mfirst

I was on a CRJ200 (DEN-ATW) last night....
on the app, it looked like the flight was mostly full - with many of the E+ seats filling up in the last few hours (I was checking to see if anyone was sitting next to me)

when I boarded, the seat next to me and both seats behind me (there were a bunch of other empty seats, but I couldn't see those) had their cushions turned over with a sign that said "DO NOT OCCUPY" (I could probably post a pix if that helps).

I did shower before my trip, so I doubt it was UA sending me a message..... if it was for weight balance (on a 200?) it didnt seem consistent with the number of pax per side front/back?

broken seats?

...why not just block the seats without the sign?
...other than helping make sure that people really really didnt sit there?

thoughts?

-m

WineCountryUA

Standard approach for broken seats, been done for years and years
And yes to prevent someone from thinking these are "open" seats. FAA / DOT violation to use "broken" seats

mfirst

Wine,

that was sort of my thought - but it looked like those seats where open and available most of the day and even after the scheduled time to board. (the flight was delayed and it was a very quick turn around between flights - in fact, they almost started boarded before the crew finished cleaning) - time to troubleshoot seats? Is the process for taking a potential revenue generating seat out of commission as simple as someone saying "hey, I think this seat is broken"?
... considering how many seats I have been in that didnt appear to work properly (which is a vague definition) - I would assume Kirby would need to sign off first?
I didnt (couldn't?) check to see if they were occupied on the incoming flight - but I thought it was odd that my seat was OK but not the one next to me or the 2 behind me.....

-m

WineCountryUA

Basically yes, local maintenance team is probably the most common individual

All aircraft have a list of items needing to be looked at, some require immediate repair, some can be deferred -- just marked out of order. In some cases it is a call by the PIC based on standard procedures.

Sounds like a last minute reported issue, perhaps reported on the incoming flight. Not enough time to repair or local station did not have the needed item. Not very common but does happen from time to time.

Artpen100

I once saw that on my seat when I boarded. The seat back would not stay in the upright position. They gave me another seat.

AC681

Cabin related MTC items aren't always quick fixes due to small sometimes fiddly parts. Also if it's a situation where a seat is stuck reclined, it blocks the seats behind it. So if an aisle seat is stuck reclined, the window seat in that pair would be ok, but the broken seat, plus the two behind it are considered unserviceable.

jiburi

My two cents on the observation is "weight restriction" on flights. When atmospheric condition negatively impact maximum takeoff weight, adjustment needs to occur to reducing weight and spacing of seats on flights. This is often seen at airport of high elevention (eg. Denver), or temperature where air becomes less dense.

Jiburi

emcampbe

Or, just general weight/balance issues. I've been on CR2s where they've asked for volunteers to move to the back, I think from one of the first 4 rows. I've also been on CR7s, actually on a specific route/flight frequently back in the day which only ever had ~10 seats filled, give or take 2 or 3 (inbound flight was always full, and these were in the days when they used to compete for market share vs. have every seat filled on every flight). Almost every time, everyone was told to move up to either F or front of E+. One time there was even a party atmosphere with 7 onboard, and 1 of the pax was unlucky enough to need to slum it in E+ - the rest of us were told to sit in F. No signs, though (would be more trouble than its worth with only a handful on board.

Definitely out of service seats happen too...seen that. I can't remember if there was actually something saying do not use.

I've also seen this on AC CR2s, where the block off (or at least used to) row 4AC, but for crew use unless those seats are needed.

Oshkosh105

First off, bless your heart for taking a CR2 on a 880+ mile flight. Not so fun. I have avoided that flight - if the destination is only served one-stop thru DEN, I'll normally use MSN

It looks like it's normally operated by a SkyWest CRJ, but I know Air Wisconsin is based at ATW. It seems unlikely, but I wonder if SkyWest struck a deal for some light maintenance at ATW overnight? That used to be more common for the ORD flights. ATW didn't really have the demand for 5x daily flights based on my experience, but the planes almost always needed to be in ATW for service, so why not make it a revenue flight instead of ferry from ORD.

atword

I've done this flight and it's awful. Now that it's operated by SkyWest instead of Air Wisconsin, I'm hoping they will upgauge it to a CR7, or even an E175.