Passengers requesting to change seats with other passengers

[JohnPhelan]

This is a difficult issue. I would never ask anyone to move out of their allocated seat, and so I don't expect anyone to ask me to do it.

It's actually only happened to me once, and I was caught by surprise. I was on my own, on an AA 777 flight from MIA to LAX, the domestic tag of an AA international flight that originated somewhere in South America, so the aircraft was in AA's international config (slopey bed in J) . I was in a window seat in J that I had selected several months prior. It was a daytime flight, so I thought it would be nice to have the window to see the continent as we moved from east to west.

So I get into my seat and settle in. Then two young ladies board together, one comes and sits beside me, the other takes an aisle seat in the middle block several rows away. My seat partner says hello, then tells me that she and her colleague are travelling together on a work trip, but on separate bookings, so they were seated separately. Would I mind swapping with her?

This took me completely by surprise, so I ended up agreeing because I felt I was being placed in an impossible sitiuation, where by saying "no" would make me look like a complete ****. So off I moved to my waaaay inferior seat with no view for the 4+hour flight. I really resented being placed in that situation.

Of course, I later thought of all the things I could/should have said (like suggesting that she ask her friend's seatmate to swap with her, so the two of them could have been together in the middle block. Of course, the seatmate may have been travelling as part of a couple/group, so that might not have been an option either).

I like simongr's suggestion of telling them to talk to the cabin crew. Or of saying "I'm sorry, the airline doesn't approve of people swapping from their allocated seat".

But I still think it's very inconsiderate and selfish to ask anyone else to move from their allocated seat, and I resent being asked. If it ever happens to me again, I'll know how to handle it better!

 

[Berlin]

This is something of a personal bugbear for me. The problem is that I look like a complete d*ck if I stick to my guns. I often hear the sob stories of "oh but it is our honeymoon" and the like. Equally I only hear about people wanting to move from 21K to 11K - not moving back down the plane.

Pah- I literally hear them at the pub later bragging how easily they got away with their sob story. Unless there's a very very valid reason (and not properly planning your bloody honeymoon for f... sake is NOT a proper reason at all in my eyes ) I would never ever even consider it and have zero bad feelings saying so.

 

[cmon0005]

I got asked by someone once, thought I would be nice and oblige but never again!

I was in 72H on SQ A380, the guy next to me said his g/f was back in 76H, so I thought what the hey I'll move as its, 2-4-2 config anyway and i'll still get my aisle seat.
Sat down, neighbour next to me said hi seemed ok, but whole flight he was constantly making snorting/sniffing sounds with his nose, (sounded like he had a cold/flu), even picking his nose.

So after this experience I would be very reluctant to move seats unless for a good reason, eg. parents with child.etc

 

[Canny man]

I'm generally a no. As with others I've done the research, picked the seat and expect to be able to stick with it. Moreover, other than parents and kids, I don't see the necessity of sitting together. I even go to the extent of shifting a seat after booking to avoid sitting with workmates! I don't want to have to chat when I could be reading a good book instead.

I have been asked to move by the crew a couple of times recently. My response is that I am happy to move to an equivalent or better seat. Once it led to an upgrade from front row y to J, the other time it involved a move backwards so I refused.

 

[wandersen]

I had a bad experience a few years ago with this on BA. I was sitting in a bulkhead seat (Y) and the family behind us asked to swap - they had one child in a seat and one on a lap. Trying to be nice (and sucking it up) I said no problem as long as none of them reclined during the flight. Of course, as soon as the plane took off, they all reclined. I spoke to the CSD (or whatever BA call it) and moved back to the bulkhead. Lots of sly remarks about me the for the whole flight. Gotta love noise cancelling headphones You try and do the right thing.....

 

[Canny man]

I've had so many flights ruined by kids that I don't feel inclined to do any favours for someone that's brought a portable scream machine onto a flight (speaking as a parent who has had to fly with my own offspring as well).

 

[EmilyHoward]

A couple of years ago a co-director and I were on a flight from PER SYD in the front row of economy. The plane was pretty full and one of the cabin staff asked if I would move to accommodate a family sitting together. My response was that we would BOTH move happily into Business but not otherwise. After this cabin staff talked to the CSM we did get moved up! ... but were advised wouldn't get Business food! However oddly enough when the food did come out we got the business food too.

I think I would move to accommodate a parent sitting with a kid if the parent seemed pleasant but not otherwise unless it was an upgrade or a better seat.

Otherwise I just say "No, I'm not moving" and look at them till they look away. LOL

EH

 

[Alanslegal]

My price is low; I will happily swap seats in the same cabin for $50/hr Cash only and I take any currency

 

[simongr]

Cash only and I take any currency

I wouldnt be accepting Euros at the moment...

 

[opusman]

How do people actually refuse a request from cabin crew to move? My understanding is the crew can basically tell you to sit wherever they want and if you don't like it, lump it.

I've only experienced this once, but it happened while boarding - I had preselected 2C and when boarding got the beep, and was told I'd been moved to 3C so a couple could sit together. It didn't really matter but at the time it was annoying to have been moved without even being asked!

 

[Canny man]

What is it with couples?
I flew with my wife recently. As a result I lost my shadow. Net result, less elbow room, and my shadow has never ever asked to get past me so it can go to the bathroom

 

[smit0847]

I've got a pearler of a story about requesting seat changes.

Last year I boarded a completely full VA 777 MEL-LAX. I mean completely full - there was not a single spare seat in Y or Y+. I had pre-selected an aisle seat in the middle 3x3x3. Boarding had just about finished when this young blonde bimbo completely with peroxide hair and hot pink back-pack comes staggers down the aisle, looks at me and her middle seat next to me and then says in a slow, high-pitched voice 'can we swap seats cos I need to be on the aisle'. I replied 'sorry, I specifically requested an aisle seat - you can ask the cabin crew if they can find you a free aisle seat somewhere else' (thinking 'maybe if you'd checked in early when I did you would have an aisle seat too?'). Of course, there were none so she begrudgingly took the middle seat.

She strikes up a conversation with me in her slow high-pitched voice which I really wasn't interested in (thinking this was going to be a very long 15 hour flight) - I thought she was just a bit 'simple'. She eventually tells me she was in a car accident when she was 8, which caused her to be partly paralysed on her right side (hence the slow speaking) and needs to exercise her right leg every few hours (hence wanting an aisle seat). She told me it was her first time overseas and that she was one of the first people to check-in (woke up at 4am for an 11am flight with no DOM connection) and had been allocated an aisle seat but the check-in agent had forgotten to give her her boarding pass. By the time her ordered wheelchair arrived and she got to immigration who realised she didnt have a boarding pass and was then taken back to check-in, all aisle seats had been taken.

I felt terrible!




PS - What my partner and I do when there are 3 seats together window to aisle is to select the window and aisle seat, leaving the middle free. Someone else is less likely to select the middle seat than if it were a window or aisle seat. We find about 50% of the time it remains unoccupied. If someone does select it we say to them that we're travelling together and did they want the aisle or window seat (they always say yes).

 

[Ausbt]

I was on an AirNZ flight a while back, my first into Queenstown during winter and so looking forward to that dramatic approach on landing. There I was at the window, with a shadow next to me and a mother and baby on the aisle. We took off, the seal belt sign went off and the FA approached: "sir, madam on the aisle would be ever so apprecative if you might move allowing her companion to join her and assist with baby...?" I must not have been thinking clearly:
"aaah, yeah ok". So I get up and watch as mother plonks baby in the spare seat which she didn't pay for and cousin joins her in my window seat. I then go and sit in the aisle to very quizzical looks from the window and centre seat - a couple who also confused about this new arrangement, felt sure they had offended the cousin in some way. "ah, no."

 

[smit0847]

This is something of a personal bugbear for me. The problem is that I look like a complete d*ck if I stick to my guns. I often hear the sob stories of "oh but it is our honeymoon" and the like.

They're on their honeymoon and they weren't able to get seated together? Did they book separately? Turn up at the airport at the last minute? P*ss off the check-in agent? None of these excuses are acceptable on your honeymoon!

 

[smit0847]

I was on an AirNZ flight a while back, my first into Queenstown during winter and so looking forward to that dramatic approach on landing. There I was at the window, with a shadow next to me and a mother and baby on the aisle. We took off, the seal belt sign went off and the FA approached: "sir, madam on the aisle would be ever so apprecative if you might move allowing her companion to join her and assist with baby...?" I must not have been thinking clearly:
"aaah, yeah ok". So I get up and watch as mother plonks baby in the spare seat which she didn't pay for and cousin joins her in my window seat. I then go and sit in the aisle to very quizzical looks from the window and centre seat - a couple who also confused about this new arrangement, felt sure they had offended the cousin in some way. "ah, no."

I would never give up an aisle seat for a landing into QZN - on of the most spectacular descents in the world.

 

[simongr]

PS - What my partner and I do when there are 3 seats together window to aisle is to select the window and aisle seat, leaving the middle free. Someone else is less likely to select the middle seat than if it were a window or aisle seat. We find about 50% of the time it remains unoccupied. If someone does select it we say to them that we're travelling together and did they want the aisle or window seat (they always say yes).

A few people have posted this and I have to say I find this pretty rude. Assuming that a fellow WP does this - they and I could select from the same set of available seats. Because they have done this ahead of me I am pushed back an extra row because they wanted to chance getting the middle seat free. I find it pretty unimpressive.

 

[JohnPhelan]

How do people actually refuse a request from cabin crew to move? My understanding is the crew can basically tell you to sit wherever they want and if you don't like it, lump it.

There's a huge difference between a request - "Would you consider swapping seats with xx_"? - as opposed to a direction - "Sir, we need to move you to another seat".

You are obliged to comply with the directions of cabin crew; you are not required to agree to something that is a simply a request for your consideration.

 

[robd]

I tried the A- empty seat- C "trick" = fail. I was ok, as I still had the window, but jnr was almost in tears having to sit in the middle seat (apparently the flight was fully booked). Jnr is one of those people that thinks they need to pee as soon as their blocked in. Check in said they moved Jnr rather than myself, because I had "window" in my FF preference, but Jnr hadn't specified preference.

 

[smit0847]

A few people have posted this and I have to say I find this pretty rude. Assuming that a fellow WP does this - they and I could select from the same set of available seats. Because they have done this ahead of me I am pushed back an extra row because they wanted to chance getting the middle seat free. I find it pretty unimpressive.

Is this because you wouldn't be able to actually sit through a domestic flight if you were seated one row back? Presumably it would mean you would be waiting up to 8 seconds longer to disembark - this will really impact your life.

I love AFF, but the absurd amount of time and energy members expel on obtaining the first few rows of economy makes me laugh - unless its the very front row each row after that is exactly the same - you may just disembark a few seconds later. I really dont see how your life will improve by sitting in row 4 rather than row 5.

 

[EmilyHoward]

A few people have posted this and I have to say I find this pretty rude. Assuming that a fellow WP does this - they and I could select from the same set of available seats. Because they have done this ahead of me I am pushed back an extra row because they wanted to chance getting the middle seat free. I find it pretty unimpressive.

Hmmm I don't really think this is rude ..... rather it is a pretty smart move!

EH