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The Emergency Exit Row
Hey folks,
I haven't posted in this forum for a while but just recently jumped onto a VX flight from LAX to SFO (VX 836) on Saturday. I paid for an emergency exit row which are I believe to be rows 9 and 10, is that correct? If not, please correct me accordingly. Anyways, mid-flight, a group of college yahooligans who decided to get drunk jumped into the emergency exit rows. They stayed there for the entire duration of the flight. Sorry for being anal, but even though the flight from LAX to SFO is an hour long, personally, I don't think they should have been there in the first place and the cabin team members along with the service director did nothing about this. I was pretty choked and when I brought it up to the attention of the service director, he said that there are exceptions. What exceptions were there to this case? I know VX policy is pretty relaxed and not-so-uptight but I'm sorry, if I have to pay for a premium seat, I don't think that it's fair for these seats to be a free-for-all. Honestly, I was pretty bothered by this. Has anybody experienced this before? Again, I don't mean to be anal or anything, but hey, business is business until I know for a fact that premium seats are a free-for-all for the taking. |
Hey there... you have Private Mail.
Short answer.... it's never OK to "steal" premium seats. End of story. Report it promptly to guest care. |
Totally agree with SFO 1K on this. Ideally, you should have complained to an FA on board (although to be honest, they should have enforced the rule without you needing to say anything) -- but I think a complaint from you now is totally justified.
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Well, I spoke to the first class team leader and also a member of the guest services at arrivals/check-in at SFO. Both answers were, "we make exceptions" which truly in my opinion, is nothing better than a sack of heavy bricks. Again, I'm not trying to be anal but I'm rather upset over the principle of those who did not pay for a premium seat simply end up stealing one and getting away with it. I'm not upset over the fact that I paid $15. I could care less. To some people, it's a lot of money but to others, it could be chump change but again, it was the principle of the matter.
I fired off an e-mail to guest services. I'll let you folks know how it goes. Thanks! |
Agree with the above, however just to point out one correction, Row 9, while an exit row, is NOT a premium row as it does not recline and it does not cost extra.
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A similar thing happened on a SFO->JFK flight I was on. Only a couple of us paid for exit row seating and there were many empty seats which filled up shortly after take off. But there weren't any "college hooligans" and everyone got along fine.
Are you more annoyed that the seats were filled by pax that didn't pay extra? or that they were rowdy college students? Personally, I would be more annoyed at the latter. Exit row seats are normally full and I'd pay the extra fee just to guarantee I got one if it were a free-for-all (ie. Southwest). I hope it works out for you. |
I was more annoyed by the principle of me having to pay extra to sit in the emergency exit row moreso than the college hooligans. Haven't heard back from guest services yet and I just booked a flight from LAX to SFO. No confirmation neither. Maybe I got banned? :D :p
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Quick update, folks. I received a response from VX Guest Services and here is their response verbatim:
Dear bcrdukes, Thank you for taking the time to contact us. I’ve taken note your complaint regarding "stealing" premium seats and will pass that on to our management team. In your situation, row 9 is actually not sold as a 'Premium Seat', as it does not recline and does not incur an additional charge. Although it is an emergency exit row, per FAA rules and regulations a seat cannot block any emergency exit doors (which would occur if it was reclined into row 10), thus row 9 does not recline into the emergency exit row 10. Our rationale for advance selling of Premium seats is that some people’s body types are such that the need the extra room that these premium seats require for their comfort. By charging for it - but just at a nominal $15 or $25 charge - it’s more likely that these seats will be available for those who really want them. Once those aircraft doors are sealed, guests can move around to sit in available seats (within the main cabin). If the seats in the emergency exit row are available, a guest can move to that seat with the approval of an in-flight team member. I have also forwarded your complaint to our in-flight management team to make sure this was the case and the team members followed protocol. I do apologize if allowing this seems like a misleading tactic on our part, and hope that you understand our position on the subject. It is through guest feedback that we are able to continually improve the quality of our service. We hope that you will allow us the opportunity to welcome you on board soon. Warm Regards, Courtney Virgin America Guest Care Edit: Oh, and by the way... Question Reference #080514-000007 Date Created: 05/14/2008 08:47 AM Last Updated: 05/14/2008 09:34 AM Status: Solved Departure Airport: Los Angeles (LAX) Arrival Airport: San Francisco (SFO) Flight Number: 836 Flight Date: 05/10/2008 |
Originally Posted by bcrdukes
(Post 9723830)
Quick update, folks. I received a response from VX Guest Services and here is their response verbatim:
Well, it looks like VX wins this battle. I'm satisfied with just an apology however, I do stand corrected in the fact that row 9 is not a premium seat but instead, simply an emergency exit row. There are other details I'm leaving out but again, I don't want to be super anal about it so I'm going to let bygones be bygones. Oh well! I finally got my flight confirmation from LAX to SFO this Tuesday. Anybody in town down for a drink or a bite? :D Edit: Oh, and by the way... :D |
Originally Posted by articos
(Post 9728376)
Row 9 was originally counted as a premium seat. And either policies have been changed, or this customer rep is misinformed, I think.
The original poster's gripe lost some teeth when it turned out the seat poachers were taking Row 9 seats, not Row 10 seats. Still, I can appreciate his frustration!!! |
Articos, I don't believe Row 9 ever was a premium seat. Does someone have this printed somewhere? And I don't count Seatguru as an official source :)
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Originally Posted by gooseman13
(Post 9729928)
Does someone have this printed somewhere? And I don't count Seatguru as an official source :)
http://www.virginamerica.com/va/imag...tdesirable.pdf The link to this is in the FAQs on virginamerica.com - keyword "leg room" They need to update this to remove Row 9. |
Originally Posted by SFO 1K
(Post 9729965)
Ask and ye shall receive:
http://www.virginamerica.com/va/imag...tdesirable.pdf The link to this is in the FAQs on virginamerica.com - keyword "leg room" They need to update this to remove Row 9. I like the 13 inches more knee-room in row 3! :D |
Originally Posted by SFO 1K
(Post 9729965)
Ask and ye shall receive:
http://www.virginamerica.com/va/imag...tdesirable.pdf The link to this is in the FAQs on virginamerica.com - keyword "leg room" They need to update this to remove Row 9. In regards to the OP, I trust you were sitting in row 10 and the college hooligans were in row 9. Because that's the only way VX's explanation would work. |
Originally Posted by SFO 1K
(Post 9729682)
Row 9 was a Premium Seat row at launch, but once the A319s started appearing in the fleet they took all the rows that don't exist in both cabin types and made them airport assignment only. (Avoids a mess during equipment subs.) Hence, Row 9 became an airport controlled row and not sold as premium.
The original poster's gripe lost some teeth when it turned out the seat poachers were taking Row 9 seats, not Row 10 seats. Still, I can appreciate his frustration!!! Gooseman, SFO's got it. There are 3 different diagrams on seating/premium seating in VX's FAQ if you hunt a bit for them. Great info, but seemingly needs a bit of updating. :) |
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