat changes, processing upgrades and stand-bys, checking BE bags, checking in flight crews, etc

milepig

I believe they can help find a space but by the rules not lift a bag out or up. I was chatting with one FA who was just back after weeks and weeks without pay since she'd hurt her back going just that, and UA wouldn't cover it since it wasn't an approved act.

emcampbe

By UA policy, absolutely you can not take a picture of employees without their permission, much less share on social media. Even inside of the aircraft, I believe (ask MatthewLAX how that can work out). And unlike the debates where folks have argued even with this policy, it's not a problem in the check in lobby, for example, which is public space, the aircraft is sole private property of UA so they can absolutely enforce these rules there.

seenitall

One thing I haven't seen noted in this thread is that UA charges different amounts for different E+ seats. Aisles cost more than middles, etc. We do not know if OP's wife was moved to a E+ seat that was considered by UA to be less expensive/desirable than the one she purchased. Again, unless the seat is clearly superior than the one reserved, the courteous way to deal with the situation is to ask the Pax if the move is OK. All of us are willing to be more gracious towards a polite request than a presumptory move. UA had to opportunity to do this right. Instead they decided to do it wrong. While it might be within their CoC, we all are human and resent being disrespected.

Baze

Well, if one thing this thread has pointed. Some of us have a thick skin to any kind of a change and some have a very thin skin. I guess I have a thick skin, it was to an equivalent or better seat, wife said she had no problem moving. So the whole problem seems to be wife was told she needed to move to another seat. Husband says wife was embarrassed and made to feel like a seat thief or self upgrader even though she had no problems moving. Husband says don't want any kind of compensation. Coming to FlyerTalk is not going to make UA apologize. And would asking have really resulted in something different if she had no problem moving? This thin vs thick skin debate will not produce and results so I think it is time for this thread to die. I really don't get what all the fuss is about. Should UA have come on board, gotten down on one knee, and said, we humbly ask your permission to ask you to move to another seat. And in reality we have no clue yet who asked her to move or even how they asked her to move. Getting proper info from a second hand story from a wife to a husband was pulling teeth just to get an approximation of the seat numbers. There is so much information missing this thread is really pointless and just seems to be a place for OP to vent.

starless

On a recent international flight, after taking our assigned seats, the flight attendant wanted to move my partner from the E+ center seat next to me, to one several rows away in the middle of a bunch of strangers. I had specifically phoned United the day before to make sure we had seats together (we'd had to book separately). When I objected to this, the attendant agreed to let her stay. I think the person who had wanted her seat and her travel companion were United employees.

So everything worked out OK for us. But it did require my strong (but not impolite I think) objection.

StuckinITH

To tell the truth, if I purchased a ticket on United and have a bulkhead seat in Economy + and then at the time of check-in, I'm offered the opportunity to upgrade to Polaris Business, and I take it after checking that there's a good seat in the upstairs section of a 747 or in the most forward section of a 772. I would be very unhappy if at boarding they would change my seat to the downstairs section of a 747 or the back section of a 772. I have been flying for more than thirty years and I know that you don't purchase a specific seat.......but still would resent United or any other airline that change my seat without asking if it's OK.

hoffbrinkle

So after reading all the details that have been provided, it sounds like someone's feelings were hurt and they're taking it personally. That about sum it up?

SkiAdcock

Yup.

HomerJay

Agreed. They need to help - or help you - rearrange the overhead bins to make space near your new seat. If they can't do that, my answer to moving would be no.

FLYMSY

(Bolding is mine.)

No one in this thread, including the OP, was present to actually observe this "embarrassing incident". No one knows if the wife was "told" in rude fashion to move, "told" in a very nice fashion to move or, actually, asked to move. Too much hyperventilating from people who weren't present for this so-called incident.

+1 to Baze's post. ^

weero

How?

We may see how successful Delta will be enforcing their rules.