Asked to give up your Meticulously Selected Seat when on board.

[dk4]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

Had booked the flight, like the OP, because the particular seats were available (front row aisle and window Jetstar starclass, selected so that nobody in front of me could recline) and at check-in was asked if I would give up my seat so that a couple could have it for the bassinet for their baby.

My JQi experience, in a similar situation, was NOT being asked at check-in but being informed that my preselected bulkhead seat (same deal, booked that particular flight because that seat was available) had been reallocated due to an infant. I didn't mind so much, and the solution was to seat me in 2D and keep the middle seat free. However, on boarding, like others, I noticed that there was no way this child was going to fit into the bassinet (and indeed the bassinet was not unlatched at all during the flight). I don't find it acceptable when check-in reps or flight attendants take the path of least resistance, when dealing with seat allocation theft and customer sob-stories/con-jobs.

Conversely I had a good experience with a QF FA and attempted bulkhead seat allocation theft: It was a P.E. red-eye, and I had the side bulkhead with empty seat next to me (for the record, order of priority is empty adjacent seat followed by bulkhead) and noticed a couple, two rows back on the other side, perturbed with their lack of bulkhead and conveying this to the P.E. FA, with reference to my seat and the empty one next to me. Thankfully the FA (with a bit of that QF experience behind her) was adept enough to simply advise the complainers (quite rightly) that as one of Qantas' most frequent travellers (QFspeak for WP) I had obviously chosen specifically where I wanted to sit, and she was not going to move me:!:

 

[JohnK]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

On My first J long haul on Qf I was moved by the FA from aisle to the middle if the 3 to allow two Us pax to sit across the aisle from each other. The trip was hell. Never again.

Sorry but what is/are 'two Us pax'? US citizens? Unaccompanied minors? Either way I would have flatly refused unless I was given a better seat.

I hate it when 'families' want to sit together and make no effort to deal with it before departure. I have a boarding pass for seat xxD only to find someone sitting there (and refusing to move) and telling me I can have a middle seat further back as they are a family and want to sit together. Unfortunately I cannot do much at this stage as any confrontation may get me off-loaded. I did stand my ground though and got a better seat.

Sorry but a family's need to sit together does not override my needs....

 

[markis10]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

I have had two people help themselves to a better seat at my expense, one was on a BA flight in PE and he got cranky when I insisted he move, the other was on a recent J flight ex DRW in a 767 when a young lass and baby thought row 1 was row 46 :shock:.

 

[BadgerBoi]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

My JQi experience, in a similar situation, was NOT being asked at check-in but being informed that my preselected bulkhead seat (same deal, booked that particular flight because that seat was available) had been reallocated due to an infant.

Well, I was very early to check in, I wouldn't be surprised if the other pax were informed that their bulkhead seats had been reallocated to make way for the family, since they very probably checked in after me. I would have been seriously angry if they'd done to me what they did to you.

 

[simongr]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

One issue is that although you might preselect a bulkhead row - if it is reallocated before check in it is not something that is being because of a late request from pax - it is because the airline have reviewed the manifest and there is a request for an infant seat.

 

[docjames]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

As per the T+Cs the airline / cabin crew can actually demand you move (no seat assignment is guaranteed).

You might not be happy though.....

 

[MatF]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

I've moved twice.

Once on a QF flight, a B763 BNE-SYD last year sometime, or maybe the year before. I'd managed to get my normal favourite seat, 23A. On boarding, the CSM asked if I'd mind moving, as the guy sitting in 23B had a 4yr daughter who had been seated down the back somewhere in a middle seat by herself. The CSM went on to say that the check-in people should have seated them differently, it shouldn't have happened, etc. The guy next to me said he was told they were the only seats they could have at check-in ... -shrug-

I relented - I was so tired from a long week at work, and just wanted to get underway. I did regret it somewhat once I remebered what a middle seat down the back was like At least it was only for an hour.

The CSM was very apologetic, and brought me a bottle of wine just before landing. I didn't think to suggest that the guy in 23B could have moved down the back instead (I blame fatigue).

The other time was only a couple of weeks ago, on a REX flight SYD-WGA. I was allocated 2A, a seat on the single side of the aisle (which I really like), and was told (not requested) as we were boarding that I'd been moved to 2B on the double side, so a "young girl" could be seated on her own in 2A, not next to someone.

She looked about 12 years old. I can only assume the guy I ended up sitting next to in 2C was a registered sex offender. No other reason, right?

 

[hummel]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

I remember flying SQ to Singapore a couple of years ago in Y and being asked to move from my window seat. Can't remember what row it was however one the wing etc A good seat for Y.

Anyway, SQ girl asked me if I could mind swapping to go down the back in the middle so husband/wife could sit together. i declind saying I chose the seat for it's position plus I prefer a window seat. She remarked along the lines of 'Ahhh you're one of those, a good passenger'

 

[drewbles]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

I have given up my seat once as when I came to sit down guy and girl were already sat in my seat and asking if I could move two seats back. The difficulty in these situations of holding your ground is that you risk the pax next to you being obnoxious for the entire flight.

I've had this happen quite a few times on SYD/MEL-PER flights. I simply state that I selected that seat and sorry but I do want it. I then sit down, in go the in-ear noise isolating headphones, and I ignore them for the flight.

They should have gotten to the airport early enough to ensure they were seated together, not my problem. I fly often enough to know which seats I want, and if they're available, I select them. It's a benefit of being an 'elite' in the program.

On an unrelated note, many moons ago in around 1988, my family and I were on a CX flight from HKG to LHR. This was in the days where Y was not full, and it was possible to take the 4 middle seats on a 747 to sleep on. My brother got up 'in the middle of the night' to use the bathroom. Upon walking back, he'd found some asian gentleman had taken his seats and promptly fell asleep. He woke up, screaming 'why are you in my seat!' (my brother was around 14/15 at the time) and a very startled asian gentleman got up and moved. Around 15 minutes later, he realised that he'd evicted the man for no reason; he'd come back to the wrong row of Economy :shock::shock:

 

[dk4]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

As per the T+Cs the airline / cabin crew can actually demand you move (no seat assignment is guaranteed).

They had better have a pretty fair & reasonable purpose for doing so, in this day in age.

These days (Australia, 2011), simply because something is written into the T&C doesn't mean it is legally valid; particularly if part of the consumer purchase decision/buying process includes seat selection.

 

[JohnK]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

One issue is that although you might preselect a bulkhead row - if it is reallocated before check in it is not something that is being because of a late request from pax - it is because the airline have reviewed the manifest and there is a request for an infant seat.

And some people are extremely selfish and sneaky.

As reported earlier in this thread there is no need for a bassinet if the baby is close to 2 years old. Why put the request in for bulkhead at check-in (and ruin someone else's flight) when you know the bassinet will not/cannot be used?

Why do people who always do the right thing have to suffer because of the selfish creeps out there?

 

[simongr]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

I agree JohnK - bu tnot everyone knows how big the bassinet is. The CSA should know and say "sorry but your giant child is too large for the bassinet - have you tried getting him to cut back on the pies?" - they don't as that is the easier option.

 

[serfty]

Note that (for example) Qantas permit children under 2YO who are not occupying a seat to travel with their parent free of charge domestically and at 10% of the adult fare Internationally.

For these situations the "Bassinet Position" is useful due more to its bulkhead location than whether the kid can fit in the bassinet. The extra room gives the 'seat-less' infant some additional room to stand and relieve the parent of the need to continually nurse the child.

 

[Keith009]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

I've only given up my seat once. This was on Air Asia. I had paid for Express boarding and seat pre-allocation. Picked 1C. Upon boarding 1B and C were occupied by a mum and her son respectively. The son was physically disabled, and they needed the assistance of family members who were sitting across the aisle. I was more than happy to take 1A which is just as good as 1C (legroom-wise and ability to disembark quicker) and I didn't have the heart to make them move.

Every other time I've stood my ground and won.

 

[ozmille]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

Once on AF J CDG to LAX there was a giant "infant" it was so big that the legs were sticking out of the bassinet:shock: Crew couldn't care less. It was quite funny to see and I hadn't selected the position so didn't bother me. The child slept all the way so couldn't have been to uncomfortable...

 

[Justchecking]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

Good on you for saying no. At the end of the day a lot of people do get on flights and decide they don't quite like where they are sitting and expect everyone else to just acquiesce to their demands. Sometimes the request is a genuine one but often it's nothing more than another person hoping someone will say yes. And you needn't feel guilty for saying no. A simple "no thanks I'm happy where i am" is perfectly fine. You're comfort after all is just as important as anyone else's and you've made the effort to secure the seat of your choice. The CSD made it perfectly obvious to you that this request wasn't of a genuine nature so feel free to decline.

That person had the same opportunity as you to secure your seat and didn't bother, maybe next time he will.:mrgreen:

 

[dfcatch]

Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board.

I've had people sitting in my seat before (never a WP-style seat), but usually it's just a case of them misreading the seat on the BP. Eg. Me having to take row 5 instead of row 6 on an RJ-140.
Or taking 4D instead of 4C on a 738.

 

[UP4014]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

I've only given up my seat once. This was on Air Asia. I had paid for Express boarding and seat pre-allocation. Picked 1C. Upon boarding 1B and C were occupied by a mum and her son respectively. The son was physically disabled, and they needed the assistance of family members who were sitting across the aisle. I was more than happy to take 1A which is just as good as 1C (legroom-wise and ability to disembark quicker) and I didn't have the heart to make them move.

Every other time I've stood my ground and won.

Although I stand my ground, I wouldn't do it for a disabled person trying to use the airline/airport travel system. (I find it bad enough at times)

 

[BadgerBoi]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

As per the T+Cs the airline / cabin crew can actually demand you move (no seat assignment is guaranteed).

You might not be happy though.....

Depending on how they made the demand, and for what reason, the cabin crew might not be too happy by the end of the flight either. If the demand was reasonable, fair enough, but if not and I ended up in an unsatisfactory seat, then they would experience the passenger from hell :evil:
In the case of the OP, I would not consider it to be reasonable. In the two cases that happened to me, not reasonable (although my two outcomes were satisfactory to me).

 

[Keith009]

Re: Requested to give up your Meticulously Researched and selected Seat when on board

Although I stand my ground, I wouldn't do it for a disabled person trying to use the airline/airport travel system. (I find it bad enough at times)

Exactly - which is why I was prepared to give up my seat in that instance. This isn't the same thing as someone trying to 'game the system', especially considering this is Air Asia which doesn't allow seat pre-allocation unless one pays for the service.