Vindictive seat selection?

[Pushka]

totally off topic medhead your story about rude people pushing you into no space reminded me of a recent BNE-ADL flit one late Saturday night. With Virgin.:shock: on the way back from Vanuatu.

There were three large Bikies, maybe Hells Angles, eating in the cafeteria. When our flight was called, they got up and left. Right. We boarded, and two of them were upfront and one was on his own just next to us, in the exit row seat. He sat by the window with a seat next to him. Along came this guy smartly dressed with a jacket on. He said to the Bikie, "excuse me, I have the window seat." The bikie just looked at him and said, "No, I am sitting here and there is no difference in the seats." The guy looked at us and then just sat down in the aisle seat.

The bikie must have had a digestive problem as we had to deal with all kinds of sounds and smells. The smart guy kept moving up to the front of the plane to get a break from it. Cabin attendants understood and let him hang around. A little old lady was sitting next to the other two bikies - one of the attendants went up to her and moved her, saying she would be closer to her friends.

When we got to Adelaide, the three of them walked off, NO luggage at all, and Adelaide airport was crowded with Federal Police.

I guess my question is why weren't the three of them seated together?

 

[JohnK]

Looking at it from the Platinum end of the scale, I'll specifically choose an aisle seat with nobody in the middle and it irks me when some noob bronze person decides to take the middle seat towards the front, despite there being plenty of better seats towards the back.

It is quite interesting sometimes to see the final allocated seats on a flight.

A few weeks ago thanks to flow forwarding went from 23J on a 767 to 7D or 8D on a 737. Both row 4 and row 5 were full. Looking back through the cabin there was a spare middle seat in almost every row as far as the eye could see.

And then last week again went from my pre-allocated 23J on a 767 to 10D and then 4C on a 737 as I asked for an earlier flight. As it turns out the middle seat was vacant.

I'm all for bronze/nobodys being banned from the first 10 rows in Y.

I would tend to agree. One of the benefits of status should be seat blocking.

I guess we win some and we lose some when it comes to vacant middle seats.

 

[cwphoto]

Yeah, how dare someone try to be helpful.Stuffing things like cups and bottles into seat pockets results in annoying bumps to the person in front, like a kid kicking the seat. Maybe the noob gold was just trying to educate you in manners.

Incorrect.

 

[cwphoto]

totally off topic medhead your story about rude people pushing you into no space reminded me of a recent BNE-ADL flit one late Saturday night. With Virgin.:shock: on the way back from Vanuatu.

There were three large Bikies, maybe Hells Angles, eating in the cafeteria. When our flight was called, they got up and left. Right. We boarded, and two of them were upfront and one was on his own just next to us, in the exit row seat. He sat by the window with a seat next to him. Along came this guy smartly dressed with a jacket on. He said to the Bikie, "excuse me, I have the window seat." The bikie just looked at him and said, "No, I am sitting here and there is no difference in the seats." The guy looked at us and then just sat down in the aisle seat.

The bikie must have had a digestive problem as we had to deal with all kinds of sounds and smells. The smart guy kept moving up to the front of the plane to get a break from it. Cabin attendants understood and let him hang around. A little old lady was sitting next to the other two bikies - one of the attendants went up to her and moved her, saying she would be closer to her friends.

When we got to Adelaide, the three of them walked off, NO luggage at all, and Adelaide airport was crowded with Federal Police.

I guess my question is why weren't the three of them seated together?

Happened to me once, but I stood my ground - only when hell freezes over will a scum-bag bikie try that cough on me.

 

[Pushka]

Happened to me once, but I stood my ground - only when hell freezes over will a scum-bag bikie try that cough on me.

He was big. VERY BIG, very threatening. You know - Rugby style 'neck', muscled shoulders and long hair tied back. Tatts. I reckon standing your ground would see you both being kicked off.

 

[medhead]

He was big. VERY BIG, very threatening. You know - Rugby style 'neck', muscled shoulders and long hair tied back. Tatts. I reckon standing your ground would see you both being kicked off.

Unlikely, bikies would be generally aware of when to not get in trouble. Obviously, that went out the window in Sydney a few years ago, but that involved feuding. I'm sure that they are not going to give a reason for AFP involvement over a non-bikie. The problem would be if you then needed to get out of the window seat mid-flight.

Of course, I did hear of bikies beating the cough out of someone who offered for one of them to play a video game at a pub. He said "do you want a go" to the bikie. Lesson to watch the words you use.

 

[cwphoto]

He was big. VERY BIG, very threatening. You know - Rugby style 'neck', muscled shoulders and long hair tied back. Tatts. I reckon standing your ground would see you both being kicked off.

I know the type, bring it on.

 

[Simo]

I have only once got a middle seat and that is as a WP but i got to the J lounge to check in and they person on the desk said there is a flight about to close in a minute or so.

It is nearly a full flight do you want a seat on it as all the flights are delayed today.

I took it as i got home app 4 hours earlier than i would have if i waited.

No J lounge time but who cares i got home many hours earlier than i would have.

 

[Rebekkap]

40 or 60 to disembark - both numbers are a disaster in the race to the CBR taxi queue!

Plus one to that - the CBR taxi queue is a nightmare.

 

[samiam]

I have only once got a middle seat and that is as a WP but i got to the J lounge to check in and they person on the desk said there is a flight about to close in a minute or so.

It is nearly a full flight do you want a seat on it as all the flights are delayed today.

I took it as i got home app 4 hours earlier than i would have if i waited.

No J lounge time but who cares i got home many hours earlier than i would have.

And that's the only time I'd consider plonking myself in the middle of a couple of Plats (or anyone for that matter, to avoid hanging around due to delays).

 

[awilcockson]

Just thought I'd rub in the seat selection screen I got this morning

 

[Pushka]

Just thought I'd rub in the seat selection screen I got this morning

View attachment 3646

I hate that row. Cant use your tags and have to queue to check in and then get 'the lecture' onboard.

 

[serfty]

Look like most of my domestic flights ... of course shortly after T-80 I'm generally moved to row 4 (or 23)

 

[harvyk]

I hate that row. Cant use your tags and have to queue to check in and then get 'the lecture' onboard.

I love that row (and the row behind it, although I wouldn't pick the middle seat...) The 30 second "lecture" involves saying yes at the end and of course in the unlikely event of an emergency... But then again in the unlikely event of an emergency I would already be willing to do \ assist in any way possible \ required.

As for people picking middle seats up front leaving empty non middle seats up the back, well each to their own. I do prefer sitting towards the front, but I wouldn't pass over a window \ aisle seat in the back for a middle seat in the front.

 

[awilcockson]

although I wouldn't pick the middle seat...)

Only picked the middle seat because I'm traveling with my wife. Considered picking A & C and hoping my shadow would block B for me, but the thought of having someone else wedged between us for the flight was too great a risk.

 

[mannej]

Only picked the middle seat because I'm traveling with my wife. Considered picking A & C and hoping my shadow would block B for me, but the thought of having someone else wedged between us for the flight was too great a risk.

Talking about risk, what is the risk of a swap from an -800 to a -400?

 

[awilcockson]

Talking about risk, what is the risk of a swap from an -800 to a -400?

Shhhhhhhh!

 

[serfty]

Only picked the middle seat because I'm traveling with my wife. Considered picking A & C and hoping my shadow would block B for me, but the thought of having someone else wedged between us for the flight was too great a risk.

My strategy is go the B(/E) seat with SWMBO in the aisle C(/D) seat. Often my WP shadow covers the A(/F) seat.

 

[Lawlass]

Only picked the middle seat because I'm traveling with my wife. Considered picking A & C and hoping my shadow would block B for me, but the thought of having someone else wedged between us for the flight was too great a risk.

You can pretty much guarantee that the person wedged in the middle would be happy to swap with one of you.

 

[awilcockson]

You can pretty much guarantee that the person wedged in the middle would be happy to swap with one of you.

I could always do the reverse of what happened to me on a 4 hours transcontinental Delta flight .... I ended up in B, with a husband and wife in A/C. I asked them if one of them would like to swap so they could sit together. "No thanks" was the reply. They then proceeded to spend the next four hours talking across me, handing food to each other across me and passing magazines across me and pointing out interesting articles ... all whilst I was quietly trying to read a book on my iPad. Angry? You wouldn't know the half of it.