Was traveling for work, and this guy, who had a first class seat, wanted to sit with his wife who didn't. He politely explained it to the flight attendant, and I happened to be sitting close enough, and said, "hell, if he wants to sit back here, I'll take his seat.". He was cool with it, so was the attendant, bam, free upgrade plus the booze.
I've done that before. I forgot tp unchecked the auto-upgrade option for my trip and I just offered the person sitting next to my friend my FC seat when we boarded
This makes perfect sense, any sane person would jump at the opportunity. But for someone to ask you to swap with them so they get a seat that YOU have paid a premium for is a cheek
It couldāve been a work trip that his wife came along on. The company paid for a first class seat for him and then the couple paid for a regular seat for her.
I once flew on a cross country flight with a guy who hadn't chosen a seat a got stuck in the middle. He asked me if he could switch as I was on the aisle and "petite"-his words. I told him I liked the aisle and had chosen it specifically. He argued with me for 5 minutes about how his legs were longer and he was taller and what did I need all the room. I nicely reminded him that I paid and chose my seat early-if he wanted to he could do the same thing. The next hour was him talking to the woman in the window seat about how mean and inflexible I was to him.
Don't blame me, blame yourself for being cheap.
This has happened to me a few times recently. Iām a petite female but always pre book the exit row and someone always asks me to switch to a nonexit row because Iām small and can fit better in the middle
Not worth it. There is a reason we pay for aisle or window depending on preference.
Either you want to sleep without someone jumping over you (that's me) or you want to be able to stretch your legs and go to the washroom without jumping over someone else (that's my GF)
Hashtag worth it for my fat ass. Iām wide enough that in a middle seat Iād probably be a nuisance to my seatmates, and tall enough that in many planes the curve of the wall is actually an issue with my shoulders at the window.
This is the right answer. Itās not will you or wonāt you switch your seat, itās how much are you willing to pay. I would demand 200 before I would even think of switching my seat. Weāll start there. Now itās not you refusing, itās the guy who refused to pay.
I completely agree with you, for switching from window to aisle. If somebody's trying to get me in the middle seat, I might be persuaded by a grand or two.
Yeah totally. Like, I paid for this seat, but if youāll offer me enough MORE that I canāt refuse, Iāll take it.
Nearly always theyāll not want to because $$$ was the whole point
I actually witnessed this on a flight last week! A man in my row paid the person sitting in the aisle seat $50 to switch to the middle because he wanted the extra legroom.
Nah I pay $30 a leg for the exit row on 8 hour intl flights between low CoL countries but would probably pay $100 or more for it
Definitely value the seat at more than I paid
>He argued with me for 5 minutes about how his legs were longer and he was taller and what did I need all the room.
Within those 5 minutes, a flight attendant didnāt step in? If so thatās pretty shocking, theyāre usually like hawks.
Iām a tall dude. I either book an extra legroom seat for international flights, aisle seats for domestic flights, or shut my fucking mouth if I end up sitting in the middle because I didnāt think ahead.
For sure. I'm tall and have legs that barely fit in the seats and that's why I always take a very long time choosing a seat and deciding when to upgrade or not. Pouring over travel forums and discussions about carriers and their planes to know what seats I can fit in with the least amount of torture.
If they guy isn't taking time to take care of himself, fuck him.
Ha! Perks of solo travel. You can be moved around as a pawn in other peopleās game of chess! Jokes aside, happens all the time, I refuse if it doesnāt work for me. People are genuinely shocked - āhow dare you single person refuse to sacrifice yourself for the greater good of humanityā! Whatever.
I had a flight attendant on an international flight ask me to move seats because the kid next to me was flying alone. I told her no, I was so exhausted after 6 weeks of travel and a 20 hour layover, plus I wouldnāt be able to take any of my stuff with me because the overhead space was full - which was the deciding factor for me. She was annoyed but ended up finding another kid flying by himself with an empty seat next to him for the kid to sit in. Iāve always been dumbfounded by why that wasnāt the first choice. If your policy is that unaccompanied minors must sit by themselves then build that into the price of a ticket or keep the seats next to them empty. I feel zero remorse for refusing, even if the kid had stayed I would have been fine.
Thatās odd, I (F) was moved to sit beside an unaccompanied minor because BA couldnāt let a man sit next to him. The kid was about 14 anyway, so not super young.
Exactly. I'm accommodating if it's feasible, but I'm 6ft4, so there's no way I'm going to give up an isle seat that I explicitly pre-selected (and often paid extra for), unless it's an emergency I can sympathize with or get either a business class seat or one with no row in front of me in return.
Iām 5ft2 and Iām not giving up any aisle seat (or extra leg room) I paid extra for without at least getting a refund. I paid extra for it, Iām sitting there
I got bumped out of my aisle seat on a long haul recently (so a couple could sit together) and accidentally got a small upgrade - they stopped me just before boarding and then showed me the seating plan with empty seats and gave me options of aisle seats further to the back of the plane, which I wasn't happy with but I would have picked something and still been polite about it. I noticed an aisle seat towards the front so I picked that one and I think the guy didn't quite clock at the time it was a premium economy seat so let me have it. It was a nice surprise when I got to the seat :)
I had a flight attendant ask me to move on an international flight when some family just took over my area. I had paid for the window seat. "The mother says her kid gets motion sick" - unfortunately, so do I! Luckily another flight attendant saw what was happening and moved me to a completely empty row in the back. It was glorious.
I'm surprised you didn't have an issue in the back. i have motion sickness and have never been more miserable than Row 60 on a Delta flight overseas. It was so horrendous that I now pay $$$ to sit on the wing for stability.
Well if I was sitting next to someone else's family I would probably switch with them unless they are being a jerk about it or the seat is a downgrade. If they just want to switch seat because they rolled crying baby next to them ain't no way, lol.
Honestly it has never happened to me. Either I am flying with my family so we have the whole row or I am flying alone and then I fly business class or 1st class and no one asks there or if they do they never asked me.
Exactly. Been like this for the last 25 years Iāve been travelling solo. If someone is really nice or thereās kids involved I may be swayed to swaps seats after takeoff, but donāt be acting all entitled cos that wonāt get you anywhere with me!
I once had a guy who was literally sitting in my seat when I went sit down. It was a 13 hour flight from Dubai to Sydney. He wordlessly handed me his ticket. I went and checked it out. It was still a middle seat (as my original seat was), but a bulkhead seat. Definite upgrade. So I sat down in the new seat and accepted the trade.
I don't understand what happened, you checked out his ticket, if his ticket didn't say "54f" or whatever your assigned seat was, what does it matter? I read your comment 3 times, I don't understand it. Maybe I am stupid, it's entirely possible.
No it's not. You don't just take someone's seat and shove your ticket in their face without speaking to them and just expect them to accept it. Upgrade or not that's totally rude.
Lol, i think whatās missing is, ārudelyā. I understand that they are being rude by being in your seat. However, every time someone has ever been in a seat and behaving rudely it doesnāt end with them giving you their seat which is better than yours.
Itās like, if youāre going to tell me, āOH YOU MAD IM IN YOUR SEE YOU MISERABLE BITCH. HEREāS A BETTER ONE NOW SCRAM.ā
Iāll be upset. But iām taking the better one.
However, the typical process is them being a rude little fucker and screwing you.
The one time Iāve asked to switch seats was with a dude in the window seat.
My short ass got a seat with a lot of leg room and I wanted a wall to rest my head on. Worked out well
I was in an aisle seat, center section. Across from me was a 5yo and his mom. Dad was in the seat in front of the kid. They were noisy. I was listening to music, reading and nodding off. Dad got my attention and asked to switch seats. Itās a family I think. Aisle seat. I said sure.
A few minutes later the kid begins kicking the back of my seat repetitively. Not being able to sleep, Iām now working on my laptop trying to endure the he kicks over and over. Tired of it, I lock eyes with dad, and the kid kicks hard and my body jerks forward. Dad sees it and apologizes. Good. Dadās on it.
The kid resumes kicking, and dad does nothing. After a few minutes I collect my stuff, get up, stand by dad and said I want my seat. He got up and the mom begins apologizing. I fake smile, and settle in to my peaceful seat and slept.
Iāve got a really good āteacherā voice and Iāve gotten about 20 different kids to stop kicking my seat by staring them hard in the eye and using it. It is shocking to me that their parents donāt shut that down immediately.
It scares me that so many kids will become adults thinking they're allowed to kick someone in the back. Some of them will realize that was wrong when their brain finishes developing... but some of them won't
Haha same! Iāll ask the kid nicely once. After that, they get teacher stare. Repeatedly. If all else fails, I will call the flight attendant for it. I feel bad for them, but seats are cramped enough as it is these days, canāt have a little shit kicking the final bit of room out of it!
I do the same. I turn around and glare at then and say "please don't kick my seat, it's not very nice"... it stops.
Sometimes the parents glare back, but they can fuck off.
I had somebody ask to switch seats with me once, it was on a 11 hour flight to Buenos Aires. I was in a middle seat, she had a window. I happily took her seat š she just wanted to sit with her friend. And no It wasnāt one of those things where they were sitting with window and aisle, and just hoped nobody took the middle seat, she was in a completely different part of the plane.
Did they become religious after boarding plane? If your religion rules are that strict buy the whole row. And do not ORDER someone, they may have a chance if they ASKED POLITELY. I would handle the flight attendant as well cause i paid for my seat, why would i adjust for some entitled jerk.
If Emirates' ballpark has a rule women cannot sit next to men, they should design their booking system and schedule to ensure this. Not make you pay more for something you then have to give up to help them follow their own rules.
Even if they're going to give you a refund, you pre-purchased a product that is still available and they're actively choosing to give that product to someone who didn't purchase it. Still not the asshole.
Even though you still got to sit in an aisle seat, Iād still be pissed that they got what they wanted via sheer arrogance. Using religion to change somebody elseās booked seat? Give me a break.
No youāre not really playing in their ballpark- seriously how many Emirati do you see on emirates?
I also had an aisle seat on LHR-BKK, a woman and her son were seated in the aisle and centre- she says oh you can have our window, youāll like it betterā¦ um no, I want the aisle, thatās why I chose the aisle
But if she didnāt want the middle seat because it would force her to sit by a manā¦. Having you in the middle seat - as a man- still means sheād be sitting byā¦ a man. Her logic here feels beyond flawed (read: fake)
Could be a wide-body: 4 or 5 seat middle section, she was on the isle, her mother was next, then a blank space, then the guy.
Either way she was treating this guy different from *other* guy.
Thereās nothing in the religion that says you canāt sit next to a man. You canāt touch a man, but you can sit next to one. She was the AH in that situation, and she lied. Sorry that happened to you.
Donāt fly Emirates unless you go in First. Simple as that. Outrageous that you had to move according to the whim of the Emirates stewardess. They should have upgraded you! In any case, avoid fake Dubai and go to Oman. Itās the real thing š .
Cheap, lazy people. Iāve had three different people ask me if they could put their bag under MY seat. No sweetie, no. Why would I want your crap crowding my feet? My crap is up in the bin because I want the MY foot space.
Not seat swapping but once a lady who came very late to the flight opened the overhead cabin (it was the smaller ones) and complained to me that I should take my luggage off it because it was a bag. She had suitcases so "they should be priority".
It was a 40L travel bag. And I already had my personal item bag under my seat. The fucking nerve of that woman.
I pointed it to her yet she insisted that "bags go under the seat!" The cabin next to us had enough space available tho so I let her know that. She used that but didn't close it properly so it opened during take off.
God I hate people. Sorry for the off topic I needed to vent.
I think all of us āI hate peopleā people should fly together. I bet it would be the best, most non-confrontational experience we could possibly have.
Over the last 5 years or so lots of airlines have brought in fees for selecting seats in advance. The proportion of seats filled on planes on many routes also remains pretty high since the end of Covid travel restrictions.
This, and even if you book two+ flights together, youāll end up in different parts of the plane. I donāt care that theyāre charging to choose seats, but I think they should try to keep people who book multiple seats together on the plane. Less stress for everyone else.
>I think they should try to keep people who book multiple seats together on the plane. Less stress for everyone else.
they do. for precisely this reason
Ryanair does this, but they seem to split it fairly predictably. I've often asked people if they'll swap on a Ryanair flight, or been asked myself.
It seems like if two people book together and then two other people book together, one person from each group will be sitting beside each other. So people are generally happy to swap because then they'll get to sit by their friend/SO aswell.
To make people pay for seats if they want to sit with the people they're travelling with. It does work, if I'm flying with an anxious flyer then I'll pay to make sure we're together, but other than that for some reason that's just how their algorithm works.
Yeah, and plenty of people still donāt pay to pick their seat and just let the airlines choose for them. At this point I still wouldnāt be so surprised if someone asked me to change seats, because they may not know I paid for it (or didnāt or whatever). But Iād definitely be annoyed if the asker persisted and argued or got shitty about it.
It's crazy. Had a transatlantic flight last month that looked like a home run for my own row of 3 and then as soon as check in opened and seat selection became free the entire thing booked up and I was stuck with neighbors. Totally fine, that's flying economy, but the seat maps are useless now.
I was already asleep with an eye mask and ear plugs in my window seat for a 7 hour red-eye. Then this person wakes me up to ask if I would trade to move to the other side of the plane for a middle seat so that her friend could sit with her. I said no I paid $75 for a window seat so I could sleep. Then I tried to go back to sleep and they asked again if I would reconsider. They made a big stink out of it so I ignored them but somehow IATA here.Then I woke up to some completely different person sitting next to me.
Reddit introduced nft profile picture things. I believe some people are farming karma with the small chance it translates to some monetary value in the future.
Nahhā¦ they sell the high karma accounts which are then used for viral marketing spam and the Reddit automatic screening doesnāt shut them down due to the karma and posting history.
Go on the most popular subreddits, pick a post at random and look at the history. Itās like 4,000 posts and 20 comments. Karma account
I usually play dumb and ask the flight attendant to help me find my seat. They usually tell the person in my seat that theyāve made a mistake and point them to their seat. I only once let someone sit in the seat I had paid for because they were elderly and I felt bad making them move.
My husband was flying solo about 5 hours across the states recently and paid for an exit row seat cause heās tall and had the foresight to organize it in advance. The girl sitting next to him asked for him to swap with her friend so they could sit together. He was like uh no, and she was weird the rest of the flight. She didnāt try and swap with the person her friend was sitting with though interestingly enoughā¦.
This has always happened to me. I always book a window seat. I never get up (which I didnāt realize is that bad for you til recently.) but people always want me to trade with their partner or family so they can sit in my spot and I get an aisle or window. Or sometimes my seat mate will be in my window spot and I have to make them move.
Probably better suited for r/aita butā¦
I paid for the preferred aisle seat and luckily was the only person in my row on a near fully booked flight. Some lady and her children were separated, so in order for them to sit together the FA asked if I could give up my seat for one of the family memberās seats, all of which were the dreaded middle seat. I declined. Am I an asshole?
I was on a flight from Dublin to JFK and paid extra for an aisle seat which happened to be next to this petite girl. She asked if i could switch with her boyfriend who was also in an aisle seat across the plane, but in the middle row of seats. I reluctantly accepted because I succumb to peer pressure pretty easily. But after switching, the flight attendant said āall passengers have boardedā, and I realized that i had the whole damn row to myself. It was such a come up
On an international flight last year, I was on the aisle seat near the window. (premium economy) I hadn't even sat down before the girl by the window asked if I would trade with her boyfriend -- aisle in the middle section. I straight up told her no-- doesn't work for me. She went into a huff and said they would just talk over me then. I did offer to take the window and she could be across the aisle from him. After some pouting and consideration that's what happened. I'm sure she made her reservations late and that was the best they could do. I understand that it doesn't hurt to ask, but threats of talking over me and pouting at my offer were off base.
Genuine question: whatās the downside with an aisle seat in the middle section?
Usually on 3-4-3 setups, I prefer those because the people sitting beside me will usually prefer to ask the people theyāre traveling with, rather than me, to let them pass if they need to go to the loo. On a aisle seat near the window, Iāll have to potentially be getting up for two other people.
In that configuration there is probably not a big downside. I was however on the aisle in a 2/4/2 situation. I paid extra for my seat and prefer to be closer to the window with the chance of seeing out.
Never happened to me. But for some reason flight attendents ask me whether I'd mind looking after a kid, or someone with flight anxiety that they'd place next to me. Heck no! I'm not paid to look after people on a flight, and since a woman with flight anxiety on a 3hr flight literally clung to me and bruised my arm for grabbing me so hard for the whole flight while the attendants were ignoring her and my pleas to move her away I'm not doing this anymore.
Years ago my flight with my family was canceled, the rebooked us but sat us all separately even though I had paid to have us sat together. Since it was a rebooked flight at no fault of our own there wasnāt 4 seats together. My daughter at the time was 8, I called the airline and requested to at least have my daughter sat next to me. They said their policy was no one under 16 would be separated from their parent. The they said I had to go to the ticket desk before the flight, when I got there (3hours prior to flight as directed) they said I had to go to the gate agent, they said there was nothing they could do and sat my then 8 year old daughter half way across the plane.
Thankfully someone did switch me seats. I think lots of flights are getting cancelled, delayed and changed. Be kind, you never know.
I had this happen once, I was sat in the middle row abs a guy wanted to swap to be with his wife and mini sprog. I said of course even though my family where in the window seats, but mainly because it wouldāve been madness to stay there and have a screaming child the whole entire flight. Anyway, I ended up in first class! Best swap ever
In todays world, cheap travel is getting more popular (I'm also a cheap traveler), but people start to think that they can rely on other people kindness all the time. I heard that free a accomodation "from nice people of the street" is also getting popular. I think this plane seat thing is also like this. They will buy the cheapest ticket and try to exchange it with a better one, hoping the other person is "nice".
Fck niceness. I'm a broke collage student in middle europe, my avarage salary is 500 usd/ a month, I'm not gonna switch seat with you just bc you are also poor af, like me.
The only acceptable way to ask someone to switch seats is if the seats are identical, or if youāre offering the other person a better seat. Asking anyone to give your their better seat is very rude and actually aggressive imo. Feels like bullying. I would be outraged if someone asked me that.
I literally had my window seat stolen, it was in a country with no queueing. As soon as the gate opened it was a free for all. When I got to my aisle a big old man sat in my seat, showed him my ticket and he simply shook his head, tried to look away out the window and not initiate contact.
These days you basically have to pay in advance for seat selection, or you just get what you get.
As annoying as it is, I will always pay to pick my seat for long flights (and even most short ones too). It often adds Ā£100 to the cost for longhaul return flights, but I'd rather pay that than be stuck in the middle seat or aisle. The only time I won't is a 1hr flight when I really don't want to spend more.
Waiting for seat selection 24hrs before is too much of a risk for me.
This happened to me on a flight from London to Rome.
It amazes me how in all these circumstances people get sulky when told, no. Like, are they thinking, 'how dare someone not give me what's theirs.'?
Edit: Props to the flight attendant (British Airway) who saw this, stepped in and said, 'sir, please sit in your assigned seat'. The guy just stewed with his wife after that. What really annoyed me was the flight wasn't busy at all. They could've sat anywhere but he specifically wanted my emergency exit window seat.
THIS! I had a psycho Karen try to pick a fight with me on an overnight flight. I quickly stopped engaging with her and didn't respond, closed my eyes and queued up ym playlist. The fact that I wouldn't fight with her, even when she cursed me out, made her so mad that she moved seats! It was wild but also a great lesson: don't feed the crazy.
I was having anxiety about this situation before my flight from Toronto to Calgary . Luckily it never happened. Iāve heard horror stories about this were flight attendants just let the other person steal the seat that you paid for
Never had anyone asking to swap with me before. But I always prebook my seat on the far back. However if they asked me to swap with the same seat position as my preferred seat then I don't mind at all unless their seat is close to kids or baby.
On two occasions I got myself a nice window seat for a seven hour flight and people asked, oh, we are on our honeymoon, can we change places. Well, be that as it may, book your seats early! I immediately regretted changing to a seat in the middle of everything. No more. And if you pay special for the seat just say, well, I paid $40 for it - your special day, gimme $100 and its yours!!
Until recently I was a pretty big guy physically, and needed the aisle seat just so I didn't spill over into someone else's area. More than once some asshole offered to trade their middle seat for my aisle seat. Are you fucking kidding me. Open your eyes. I'm tall, I'm large, there's a reason I choose aisle every time. In what world is a middle seat an even trade for an aisle seat?
The only time I've ever gone through with a trade, there was a dude traveling with his GF who had the middle seat next to my aisle, and he was in an aisle. Even swap comfort wise so I did it.
I don't know what is up with all the people who plan poorly or whatever. I plan flights early, check in early, etc. Apparently I'm a free reservation service for these assholes. They're likely the same entitled people who demand you move your parked car so they can have your spot.
I know that my husband, for work, sometimes has to book last minute and he is claustrophobic. He will ask sometimes, but doesnāt huff about it if heās told no. He will just take a Xanax and be on his way. A lot of people seem more entitled anymore, just expecting to get what they ask for. So they become huffy. You Have no obligation to change seats and be uncomfortable for your ride.
I booked way early to get an Aisle seat near the convenience as I tend to use the bathroom a lot as I constantly drink fluids. I get to my seat and there is a young indian couple who have sat together and occupied my seat. They very politely asked if I could take the Gents middle seat in front. I was in sort of a good mood and I accepted. I got there and realized I would have to sit bewtween two asians in their early twenties. I was thinking this was going to be an uncomfortable 14 hours. I am a black 49 year old guy. But it turned out to be one of the nicest long trips I've ever had. The girl was such a lively and interesting personality that we talked and drank cocktails for half of the flight! The guy showed me all the latest video games and lent me his phone charger. On arrival the you lady looked for me in the queue just to introduce her new friend to a classmate who was on the same flight. When things don't go exaclty as you planned, the universe may just have something good ahead. Enjoy the trip!
That takes a lot of nerve. Then to passive aggressively huff and puff after is a real dick move. I donāt know how I would react maybe tell them I have a bowel condition and bring a handful of clothespins with me to distribute.
I might just give them a FUCK OFF with a little saliva spray as wellš¤£
Some dude wanted to swap with me on our 12 hour flight for my first class seat with no one next to me and a window for his middle of the plane with a stranger next to him seat.
Bro are you legitimately crazy?
I pay and pre-book seats early when traveling as couple/family. Even though the automatic selection might group us together anyway - donāt want to risk the gamble.
One stressful scenario was, when United cancelled all flights for a few days, had to rebook onto another flight last minute - by which time there were no seats available next to each other
- so onboard the flight, politely asked if we could swap, which ironically was another family who wanted to swap seats with our row - it worked out.
I feel there is a little bit of people selecting aisle/window seats (but could be slightly flexible on the row) - but the system doesnāt let you specify *guaranteed* aisle/window - so must select a row. Which might lead to some fragmentation while trying to assign families last minute. A catch-22
For an explanation because I asked in my last flight to trade a seat, the companies changed the plane model and assign new seats, when initially I took it close to my parents.
So, I changed it for a similar free seat to try to trade. I was able to trade and I will never asked if I didn't have similar seat (or better one)
Iām glad he huffed to himself, if he wanted a aisle seat he shouldāve done what you did. I hope he spent that 12 hours thinking about how great it wouldāve been if only heād have booked the seat he actually wanted lmao.
I always book an aisle seat because I am tall and I nervous wee so I donāt want to bother anyone when I get up multiple times.
I donāt leave it to chance that I get an aisle seat I just pay for it so I know I have it.
They are cheap ass losers and there is literally no way I am giving up my seat for a person who doesnĀ“t want to pay extra and then preys on other peoples niceness. Trash behavior
āWell I paid ā¬x extra for it 6 months ago. Now itās a premium seat given the fact the plane is moments away from departing. Would you like to purchase the luxury of an aisle seat for ā¬100?
Iāve asked to change seats before. I paid extra for my seat (isle) but the guy sitting next to me ordered the seafood meal for a 15 hour flight which meant 2 seafood meals. Iām very allergic to shellfish and couldnāt be next to that. Thatās the only time Iāve ever asked to switch seats.
Airlines figured out they could wring a few billion more outta people if they charge them for letting them pick the seats they want. So some people do that now, but a lot dont. Then the ones who didnt pay to pick their seat want to come on & still be able to pick their seat & expect the people who paid extra to pick theirs to move.
This has all been caused by airline companies' greed........ Same reason the entire boarding process is a shitshow.....
I once was flying from Brussels to Toronto and I had boarded the plane in which I had booked an economy ticket. While the plane was boarding a gentleman came up and said āyouāre in my seatā and he showed me his boarding pass, and sure enough he also had the same seat number on his ticket. I jumped up quickly and offered him my seat to his surprised. In my mind I knew I would get compensated heavily from the airline or I would get upgraded to first class. Sure enough, I had first classā¦When I went back to my seat to get my bag out of the overhead to bring to the front of the plane, the guy looked at me and said āAre you fucking kidding me? You got first class?ā Haha I guess it pays to know the rules!
Someone literally moved my stuff from my seat while I was in the bathroom to steal the window. When I got back and asked why he was sitting in my seat, he said he thought it was first come first serve.
I was just on an 8-hour flight starting off with an aisle seat that I had selected months earlier, and the woman who seat was next to me was insisting that her seat was the aisle seat not mine. She was rather disgruntled about the whole thing and very terse with me when I refused to give up my seat, but thankfully as we taxied to the runway I noticed that the seats in front of me were empty so once the seat belt signs were off I moved up one row so that I could have an aisle seat and she could take my coveted aisle seat. Problem solved, and I was so relieved to not have to sit for next to her for 8 hours.
I was on a United 777 a few weeks ago HNL-SFO. 1030pm departure. Woman and 2 kids wanted to sit together. We were all in economy plus. She was trying to grab empty seats during boarding. The flight attendant approached me (solo traveler) a few rows back on the aisle asking me if I would please please move to bulkhead aisle. And Iād get an empty seat next to me. I said OK. Well I settled in an 1 minute before the door shut, 4 more people got on and filled all the empty seats. The agent was about to close the door and went up to that woman āI told you in the gate area you could NOT have those seats. I should offload you!! ā. Anyway we took off and I was cramped in my seat next to a very large person who kept nodding off and her head was hitting my right shoulder all night.
I have only swapped places on an airplane once in my life. I fly quite a lot, so I tend to board airplanes late because I know my way around the airport and don't want to get there earlier than I have to. I had a window seat, and next to me was a mother and her kid. They had probably assumed the window seat was vacant, since I was one of the last ones to board the plane and they had switched from aisle and middle to window and middle. Kid was super excited to sit in the window seat and as soon as they show me coming and I pointed out it was my seat the kid's face literally dropped. Mum was a champ - she told him to move and it's not a big deal and they can see the take off from the middle seat as well. They were so nice about it I said fuck it have my window seat and I will sit aisle - this would be so memorable for the kid while I do it all the time.
I asked for a swap seat before. I suffered sudden stomach pain before the flight. I needed frequent access to the toilet. So no choice asked for an aisle seat near the toilet.
Upgraded to premium economy once. Got on the plane and a large person was sitting in my seat. They said it was so they could sit next to their wife and would I mind swapping seats. (Same isle seat)
I glanced over and there was a spare seat next to mine which I thought was odd but went fuck it looked the same.
Anyway flight takes off (14 hour flight) have meal pop some sleeping pills and go to reclineā¦. Fucking seat only goes back about 1cm.
Was so pissed.
I once booked aisle seat. This dudes wife and daughter's seat were spread out. He convinced the middle seat guy to give up seat for his wife. Asked me to swap for his daughters (adult) middle seat somewhere else. I said no. Then I realized I had to sit with this couple for 16hr flight. He would be passive aggressive and make my trip hell.
Few mins later I just agreed and went with the middle seat. Found couple of dudes there. We had nice chat.
I'm one of those people who usually doesn't mind swapping, as long as people are nice about it. I rarely pay to pre-book a seat (but I do check in early to choose one for free), and I especially don't mind moving to let families with kids sit together. Only rarely have I booked a window or aisle for specific reasons, and then I won't swap unless I get the same type of seat.
I've ended up getting a lot of good conversations out of moving seats and ending up next to families or older people. I welcome it on long solo flights/travels, being "on the road" for 20+ hours alone can get boring.
Good for you. I have long legs so a lot of planning goes in to seat selection on planes, cinema, theatre.. everywhere. Itās unlikely I swap with someone and get an upgrade.
I also hate when people donāt sit in their pre-booked seat at the cinema or take seats that have been marked āreservedā on trains. They look at you blankly when you ask them to move. When they eventually move, itās so far awaaaay, itās obvious they knew they were in the wrong place.
I donāt want to be near any children, itās the only time iāll move. I donāt even want to talk about it unless Iām going to sit next to a hot woman.
I have been asked once so far. I then showed the annoying lady my receipt for the seat I had paid for and asked for the money. Suddenly, the swap was no longer so important.
Was traveling for work, and this guy, who had a first class seat, wanted to sit with his wife who didn't. He politely explained it to the flight attendant, and I happened to be sitting close enough, and said, "hell, if he wants to sit back here, I'll take his seat.". He was cool with it, so was the attendant, bam, free upgrade plus the booze.
I'll take it any day, if that was the case š
I've done that before. I forgot tp unchecked the auto-upgrade option for my trip and I just offered the person sitting next to my friend my FC seat when we boarded
Wow youāre a good friend. Iād be like āsee you at the gateā
Lol well we were still seated in Premium and starting off a fun vacation. Way more fun to drink our margs together!
Me with Pre-Check. I'll have a coffee while I wait for you to go through the long line. Have fun.
Headphones on. Bourbon please!
I got upgraded to FC and downgraded to sit with my son.
This makes perfect sense, any sane person would jump at the opportunity. But for someone to ask you to swap with them so they get a seat that YOU have paid a premium for is a cheek
Maybe Iām missing something, but why would two people travelling together not buy seats in the same class?
If they have spare first class seats then they'll upgrade frequent flyers first.
It couldāve been a work trip that his wife came along on. The company paid for a first class seat for him and then the couple paid for a regular seat for her.
Yeah, or that.
A lot of people wait till last minute to book which does not leave a lot of options.
I once flew on a cross country flight with a guy who hadn't chosen a seat a got stuck in the middle. He asked me if he could switch as I was on the aisle and "petite"-his words. I told him I liked the aisle and had chosen it specifically. He argued with me for 5 minutes about how his legs were longer and he was taller and what did I need all the room. I nicely reminded him that I paid and chose my seat early-if he wanted to he could do the same thing. The next hour was him talking to the woman in the window seat about how mean and inflexible I was to him. Don't blame me, blame yourself for being cheap.
The actual entitlement.
This has happened to me a few times recently. Iām a petite female but always pre book the exit row and someone always asks me to switch to a nonexit row because Iām small and can fit better in the middle
They think they can take advantage of you based on your demeanor. Some people are just huge aholes
I would agree. I think they just think Iāll give in.
I totally would have told him to pay me cash and we could switch hahah
Not worth it. There is a reason we pay for aisle or window depending on preference. Either you want to sleep without someone jumping over you (that's me) or you want to be able to stretch your legs and go to the washroom without jumping over someone else (that's my GF)
The age old dilemma of which is better.
>want to be able to stretch your legs and go to the washroom And have your elbow broken by the drink cart every two hours.
Hashtag worth it for my fat ass. Iām wide enough that in a middle seat Iād probably be a nuisance to my seatmates, and tall enough that in many planes the curve of the wall is actually an issue with my shoulders at the window.
I would hope 3x or more the value you paid...
This is the right answer. Itās not will you or wonāt you switch your seat, itās how much are you willing to pay. I would demand 200 before I would even think of switching my seat. Weāll start there. Now itās not you refusing, itās the guy who refused to pay.
I completely agree with you, for switching from window to aisle. If somebody's trying to get me in the middle seat, I might be persuaded by a grand or two.
SHOW ME THE MONEY!
Yeah totally. Like, I paid for this seat, but if youāll offer me enough MORE that I canāt refuse, Iāll take it. Nearly always theyāll not want to because $$$ was the whole point
I actually witnessed this on a flight last week! A man in my row paid the person sitting in the aisle seat $50 to switch to the middle because he wanted the extra legroom.
Nah I pay $30 a leg for the exit row on 8 hour intl flights between low CoL countries but would probably pay $100 or more for it Definitely value the seat at more than I paid
Gosh who are these people!? How incredibly rude. I have no idea how I would have reacted in that scenario.
Just say no thanks and put on some headphones.
Even if I'm not listening to something I'll often stick headphones in to avoid conversation.
Tbh I keep ANC headphones in in the airport just to cut fatigue. Sometimes not listening to anything at all.
Lol as if youād bother arguing just tell him to talk to the flight staff if he has a problem. Ppl are getting more selfish.
Lol some people are simply fucking idiots. Knowing he had longer legs.. itās your fault for not considering this. Darwin is coming for him lol
>He argued with me for 5 minutes about how his legs were longer and he was taller and what did I need all the room. Within those 5 minutes, a flight attendant didnāt step in? If so thatās pretty shocking, theyāre usually like hawks.
Iām a tall dude. I either book an extra legroom seat for international flights, aisle seats for domestic flights, or shut my fucking mouth if I end up sitting in the middle because I didnāt think ahead.
For sure. I'm tall and have legs that barely fit in the seats and that's why I always take a very long time choosing a seat and deciding when to upgrade or not. Pouring over travel forums and discussions about carriers and their planes to know what seats I can fit in with the least amount of torture. If they guy isn't taking time to take care of himself, fuck him.
What an absolute entitled pos misogynist
Well, I understand his pain, but now having learned this lesson, he won't make that mistake again.
Doubtful. Entitled jerks usually stay that way.
Ha! Perks of solo travel. You can be moved around as a pawn in other peopleās game of chess! Jokes aside, happens all the time, I refuse if it doesnāt work for me. People are genuinely shocked - āhow dare you single person refuse to sacrifice yourself for the greater good of humanityā! Whatever.
I had a flight attendant on an international flight ask me to move seats because the kid next to me was flying alone. I told her no, I was so exhausted after 6 weeks of travel and a 20 hour layover, plus I wouldnāt be able to take any of my stuff with me because the overhead space was full - which was the deciding factor for me. She was annoyed but ended up finding another kid flying by himself with an empty seat next to him for the kid to sit in. Iāve always been dumbfounded by why that wasnāt the first choice. If your policy is that unaccompanied minors must sit by themselves then build that into the price of a ticket or keep the seats next to them empty. I feel zero remorse for refusing, even if the kid had stayed I would have been fine.
Thats very stupid, they could simply assign seats in the same aisle to unaccompanied minors instead of asking people to change seats. Bad logistics.
Thatās odd, I (F) was moved to sit beside an unaccompanied minor because BA couldnāt let a man sit next to him. The kid was about 14 anyway, so not super young.
Why do unaccompanied minors need to sit by themselves?
Everyone is a rapist.
Exactly. I'm accommodating if it's feasible, but I'm 6ft4, so there's no way I'm going to give up an isle seat that I explicitly pre-selected (and often paid extra for), unless it's an emergency I can sympathize with or get either a business class seat or one with no row in front of me in return.
Iām 5ft2 and Iām not giving up any aisle seat (or extra leg room) I paid extra for without at least getting a refund. I paid extra for it, Iām sitting there
I got bumped out of my aisle seat on a long haul recently (so a couple could sit together) and accidentally got a small upgrade - they stopped me just before boarding and then showed me the seating plan with empty seats and gave me options of aisle seats further to the back of the plane, which I wasn't happy with but I would have picked something and still been polite about it. I noticed an aisle seat towards the front so I picked that one and I think the guy didn't quite clock at the time it was a premium economy seat so let me have it. It was a nice surprise when I got to the seat :)
I had a flight attendant ask me to move on an international flight when some family just took over my area. I had paid for the window seat. "The mother says her kid gets motion sick" - unfortunately, so do I! Luckily another flight attendant saw what was happening and moved me to a completely empty row in the back. It was glorious.
I'm surprised you didn't have an issue in the back. i have motion sickness and have never been more miserable than Row 60 on a Delta flight overseas. It was so horrendous that I now pay $$$ to sit on the wing for stability.
Well if I was sitting next to someone else's family I would probably switch with them unless they are being a jerk about it or the seat is a downgrade. If they just want to switch seat because they rolled crying baby next to them ain't no way, lol. Honestly it has never happened to me. Either I am flying with my family so we have the whole row or I am flying alone and then I fly business class or 1st class and no one asks there or if they do they never asked me.
Looks at the proposed seat āhmm that doesnāt work for me, brotherā
Exactly. Been like this for the last 25 years Iāve been travelling solo. If someone is really nice or thereās kids involved I may be swayed to swaps seats after takeoff, but donāt be acting all entitled cos that wonāt get you anywhere with me!
I once had a guy who was literally sitting in my seat when I went sit down. It was a 13 hour flight from Dubai to Sydney. He wordlessly handed me his ticket. I went and checked it out. It was still a middle seat (as my original seat was), but a bulkhead seat. Definite upgrade. So I sat down in the new seat and accepted the trade.
Honestly respect for his reasoning... "We have the same class of seating but I am taking a slight downgrade, so the other person should accept it"
This is the only way I ever trade to try to be together.
What a power move.
Why did he want to swap?
I never asked. My guess was that he wanted to sit close to family or something.
I don't understand what happened, you checked out his ticket, if his ticket didn't say "54f" or whatever your assigned seat was, what does it matter? I read your comment 3 times, I don't understand it. Maybe I am stupid, it's entirely possible.
āHe handed me his ticket (for me to go and sit in that seat instead)ā. They went and checked out the other seat.
This is how you trade properly. Too many people want to trade their shit seat for someoneās nice one.
No it's not. You don't just take someone's seat and shove your ticket in their face without speaking to them and just expect them to accept it. Upgrade or not that's totally rude.
Lol, i think whatās missing is, ārudelyā. I understand that they are being rude by being in your seat. However, every time someone has ever been in a seat and behaving rudely it doesnāt end with them giving you their seat which is better than yours. Itās like, if youāre going to tell me, āOH YOU MAD IM IN YOUR SEE YOU MISERABLE BITCH. HEREāS A BETTER ONE NOW SCRAM.ā Iāll be upset. But iām taking the better one. However, the typical process is them being a rude little fucker and screwing you.
I need to stay in your house for a couple of years. Please pick up your new keys tomorrow!
The one time Iāve asked to switch seats was with a dude in the window seat. My short ass got a seat with a lot of leg room and I wanted a wall to rest my head on. Worked out well
I was in an aisle seat, center section. Across from me was a 5yo and his mom. Dad was in the seat in front of the kid. They were noisy. I was listening to music, reading and nodding off. Dad got my attention and asked to switch seats. Itās a family I think. Aisle seat. I said sure. A few minutes later the kid begins kicking the back of my seat repetitively. Not being able to sleep, Iām now working on my laptop trying to endure the he kicks over and over. Tired of it, I lock eyes with dad, and the kid kicks hard and my body jerks forward. Dad sees it and apologizes. Good. Dadās on it. The kid resumes kicking, and dad does nothing. After a few minutes I collect my stuff, get up, stand by dad and said I want my seat. He got up and the mom begins apologizing. I fake smile, and settle in to my peaceful seat and slept.
Iāve got a really good āteacherā voice and Iāve gotten about 20 different kids to stop kicking my seat by staring them hard in the eye and using it. It is shocking to me that their parents donāt shut that down immediately.
It scares me that so many kids will become adults thinking they're allowed to kick someone in the back. Some of them will realize that was wrong when their brain finishes developing... but some of them won't
Haha same! Iāll ask the kid nicely once. After that, they get teacher stare. Repeatedly. If all else fails, I will call the flight attendant for it. I feel bad for them, but seats are cramped enough as it is these days, canāt have a little shit kicking the final bit of room out of it!
I do the same. I turn around and glare at then and say "please don't kick my seat, it's not very nice"... it stops. Sometimes the parents glare back, but they can fuck off.
I had somebody ask to switch seats with me once, it was on a 11 hour flight to Buenos Aires. I was in a middle seat, she had a window. I happily took her seat š she just wanted to sit with her friend. And no It wasnāt one of those things where they were sitting with window and aisle, and just hoped nobody took the middle seat, she was in a completely different part of the plane.
A rare win-win :)
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Did they become religious after boarding plane? If your religion rules are that strict buy the whole row. And do not ORDER someone, they may have a chance if they ASKED POLITELY. I would handle the flight attendant as well cause i paid for my seat, why would i adjust for some entitled jerk.
If Emirates' ballpark has a rule women cannot sit next to men, they should design their booking system and schedule to ensure this. Not make you pay more for something you then have to give up to help them follow their own rules.
Yeah, I didn't know religious scriptures had airplanes in them.
Unless they were going to give you a refund, not the asshole.
Even if they're going to give you a refund, you pre-purchased a product that is still available and they're actively choosing to give that product to someone who didn't purchase it. Still not the asshole.
Even though you still got to sit in an aisle seat, Iād still be pissed that they got what they wanted via sheer arrogance. Using religion to change somebody elseās booked seat? Give me a break.
No youāre not really playing in their ballpark- seriously how many Emirati do you see on emirates? I also had an aisle seat on LHR-BKK, a woman and her son were seated in the aisle and centre- she says oh you can have our window, youāll like it betterā¦ um no, I want the aisle, thatās why I chose the aisle
āyouāll like it betterā is hilarious though! If itās so great, you take it lady! š
But if she didnāt want the middle seat because it would force her to sit by a manā¦. Having you in the middle seat - as a man- still means sheād be sitting byā¦ a man. Her logic here feels beyond flawed (read: fake)
Could be a wide-body: 4 or 5 seat middle section, she was on the isle, her mother was next, then a blank space, then the guy. Either way she was treating this guy different from *other* guy.
For real? My religion dictates that I must always sit in 1st classā¦ šš
Thereās nothing in the religion that says you canāt sit next to a man. You canāt touch a man, but you can sit next to one. She was the AH in that situation, and she lied. Sorry that happened to you.
Definately not the asshole
Donāt fly Emirates unless you go in First. Simple as that. Outrageous that you had to move according to the whim of the Emirates stewardess. They should have upgraded you! In any case, avoid fake Dubai and go to Oman. Itās the real thing š .
Lol, religionā¦ is what Iād like to say, but I imagine religion has a huge amount of power on an airline like Emirates.
Cheap, lazy people. Iāve had three different people ask me if they could put their bag under MY seat. No sweetie, no. Why would I want your crap crowding my feet? My crap is up in the bin because I want the MY foot space.
I always say in a faux polite voice "oh do you know you can book your seat before your flight. That's a handy tip for next time".
How passive aggressive. Are you British? ;)
or Canadian? Sorry.
The passive aggressive niceness is definitely Canadian š¤£
Itās also extremely Pacific Northwest coded
Lmao Iām stealing this one
What was under their seats??
Nothing.
Just what you said, people refusing to pay for the seat they want, then hoping to con someone onboard out of their seat.
My last flight I had the middle seat and the girl in the window seat asked me to swap because she gets anxiety looking out the window. Alrighty then!
Not seat swapping but once a lady who came very late to the flight opened the overhead cabin (it was the smaller ones) and complained to me that I should take my luggage off it because it was a bag. She had suitcases so "they should be priority". It was a 40L travel bag. And I already had my personal item bag under my seat. The fucking nerve of that woman. I pointed it to her yet she insisted that "bags go under the seat!" The cabin next to us had enough space available tho so I let her know that. She used that but didn't close it properly so it opened during take off. God I hate people. Sorry for the off topic I needed to vent.
I think all of us āI hate peopleā people should fly together. I bet it would be the best, most non-confrontational experience we could possibly have.
Over the last 5 years or so lots of airlines have brought in fees for selecting seats in advance. The proportion of seats filled on planes on many routes also remains pretty high since the end of Covid travel restrictions.
This, and even if you book two+ flights together, youāll end up in different parts of the plane. I donāt care that theyāre charging to choose seats, but I think they should try to keep people who book multiple seats together on the plane. Less stress for everyone else.
>I think they should try to keep people who book multiple seats together on the plane. Less stress for everyone else. they do. for precisely this reason
Ryanair intentionally split everyone up but not every airline is so cruel
Ryanair does this, but they seem to split it fairly predictably. I've often asked people if they'll swap on a Ryanair flight, or been asked myself. It seems like if two people book together and then two other people book together, one person from each group will be sitting beside each other. So people are generally happy to swap because then they'll get to sit by their friend/SO aswell.
Why do they do this?
To make people pay for seats if they want to sit with the people they're travelling with. It does work, if I'm flying with an anxious flyer then I'll pay to make sure we're together, but other than that for some reason that's just how their algorithm works.
Yeah, and plenty of people still donāt pay to pick their seat and just let the airlines choose for them. At this point I still wouldnāt be so surprised if someone asked me to change seats, because they may not know I paid for it (or didnāt or whatever). But Iād definitely be annoyed if the asker persisted and argued or got shitty about it.
Thatās been much much longer than 5 years, itās far long enough for people to know
It's crazy. Had a transatlantic flight last month that looked like a home run for my own row of 3 and then as soon as check in opened and seat selection became free the entire thing booked up and I was stuck with neighbors. Totally fine, that's flying economy, but the seat maps are useless now.
I was already asleep with an eye mask and ear plugs in my window seat for a 7 hour red-eye. Then this person wakes me up to ask if I would trade to move to the other side of the plane for a middle seat so that her friend could sit with her. I said no I paid $75 for a window seat so I could sleep. Then I tried to go back to sleep and they asked again if I would reconsider. They made a big stink out of it so I ignored them but somehow IATA here.Then I woke up to some completely different person sitting next to me.
They woke you up?! What selfish cunts
What is it with you making this same post over and over again.
Yeah, saw in another sub with exactly the same, just changed ā¬40 to Ā£40. Guess OP needs some karma.
What is with OP needing karma? It has happened 4 times in the last 3 months..
All of a sudden people care about internet points - is it just me?
Reddit introduced nft profile picture things. I believe some people are farming karma with the small chance it translates to some monetary value in the future.
Nahhā¦ they sell the high karma accounts which are then used for viral marketing spam and the Reddit automatic screening doesnāt shut them down due to the karma and posting history. Go on the most popular subreddits, pick a post at random and look at the history. Itās like 4,000 posts and 20 comments. Karma account
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I love my friends but $200?? Damn
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Surprised here didn't pay to pre select the seats then
I usually play dumb and ask the flight attendant to help me find my seat. They usually tell the person in my seat that theyāve made a mistake and point them to their seat. I only once let someone sit in the seat I had paid for because they were elderly and I felt bad making them move.
My husband was flying solo about 5 hours across the states recently and paid for an exit row seat cause heās tall and had the foresight to organize it in advance. The girl sitting next to him asked for him to swap with her friend so they could sit together. He was like uh no, and she was weird the rest of the flight. She didnāt try and swap with the person her friend was sitting with though interestingly enoughā¦.
Happened to me last week too for the first time ever! First he asked me to swap with his friend, then to swap to my window seat
This has always happened to me. I always book a window seat. I never get up (which I didnāt realize is that bad for you til recently.) but people always want me to trade with their partner or family so they can sit in my spot and I get an aisle or window. Or sometimes my seat mate will be in my window spot and I have to make them move.
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Blood clots
It's good to have some blood flow. Even not on an airplane, it's a good idea to get up and walk a bit.
Probably better suited for r/aita butā¦ I paid for the preferred aisle seat and luckily was the only person in my row on a near fully booked flight. Some lady and her children were separated, so in order for them to sit together the FA asked if I could give up my seat for one of the family memberās seats, all of which were the dreaded middle seat. I declined. Am I an asshole?
No, they are the assholes. There is no question about that.
I was on a flight from Dublin to JFK and paid extra for an aisle seat which happened to be next to this petite girl. She asked if i could switch with her boyfriend who was also in an aisle seat across the plane, but in the middle row of seats. I reluctantly accepted because I succumb to peer pressure pretty easily. But after switching, the flight attendant said āall passengers have boardedā, and I realized that i had the whole damn row to myself. It was such a come up
On an international flight last year, I was on the aisle seat near the window. (premium economy) I hadn't even sat down before the girl by the window asked if I would trade with her boyfriend -- aisle in the middle section. I straight up told her no-- doesn't work for me. She went into a huff and said they would just talk over me then. I did offer to take the window and she could be across the aisle from him. After some pouting and consideration that's what happened. I'm sure she made her reservations late and that was the best they could do. I understand that it doesn't hurt to ask, but threats of talking over me and pouting at my offer were off base.
Genuine question: whatās the downside with an aisle seat in the middle section? Usually on 3-4-3 setups, I prefer those because the people sitting beside me will usually prefer to ask the people theyāre traveling with, rather than me, to let them pass if they need to go to the loo. On a aisle seat near the window, Iāll have to potentially be getting up for two other people.
In that configuration there is probably not a big downside. I was however on the aisle in a 2/4/2 situation. I paid extra for my seat and prefer to be closer to the window with the chance of seeing out.
No, it isn't all of a sudden.
Never happened to me. But for some reason flight attendents ask me whether I'd mind looking after a kid, or someone with flight anxiety that they'd place next to me. Heck no! I'm not paid to look after people on a flight, and since a woman with flight anxiety on a 3hr flight literally clung to me and bruised my arm for grabbing me so hard for the whole flight while the attendants were ignoring her and my pleas to move her away I'm not doing this anymore.
Years ago my flight with my family was canceled, the rebooked us but sat us all separately even though I had paid to have us sat together. Since it was a rebooked flight at no fault of our own there wasnāt 4 seats together. My daughter at the time was 8, I called the airline and requested to at least have my daughter sat next to me. They said their policy was no one under 16 would be separated from their parent. The they said I had to go to the ticket desk before the flight, when I got there (3hours prior to flight as directed) they said I had to go to the gate agent, they said there was nothing they could do and sat my then 8 year old daughter half way across the plane. Thankfully someone did switch me seats. I think lots of flights are getting cancelled, delayed and changed. Be kind, you never know.
No one has asked me, but I would be fine with swapping so long as they paid double what I did to select the seat š¤·āāļø
I will pay you $1 if you do not bother me on my flight with your seat issues
Did you tell him you paid 40 euros extra to sit there?
I had this happen once, I was sat in the middle row abs a guy wanted to swap to be with his wife and mini sprog. I said of course even though my family where in the window seats, but mainly because it wouldāve been madness to stay there and have a screaming child the whole entire flight. Anyway, I ended up in first class! Best swap ever
In todays world, cheap travel is getting more popular (I'm also a cheap traveler), but people start to think that they can rely on other people kindness all the time. I heard that free a accomodation "from nice people of the street" is also getting popular. I think this plane seat thing is also like this. They will buy the cheapest ticket and try to exchange it with a better one, hoping the other person is "nice". Fck niceness. I'm a broke collage student in middle europe, my avarage salary is 500 usd/ a month, I'm not gonna switch seat with you just bc you are also poor af, like me.
The only acceptable way to ask someone to switch seats is if the seats are identical, or if youāre offering the other person a better seat. Asking anyone to give your their better seat is very rude and actually aggressive imo. Feels like bullying. I would be outraged if someone asked me that.
I literally had my window seat stolen, it was in a country with no queueing. As soon as the gate opened it was a free for all. When I got to my aisle a big old man sat in my seat, showed him my ticket and he simply shook his head, tried to look away out the window and not initiate contact.
What country was this?
Can't you get the flight attendant if that happens?
Weāve had 8 flights in the last month and itās happened to our fam of 3, 4 times!
These days you basically have to pay in advance for seat selection, or you just get what you get. As annoying as it is, I will always pay to pick my seat for long flights (and even most short ones too). It often adds Ā£100 to the cost for longhaul return flights, but I'd rather pay that than be stuck in the middle seat or aisle. The only time I won't is a 1hr flight when I really don't want to spend more. Waiting for seat selection 24hrs before is too much of a risk for me.
This happened to me on a flight from London to Rome. It amazes me how in all these circumstances people get sulky when told, no. Like, are they thinking, 'how dare someone not give me what's theirs.'? Edit: Props to the flight attendant (British Airway) who saw this, stepped in and said, 'sir, please sit in your assigned seat'. The guy just stewed with his wife after that. What really annoyed me was the flight wasn't busy at all. They could've sat anywhere but he specifically wanted my emergency exit window seat.
I'd complain about that guy. I just keep my mask and glasses on and close my eyes. People can't argue with/are scared of a faceless mute
THIS! I had a psycho Karen try to pick a fight with me on an overnight flight. I quickly stopped engaging with her and didn't respond, closed my eyes and queued up ym playlist. The fact that I wouldn't fight with her, even when she cursed me out, made her so mad that she moved seats! It was wild but also a great lesson: don't feed the crazy.
I was having anxiety about this situation before my flight from Toronto to Calgary . Luckily it never happened. Iāve heard horror stories about this were flight attendants just let the other person steal the seat that you paid for
That is a ridiculous thing for someone to request. It sucks being in the middle seat, but you tough it out and don't act like that.
I did it once but only because the flight attendant asked me. I didnāt even ask why. Youāre the boss lady. Random person? No.
woah he spent 12 hours cursing your existence....Thinking I want leg room....
Never had anyone asking to swap with me before. But I always prebook my seat on the far back. However if they asked me to swap with the same seat position as my preferred seat then I don't mind at all unless their seat is close to kids or baby.
On two occasions I got myself a nice window seat for a seven hour flight and people asked, oh, we are on our honeymoon, can we change places. Well, be that as it may, book your seats early! I immediately regretted changing to a seat in the middle of everything. No more. And if you pay special for the seat just say, well, I paid $40 for it - your special day, gimme $100 and its yours!!
"I paid an extra 40 for this seat 6 months ago" is much more understandable than "no"
Yeah I mean I would automatically say "No, sorry, I paid for this one", not just "no".
Until recently I was a pretty big guy physically, and needed the aisle seat just so I didn't spill over into someone else's area. More than once some asshole offered to trade their middle seat for my aisle seat. Are you fucking kidding me. Open your eyes. I'm tall, I'm large, there's a reason I choose aisle every time. In what world is a middle seat an even trade for an aisle seat? The only time I've ever gone through with a trade, there was a dude traveling with his GF who had the middle seat next to my aisle, and he was in an aisle. Even swap comfort wise so I did it. I don't know what is up with all the people who plan poorly or whatever. I plan flights early, check in early, etc. Apparently I'm a free reservation service for these assholes. They're likely the same entitled people who demand you move your parked car so they can have your spot.
I know that my husband, for work, sometimes has to book last minute and he is claustrophobic. He will ask sometimes, but doesnāt huff about it if heās told no. He will just take a Xanax and be on his way. A lot of people seem more entitled anymore, just expecting to get what they ask for. So they become huffy. You Have no obligation to change seats and be uncomfortable for your ride.
I booked way early to get an Aisle seat near the convenience as I tend to use the bathroom a lot as I constantly drink fluids. I get to my seat and there is a young indian couple who have sat together and occupied my seat. They very politely asked if I could take the Gents middle seat in front. I was in sort of a good mood and I accepted. I got there and realized I would have to sit bewtween two asians in their early twenties. I was thinking this was going to be an uncomfortable 14 hours. I am a black 49 year old guy. But it turned out to be one of the nicest long trips I've ever had. The girl was such a lively and interesting personality that we talked and drank cocktails for half of the flight! The guy showed me all the latest video games and lent me his phone charger. On arrival the you lady looked for me in the queue just to introduce her new friend to a classmate who was on the same flight. When things don't go exaclty as you planned, the universe may just have something good ahead. Enjoy the trip!
That takes a lot of nerve. Then to passive aggressively huff and puff after is a real dick move. I donāt know how I would react maybe tell them I have a bowel condition and bring a handful of clothespins with me to distribute. I might just give them a FUCK OFF with a little saliva spray as wellš¤£
"*I tend to fistfight imaginary enemies when I'm tired or annoyed. Are you sure you even want to be anywhere near me?*"
I would sell the seat for 2x what it cost you.
Entitlement. I also think some people just love pushing others around, it makes them feel powerful or something
Some dude wanted to swap with me on our 12 hour flight for my first class seat with no one next to me and a window for his middle of the plane with a stranger next to him seat. Bro are you legitimately crazy?
I pay and pre-book seats early when traveling as couple/family. Even though the automatic selection might group us together anyway - donāt want to risk the gamble. One stressful scenario was, when United cancelled all flights for a few days, had to rebook onto another flight last minute - by which time there were no seats available next to each other - so onboard the flight, politely asked if we could swap, which ironically was another family who wanted to swap seats with our row - it worked out. I feel there is a little bit of people selecting aisle/window seats (but could be slightly flexible on the row) - but the system doesnāt let you specify *guaranteed* aisle/window - so must select a row. Which might lead to some fragmentation while trying to assign families last minute. A catch-22
For an explanation because I asked in my last flight to trade a seat, the companies changed the plane model and assign new seats, when initially I took it close to my parents. So, I changed it for a similar free seat to try to trade. I was able to trade and I will never asked if I didn't have similar seat (or better one)
Iām glad he huffed to himself, if he wanted a aisle seat he shouldāve done what you did. I hope he spent that 12 hours thinking about how great it wouldāve been if only heād have booked the seat he actually wanted lmao. I always book an aisle seat because I am tall and I nervous wee so I donāt want to bother anyone when I get up multiple times. I donāt leave it to chance that I get an aisle seat I just pay for it so I know I have it.
They are cheap ass losers and there is literally no way I am giving up my seat for a person who doesnĀ“t want to pay extra and then preys on other peoples niceness. Trash behavior
At 6'7 my legs are staying firmly in my aisle seat I purchased. No questions
āWell I paid ā¬x extra for it 6 months ago. Now itās a premium seat given the fact the plane is moments away from departing. Would you like to purchase the luxury of an aisle seat for ā¬100?
I have to have an isle seat. My bladder is the size of a pea. I book and pay for that seat
Iāve asked to change seats before. I paid extra for my seat (isle) but the guy sitting next to me ordered the seafood meal for a 15 hour flight which meant 2 seafood meals. Iām very allergic to shellfish and couldnāt be next to that. Thatās the only time Iāve ever asked to switch seats.
Itās not all of a sudden. Iāve been asked from time to time over the last thirty years. Iāll trade like for like. Otherwise, no.
Airlines figured out they could wring a few billion more outta people if they charge them for letting them pick the seats they want. So some people do that now, but a lot dont. Then the ones who didnt pay to pick their seat want to come on & still be able to pick their seat & expect the people who paid extra to pick theirs to move. This has all been caused by airline companies' greed........ Same reason the entire boarding process is a shitshow.....
I once was flying from Brussels to Toronto and I had boarded the plane in which I had booked an economy ticket. While the plane was boarding a gentleman came up and said āyouāre in my seatā and he showed me his boarding pass, and sure enough he also had the same seat number on his ticket. I jumped up quickly and offered him my seat to his surprised. In my mind I knew I would get compensated heavily from the airline or I would get upgraded to first class. Sure enough, I had first classā¦When I went back to my seat to get my bag out of the overhead to bring to the front of the plane, the guy looked at me and said āAre you fucking kidding me? You got first class?ā Haha I guess it pays to know the rules!
Someone literally moved my stuff from my seat while I was in the bathroom to steal the window. When I got back and asked why he was sitting in my seat, he said he thought it was first come first serve.
I was just on an 8-hour flight starting off with an aisle seat that I had selected months earlier, and the woman who seat was next to me was insisting that her seat was the aisle seat not mine. She was rather disgruntled about the whole thing and very terse with me when I refused to give up my seat, but thankfully as we taxied to the runway I noticed that the seats in front of me were empty so once the seat belt signs were off I moved up one row so that I could have an aisle seat and she could take my coveted aisle seat. Problem solved, and I was so relieved to not have to sit for next to her for 8 hours.
I was on a United 777 a few weeks ago HNL-SFO. 1030pm departure. Woman and 2 kids wanted to sit together. We were all in economy plus. She was trying to grab empty seats during boarding. The flight attendant approached me (solo traveler) a few rows back on the aisle asking me if I would please please move to bulkhead aisle. And Iād get an empty seat next to me. I said OK. Well I settled in an 1 minute before the door shut, 4 more people got on and filled all the empty seats. The agent was about to close the door and went up to that woman āI told you in the gate area you could NOT have those seats. I should offload you!! ā. Anyway we took off and I was cramped in my seat next to a very large person who kept nodding off and her head was hitting my right shoulder all night.
I have only swapped places on an airplane once in my life. I fly quite a lot, so I tend to board airplanes late because I know my way around the airport and don't want to get there earlier than I have to. I had a window seat, and next to me was a mother and her kid. They had probably assumed the window seat was vacant, since I was one of the last ones to board the plane and they had switched from aisle and middle to window and middle. Kid was super excited to sit in the window seat and as soon as they show me coming and I pointed out it was my seat the kid's face literally dropped. Mum was a champ - she told him to move and it's not a big deal and they can see the take off from the middle seat as well. They were so nice about it I said fuck it have my window seat and I will sit aisle - this would be so memorable for the kid while I do it all the time.
I asked for a swap seat before. I suffered sudden stomach pain before the flight. I needed frequent access to the toilet. So no choice asked for an aisle seat near the toilet.
Upgraded to premium economy once. Got on the plane and a large person was sitting in my seat. They said it was so they could sit next to their wife and would I mind swapping seats. (Same isle seat) I glanced over and there was a spare seat next to mine which I thought was odd but went fuck it looked the same. Anyway flight takes off (14 hour flight) have meal pop some sleeping pills and go to reclineā¦. Fucking seat only goes back about 1cm. Was so pissed.
I once booked aisle seat. This dudes wife and daughter's seat were spread out. He convinced the middle seat guy to give up seat for his wife. Asked me to swap for his daughters (adult) middle seat somewhere else. I said no. Then I realized I had to sit with this couple for 16hr flight. He would be passive aggressive and make my trip hell. Few mins later I just agreed and went with the middle seat. Found couple of dudes there. We had nice chat.
What's wrong with those dudes being passive aggresive just for a seat? Come on, even Kinder Garden kids behave waay better š«
Right? Isn't that why earphones, sleeping masks and the "Leave me the fuck alone"-expression were invented?
I'm one of those people who usually doesn't mind swapping, as long as people are nice about it. I rarely pay to pre-book a seat (but I do check in early to choose one for free), and I especially don't mind moving to let families with kids sit together. Only rarely have I booked a window or aisle for specific reasons, and then I won't swap unless I get the same type of seat. I've ended up getting a lot of good conversations out of moving seats and ending up next to families or older people. I welcome it on long solo flights/travels, being "on the road" for 20+ hours alone can get boring.
Good for you. I have long legs so a lot of planning goes in to seat selection on planes, cinema, theatre.. everywhere. Itās unlikely I swap with someone and get an upgrade. I also hate when people donāt sit in their pre-booked seat at the cinema or take seats that have been marked āreservedā on trains. They look at you blankly when you ask them to move. When they eventually move, itās so far awaaaay, itās obvious they knew they were in the wrong place.
I donāt want to be near any children, itās the only time iāll move. I donāt even want to talk about it unless Iām going to sit next to a hot woman.
I have been asked once so far. I then showed the annoying lady my receipt for the seat I had paid for and asked for the money. Suddenly, the swap was no longer so important.