rittenhousesq

Exactly! there are so many reasons. If we are coming back from LAX, my partner and I share our 101 Noodle Express beef rolls we got before coming to the airport. Before Covid and before I became a 1K (and he was) he would get his free wine and then hand it to me since he didn't drink. We would also help each other with luggage, and sometimes trade devices to see movies we had downloaded. These are just a few things I can think of off the top of my head.
When in coach, I prefer sitting at the window and he prefers the aisle. We will continue to book window/aisle seat combinations and as I do now, will watch the seat map like a hawk and be ready to swoop in and undo the inevitable seat change when it occurs. And yes on the rare occasions that the middle seat becomes occupied, we always offer the person the window seat and I move to the middle.

dilanesp

And I hope United is indeed implementing a policy to prohibit you from doing this. The pandemic is a perfect time to change rules like this and encourage you to purchase an EXTRASEAT.

Xyzzy

...and then they wke up... Almost nobody is going to buy an EXTRASEAT for this purpse.

rittenhousesq

Not a ghost of a chance! My system of constantly checking the seat map works quite well. On a recent flight, the middle seat between us in row 21 ended up being the ONLY empty seat on the plane!!!!

dilanesp

I know. But that's telling about what is really going on.

Xyzzy

Indeed - it's not a real problem and it certainly doesn't need slving.

cesco.g

On a positive note, I had middle seats in 3x3 configuration kept open on several almost full flights, concluding that the system (and maybe agents) might consider GS & 1K status when assigning remaining middle seats!

Xyzzy

If so, that's new behaviour, and it is long verdue as well.

dilanesp

It's a real problem, or rather, it's a subset of a significant headache in the airline industry- which is that a lot of people try to do various things to get stuff for free that they should have to pay for.


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bocastephen

That would be good news, since I've often experienced the opposite - with empty middles in the back, the GAs will stick BE and standby customers in premium middles specifically beside 1K and GS members. Ideally the system would block assignment of the middles beside 1K/GS automatically until the seat is absolutely needed and every other seat is filled.

Xyzzy

Indeed - same here. VERY nnoying,, particularly when there are plenty of middles open in E- and a BG5 (BE passenger) get seated in the middle seat next to me.

cheltzel

My wife and I fly in Y as infrequently as we possibly can. When we do, we usually take aisle seats in the same row. Believe it or not, there is a thread on this forum about how people should not do that. We've been happily married for almost 40 years. And not sitting next to each other for 1.5 to 3 hours is no big deal. She is typically playing her current favorite game on her phone of tablet and I am usually snoozing.

The normative thinking on how people flying on the same itinerary should have their seats assigned extends to some of the higher end foreign carriers where I have almost had to argue with phone based agents to get two window seat in 1-2-1 business class cabins. The agent simply could not understand why a husband and wife would not want one of the middle seat pairs.

{A} seating preference is just that, a personal preference. And that different people have different preferences.

the lost

Did y’all get plane swap messages saying your seats changed? We’re on the exact same 757-200 but got a swap email and moved to middle aisle.

WineCountryUA

Can you post the contents of the message? Removing any personal information.

Boraxo

We got moved with no notice a week or two before travel but quickly fixed it. Did not have any problems after. Middle seat was filled on full flight. In fact they had 20 on standby list. So I don’t think UA lost any revenue LOL