All Basic Econ passengers assigned to window/aisle E+ seats on one side of the plane
 

I flew an A319 with a half-empty seat map until ~30 mins before departure when the left side filled up with Basic Economy passengers, but the right side remained mostly empty. I boarded nearly last, so could see the orange screens and "BE- NO CARRY ON" boarding passes ahead of me in line.

Is there some sort of protocol (or even natural habit) for GAs to assign seats mostly on the left side?

I also noticed those passengers mostly got window/aisle E+ seats despite plenty of open middle E- seats. That definitely cheapened my experience as a standard Economy flyer.

Were you assigned a middle seat?

If not, and the other seats (non-middle) were available how does that cheapen your experience?

You expected the BE pax to be assigned middle seats when window and aisle seats were available?

I assigned myself an E+ aisle. If BE passengers were relegated to E- middles then I might have had the entire row to myself, given the light load.

The flight crew almost ran out of my preferred hot entree by the time the cart got to my row, because BE passengers in the E+ rows ahead of me were served first.

BE is meant to be a punishing experience, but it routinely gets people into E+ consuming resources that ought to be reserved for higher fares. My flight was no anomaly in that sense.

It doesn't sound very punishing if they paid less than you and were seated in the same row and were served ahead of you. Sounds like they got a much better deal than you did.

You still got an empty seat next to you, right?

Almost... but didn't.

Your non-BE fare could easily have been less expensive than somebody else's BE fare.

I find shaming people for wanting to travel on the lowest available fare -- something almost all of us did, routinely, before the introduction of BE -- pretty distasteful.

In this case, not only would you be punishing the BE passengers by giving them middle seats, you'd be punishing the non-BE passengers in E- who ended up with an empty middle of their own. I don't think having somebody in the window seat in your row is really that much of a burden.

BE is actually a great way to score a great seat in economy class:

https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea....basic-economy/

(disclaimer - link to my blog)

E+ assignments may have been for balance reasons.

I have no desire to purchase BE, because my upgrade percentage is good enough that it's a worthwhile gamble, and E+ is important enough to me on most flights that I won't risk it. (I also make pretty good use of SDC, so it's nice to have that option). If I didn't get E+ for free, I'd pay for it. I make the same calculations on the competition.

I certainly don't hold any ill will toward people who know what they're buying and decide it suits them better. If you'd like to gamble on getting an E+ seat, more power to you. ^

Huh???

BE is a more restrictive fare; less carryon, later boarding, no self-determination/ advance selection on seat assignment, no voluntary flight changes, ...
Although those with status get some waivers.

BE is a lower fare at the time of purchase in exchange for more travel restrictions. Note your fare may have higher or lower due to other factors.

Undesirable for some, but not punishing???

and other times in E- middle separated from companions. That is the uncertainty they have that you don't have if you book early enough.

Was your's a higher fare than all the BE passenger's?
Is that the way you want CPU to operate -- by fare only?

BE flyers provide some a rare opportunity to be a DYKWIA. Grab it while you can :)

If it lessens the pain, remember they have to pay for checked bags, don't get to select their seat, and don't get to carry on anything more than a personal item. You get all that.

I personally think it's a nice service that whenever possible UA keeps BE customers out of E+.
This is a courtesy to those who are entitled to the product and/or who have paid the premium.
I'm all for packing E- and keeping E+ as empty as possible!

I'm not sure how what an unrelated passenger received as a benefit 'cheapened' your experience. If you got moved to accommodate a BE flyer's desire to sit next to their traveling partner, then I could see that. If you found out you didn't get upgraded, while someone behind you on the list did, I could see it too. But I'm not sure how that would be the case when someone else was assigned an aisle/window in E+ instead of a middle in the back. Its generally assumed that BE pax are going to get some of the more undesirable seats on the aircraft, but that's not necessarily the case. Nor is anyone entitled to an entire row on a less busy flight, or even a seat beside them (unless they paid for an extra seat).

Personally, I don't care if BE gets assigned E+ or not - it's UAs product, and they can deliver it how they want. And I'm not entitled to the seat next to mine. That said, I don't think its a smart strategy for UA to do this with BE fares, even for premier members, unless there is an operational need. Particularly since they prohibit buyers of BE from purchasing E+ (or upgrades). That's because for UA, it will likely lead to people who figure out buying BE gets them a good chance of E+ for free, and who will continue to purchase it in the future vs. a regular fare.

So, if a 1K buys a BE ticket, they should be assigned only a E- seat (possibly a middle one)?