Simplest solution
 

Moving seats is the simplest solution of all. At times, I've moved to other open seats. If you notify the FA's upfront, and stay in the same class (including not violating the E+ / E- boundaries), it's no big deal to change.

On some of these posts, I can't understand why people don't look for simple solutions. A sense of entitlement? A lack of creativity? Wanting the world to bend to their point of view? I don't know, maybe it's a bit of each.

This whole thing reminds me of an IAH-DEN flight I was on not so long ago....I am 1K sitting in 3D (bulkhead coach on 737)...my upgrade had not "cleared" so I took my coach seat in the first boarding group and started reading my book. Well the full flight is loaded now and there are 2 seats 2A and 2B open in first and the door is about to close. An FA walks by and I inquire as to the open 2 seats in first. She says that 2 GS pax have not shown and that she will get back to me after she responds to a call button in row 8. Well I can overhear the whole thing. A Pax who ID's himself as a 1P is sitting on the Aisle (8c) and is complaining that 2 POS's (Passengers of Size) have been seated next to him and that the combined effect is that he has only half his seat and no arm rest. He asks to be op-uped to 1st as the door is closed now. Stunningly, the FA says, I will fix this and takes the 2 POS PAX, both female, and seats them in 1st! This guy blows a lid! Boom! Capt. even has to come out. FA "apologizes" to me..."sorry"....anyway...1st in IAH-DEN is not worth much anyway...but that is not likely how the FA should have handled it. I called and wrote MP about it all...wow 500 miles added to my account! Anyway...stuff happens up there and the FA's do have authority to do non-conventional op ups.

So passenger 8C ended up with 3 seats to himseld/herself? Not a bad situation, IMO. However, thumb down on the FA's action. He/she should have upgraded you and move passenger 18C to 3D.

I gotta believe this is a fake thread. I mean, why would anyone get upset because UA sold e+ seats?

I've traveled quite a bit with my wife and she's a 1P and I'm 1K. We book an aisle and window seat hoping it'll be open but most times someone comes and takes the middle which, of course, we then switch off so we have the middle and aisle seat and the person has the window seat. There have been times I've looked around and there's a number of middle seats open.

I just figure it's the luck of the draw and never think it's because maybe the open middle seat is between two 1K/UGS so I "lost" the middle because of status.

This is worth getting bent out of shape? :rolleyes:

Yup....Rant'nRun® :D

Pat

But there is a pecking order in place. You 1K folk are far more likely to score an upgrade, and thus not be back there in the first place, than those in the lower ranks. Obviously not as often as you might like, but it's far more often than anyone else. From the outside, looking in, 1K is not such a bad place to be.

I'm not so sure that I disagree with the FA's actions. First, the GA should have cleared a couple upgrades before closing the door. I laughed at the FA's response and I think that it would be worth not upgrading on IAH-DEN to see the FA basically thumb their nose at a pompous overblown frequent flier (and a 1P at that!).

We've all had upgrades not clear only to have F seats go out empty.

Yup, especially since OP hasn't (dared?) to comment anything in this thread yet!

True but I'm not using my ug's on short flights with no meals. I prefer the exit rows, they have more room. :) See you at the Sea Otter :)

Ha! Mr. Frink and I do the same but if someone sits in the middle they stay in the middle. I'm not giving up my aisle and he's not giving up his window just so we can spend an extra X hours inches apart instead of feet apart. ;)

Until the Chicken started offering seat selection we'd typically book our itins using different PNRs to prevent "helpful" gate agents from noticing we were together and reseating one of us in B or E.

:eek: They put someone in MY middle next to me on SFO-LAX :eek:

I mean... the lav wasn't occupied... stick him in there!

to much for the seat belts :D LOL

If the OP was in E+ in row 15, that's got to be a 752, right? And row 15 is exit row. (it's late, and I'm too lazy to hit seatguru...)

Why would anyone think an exit row would remain empty anyway? Everyone asks for them. And even worse, that's where the GA will put larger pax if the seats are empty.

He is a "Costco Gold Star", after all. He's probably had that status since kindergarten.

Friends of mine (a couple) who travel to Europe in coach, always buy three seats so that they're guaranteed an empty seat between them to spread out and insure that they'll not be elbow to elbow.
They're not FF's and can't afford to buy Biz Class so they feel it's a decent alternative. Their one complaint is that they don't get the miles for that seat.
though they do like getting that one extra meal in case one of them doesn't like what they ordered. ^

My guess is that if the airlines gave people the FF miles for that empty seat, a lot more people would be doing it which could bring in some extra dollars and make for happier FA's due to less passengers to deal with.