Not to have given up my seat on plane

Why would she be disappointed? She got her aisle seat and her friend the window seat - job done!

My concern with offering g to sell the seat I'd paid for would be the Middle Seat Defaulter actually saying, oh thanks so much, here's the cash!!

I was once asked by two very large American ladies if I could swap seats with one of them as they were struggling to get comfortable as they were over spilling their seats.
I just smiled and said no.
they called cabin crew who asked me and I said no, means no.
I enjoyed the rest of my flight.

You weren’t unreasonable to not give up a seat you’d paid for… however I think it was weird to book seats with a spare between you and your friend, normally people would book seats together and I’m surprised they allowed a party to book seats that way.

So why does a random stranger deserve the window seat more?

My husband had a prostatectomy in recent years and so feels more confident being near the loo. We book aisle (him) and middle seat (me). I'm sure the booking system for the flights we go on (with Tui) won't allow two people in the same booking to leave a spare seat between them. (although you may not have been on the same booking i guess)

You paid for the seat, it's yours.

No, because they would have been sitting together leaving the very desirable window seat free! Not to the other woman, maybe, but for most single travellers, just fine!

So what if OP and her friend had booked the aisle and middle? Would OP still be selfish for not giving up her aisle seat for random girl?

If you want people to leave their seat then you’re not a nice person at all.

I agree

(Although they should be able to book on different rows if they just have different seat preferences)

It’s not “great tactics” it’s incredibly inconsiderate.

(I mean it wouldn’t affect me as I wouldn’t get on a plane without a booked aisle seat, but it’s still inconsiderate to do it on purpose)

Tight arse should have paid extra to secure the aisle seat.

YANBU of course Op, I’m an aisle seat person and no way would I swap for anything but another aisle - I need to be able to get in and out at will, and without having to ask another person (however happy they say they are to get up).

The only thing I would say for another time is if you want aisle and friend wants window, book them in different rows. It is a bit awkward for the person in between even if you don’t talk to each other, as there’s that nagging threat that you might.

I’ve never been on one before. I had no idea people did what OP and her friend did. Thankfully, I’ve never had to sit between people who have booked in this way.

Why embarrassed? If OP and her friend were obviously travelling together, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think they’d rather sit together than have a random stranger plonked between them - once they knew the middle seat wouldn’t be kept free. No harm in asking; not so good to keep making a fuss. I’ve been asked and agreed to swap seats so a man could sit next to his girlfriend; in my case I swapped from my middle seat an aisle. It would have been daft not to have asked.

Sorry but that’s just completely inconsiderate. Why on earth should another passenger have your baby being passed across them the whole time.

Once you knew your middle seat ploy hadn’t worked really you should then have moved to sit next to each other.

You would have been hearing a lot of sighs from me. My kindle would have been obstructing your pass the baby game. I don’t want my table and contents constantly bashed by your baby’s feet etc. My drinks may have been spilt. utter entitlement.

You weren't being unreasonable to stick to your booked seats, of course, but I think you were inconsiderate with your seat bookings if you planned to talk to each other across someone.

It’s so goady so and sos can lecture the parents of young children that they must pay more for flights than everyone else, on top of subsidising them by paying £££££ for travelling in school holidays.

When I travel with my best friend, she likes the window and I like the aisle, so that’s what we book. If someone is sitting in the middle seat, probably 90% of the time they’re unaware that we’re traveling together because we don’t talk /pass food / etc. In the 10% of situations when they are aware that we are together (usually bc they are already seated and, due to friend’s bum shoulder, I am the one who puts the luggage in the bin), the middle seat person tries insisting that I take their seat. Sometimes they claim they don’t want to be bothered by us, and then they’re surprised that we each have our own separate plane behaviors and don’t interact. There have been times where I’ve booked her in the window and I’m in the aisle seat in the row ahead of or behind her.

it would be incredibly annoying to have someone talking over you or covering you in crumbs. I’d be sorely tempted to pull out a newspaper (if I had one) and hold it up to block them from each other, but I’m petty like that.

YANBU, though myself and my DH have at times moved to accommodate others when it has seemed commonsense to do so but on the whole this manipulative and entitled behavior is on the increase passive aggressively guilt tripping others into accommodating their demands, think the airlines need to take some of the blame due to their approach of rinsing every penny out of us punters for our seats. It is annoying when everyone is settled getting ready for take off when suddenly a group get on, try to rearrange seating because they havent pre booked seats, it becomes like an irritating version of musical chairs. Last year had aisle seats but not adjoining aisles, i was a row in front, suddenly lots pf commotion late boarding (no pre booked seats) enter a group of three women with seven children between them from primary thru to teenagers girls. They immediately started throwing their weight around asking people to move but not because they wanted to sit with their children no the women wanted the teenagers to sit together, themselves to sit together and the young DC to sit together further down the front of the plane. My DH moved because he said to me after he felt if he insisted on remaining in his seat with young teenage girls it would have made him feel very awkward for not moving. Throughout the flight the teenagers were perfect flyers had headphones on watching ipads, did not even interact with each other, unfortunately not so of their DM’s who proceeded to get stuck into the drinks trolley making multiple purchases, very loud exhibitionist behaviour for most of flight. Fast forward near end of flight one of the young DC running up the aisle crying cannot find mummy, concerned flyers coming up the aisle trying to help the distressed child whose DM had been having a deep alcohol infused snooze, when she woke up she thought it was hilarious laughing shouting out ‘What am i like’. Had to bite my tongue not to say you are a disgrace!

I guess there are a lot of posts about plane seating because it is something we are all interested in. Flying is one of the few times that we end up being sat next to a total stranger for hours without being allowed to move. We all worry about where we will get seated and who we will be next to. We all worry about being stuck next to some rude, obnoxious, smelly or oversized person.

There is a high possibility they could have tried to book seats, maybe got the family booked where they were & then seeing the single seat, maybe took that one & were advised to ask once on board to ask the person on the aisle seat if they would swap.
Ive had this happen, I don't know in the case of this persons family, but when travelling with a whole family, especially if multi generational or you have a mix of ages, of young teens & toddlers it can be difficult to find seats together, because there was a high number of seats booked in the way you booked yours, window seat & aisle seat then empty seats in the middle.
So you could say yes you paid for your allocated seats & it's not unreasonable to not give up your seat, at the same time there's a flip side. When people book like this, it is in the hope that they get a full row to themselves as there are few lone travellers, so it's a little selfish.
All three of my children are ASD, & Ive been left in a situation that I had to leave my 13yr old son sat alone on a flight, two rows back from us, because of thoughtless booking of seats. I ended up having to keep leaving my 2yr old (who was terrified of being on a plane) with my 14yr old daughter to go stand with my son, the whole flight was me going between children to keep them safe & calm, it was stressful for everyone.
Though the blame lies with the companies themselves as they should not allow booking seats in such a way, because they know to well how it can be much more than a minor inconvenience for families that need to be seated together.

Just this, why are there so many posts like this one by OP ? It's nothing new. Everyone gets it by now ....

My partner and i recently flew with BA and were seated separately on a full flight. I’m not the best flyer, but accepted my lot- neither of us wished to pay to book seats, so we accepted the circumstances fir what they were. I wouldn’t dream of trying to pursued others to move, because of decisions we made!

It’s great tactics to do aisle and window - a good chance you get all 3. Not unreasonable for her to ask, very unreasonable not to accept no for an answer.