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what's the deal with people in exit row who say "NO" when asked by UA flight attendan

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what's the deal with people in exit row who say "NO" when asked by UA flight attendan

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Old Jul 18, 2019, 11:17 am
  #16  
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I've never seen anyone actively say "no". I've seen a non-English-speaker get moved once, and I remember a time when a 15-year-old kid got moved. There was a bit of discussion about whether the required age was 15 or 16, but the FA insisted it was 16. (I've seen lots of emergency exit card language that make it appear that 15 is acceptable.)

But I appreciate the honesty if someone genuinely doesn't believe they can handle the exit row responsibilities. More often, I see people saying "yes" and I'm wondering if they can actually lift, move, or throw a 50-pound door.
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 11:19 am
  #17  
 
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You can't OLCI on a BE ticket
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 11:26 am
  #18  
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Originally Posted by LXFlyer
You can't OLCI on a BE ticket
You can, as long as you are checking a bag, or you have an exception from Group 5 (status, credit card)
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 11:48 am
  #19  
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Weird, can't say I've ever seen anyone turn down an exit row seat. United is the only airline where I've had the FA quiz the passengers in the exit row, in my case it was when you shouldn't open the exit door.
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 11:53 am
  #20  
 
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I was in exit isle 18B on an EMB-145 once from IAD-RIC, FA came around asking the usual questions, Guy in 18A said no or something to that effect, so FA moved him. Guy was GS. I assume GS should know better than sit in exit row and say no when FA asks the usual questions.
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 12:01 pm
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by CIT85
I was in exit isle 18B on an EMB-145 once from IAD-RIC, FA came around asking the usual questions, Guy in 18A said no or something to that effect, so FA moved him. Guy was GS. I assume GS should know better than sit in exit row and say no when FA asks the usual questions.
Could have been GS by partner with over 1m miles.
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 12:05 pm
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by jp12687
Could have been GS by partner with over 1m miles.
Maybe early 40's, slightly above average weight, business traveler. I don't think he was a GS companion.
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 12:06 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by venomtrilogy
Doesn't your boarding pass also beep when scanned? The last couple times I was in an exit row, the gate agent asked me before I even got on the plane. Then, of course, the flight attendant asked us later on.
It does, but IME the gate agent only ever says "exit row" (not the full "are you willing and able....." spiel)
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 12:14 pm
  #24  
 
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I had a middle aged woman say no a while back. She got the seat assignment at the gate. When her BP beeped at the gate, she likely answered yes to the GA because she didn't know what "Willing and Able" meant until the FA explained it in more detail while on the plane.
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 12:25 pm
  #25  
 
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I had to do this once - although I sorted it out at the gate. Had injuries in both shoulders which meant I could barely roll my luggage, leave alone open an exit door, but I was in the exit row window seat. Seemed (and still seems) to me to be the right thing to do to go to the gate agent and ask for a swap.

While I don't anticipate ever needing someone in an exit row to do anything, I hope those who sit there are honest about their ability to help, because if not, they could needlessly become the difference between life and death for others.
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 1:02 pm
  #26  
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Originally Posted by CIT85
Maybe early 40's, slightly above average weight, business traveler. I don't think he was a GS companion.
Uh, if my choices are "frequent-flying GS who picked an exit row and didn't want it" or "infrequent flying 1MM GS companion," on the information provided, I'll take the latter. You're making an awful lot of assumptions here.
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 1:08 pm
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by CIT85
I was in exit isle 18B on an EMB-145 once from IAD-RIC, FA came around asking the usual questions, Guy in 18A said no or something to that effect, so FA moved him. Guy was GS. I assume GS should know better than sit in exit row and say no when FA asks the usual questions.
Just curious... how do you know this person was a GS?
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 1:33 pm
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by geometry
Like I said, I rarely see this on other non-United flights. So far this year, I have been on 32 flights. (19 on UA and the rest on three other airlines) I have encountered this on 6 or 7 United flights. Only once on a Delta flight(but that was because the guy didn't speak English well enough, I think)
Seems to me a consequence of the majority of flights you were on being UA, so the majority of times this happened was on UA. If you flew only UA, you would be able to say "I only see this phenomenon on UA!"
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 1:35 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by cricketer
While I don't anticipate ever needing someone in an exit row to do anything, I hope those who sit there are honest about their ability to help, because if not, they could needlessly become the difference between life and death for others.
I've always thought it would be interesting if there were such a thing as an exit-row safety certification. I know that would be wildly impractical to implement and it's not solving a problem that people think exists today. Still, I wouldn't mind having an opportunity to practice opening an exit, laying it correctly across the seats if it's not attached, and getting off a wing.
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Old Jul 18, 2019, 1:39 pm
  #30  
 
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I saw this happen once on an American Airlines flight. The flight was PAP (Port au Prince, Haiti) to FLL. The man in the exit row was Haitian, and he did not speak English well enough. I traded with him.
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