Not to have given up my seat on plane

[Rainbowgoldover]

Just wondering ....

I flew home last night from holiday with a friend.

BA flights , flight out was dreadful, cramped seats , allocated at check in so we had last row next to the toilets ...

On the way back we learnt our lesson so paid to book seats, I booked an aisle seat, friend booked a window seat, flight about 70 per cent full.

The person in the middle seat , asked me if I would move so she could have the aisle seat.

I refused and said no I booked aisle and don't want to sit in middle seat. She said but I want to be near my family in the row opposite. I still politely refued to move.

Cue lots of aggro, she finally got the flight attendants to move her accusing me and my friend of talking over her , we absolutely were not, both had headphones on watching netflix.

If you really want to sit somewhere why can't you pay 23.99 and pre reserve a seat, don't make others feel bad for not giving up theirs ?

Wow.

The rudeness on this site really is ridiculous.

There fairly often are free seats outside school holidays. The last flight I took even had a few in the school holidays.

Who’s the idiot now?

You would only think that if you were someone who does this yourself. No-one wants a middle seat but flights these days are often full.
I always book an aisle seat when traveling, if my husband and I are traveling together we book adjacent aisle seats.

It’s called an opinion, we all have rhem. And it’s still mine 👍🏻

but don't pretend that your booking wasn't deliberately awkward!

Whats the relevance of this? The airline allowed it. It made them extra ££. If people can do it then they will. It’s pretty meh, the person in the middle didn’t pay the extra, they chose that option (quite sensibly imo)

I think I may have started this and it is probably true but if airlines allow
to pay to book seats then it will happen.

I book and pay for seats as close to the front row as possible so I’m booking for location in the plane as well as seat preference, my DP just sits where I’m happiest, if he ends up in the middle then he does it for me so I can be next to him and have the window seat.

Same here, I prefer a window seat and preferably not over the wing. DH always has the middle seat.

That's not being nice, that's being daft. Why go to the trouble to book a seat if you're going to let anyone else sit in it? Surely if you're that "nice" you don't book, you let everyone else get on first and then just sit in whichever seat is left?

Ah, plane seat threads, the airborne equivalent to parking CFs.

Different seats literally do have a value, as shown by the fact that people are willing to pay more for some. The exit rows with more legroom obvious make a big physical difference to some so they can command a higher premium. If you need to go to the loo a lot or regularly walk around because of DVT risk, you'll want an aisle seat in your group. Middle seats if you're travelling alone can risk being sandwiched between two large strangers.

If none of these factors have value to you then you can save money by taking whatever's left after others have picked.

Who cares about social norms.

If one person likes the window seat and the other likes the aisle so be it. It’s up to them as they paid.

We always pay for extra legroom because my DH has a medical issue, however because I’m short people always ask to swap seats. Pisses me off because no, we paid for these seats to ensure we get them.

We’ve had to put up with some right shitty people over the years because they are too tight to pay.

Well either pay up or shut up, if you can’t afford the payment you probably can’t afford the holiday so stop getting into debt and stay at home!

It’s not awkward unless they are talking across all the time. OP says they had headphones in.

This thread highlights what mugs we were on a 9 hours flight we were on from Miami.

As it was an overnight and we wanted legroom to stretch out a bit, we paid extra for bulkhead seats. When we checked in, we were asked if we would mind giving up our seats for a family travelling with a baby. I agreed because I was, on hindsight, a soft touch and felt it must be tough travelling with a small infant.

I actually wished I had been much more hard nosed and said only if there’s something in it for us. We’d booked the seats months in advance and unless the family were travelling at short notice for an emergency, they probably had the opportunities as us to choose their seats. We ended up stuck in the usual cattle class configuration.

I’m afraid I wouldn’t be as accommodating next time and would stick to my guns much more defiantly.

You are clearly.

you've just reiterated the point.

"fairly often" does not = always.
"outside of school holidays" = when do you think the majority with children fly?
"a few empty seats" does not = a lot

I was making the point that no one except an idiot would EXPECT the middle seat would be unoccuppied to answer the people saying that two people booking window and aisle MUST be doing it in the EXPECTATION that the middle seat would be empty. I was saying that most people are just choosing their own seats for their own comfort without that expectation because most flights are typically very full. They are businesses aiming for profit and schedule accordingly. They don't want planes taking off with lots of empty seats. If that happens they reduce the flight frequency or capacity. Sure it may be a bonus in that situation if the middle seat is not taken but it would be rare.

The fact the middle seat may be occassionally means that it remains a risk and a gamble not an expectation.

Air France offered this option once - usually my flights are full though.

Yup. I don't understand the people who talk about chatting to their seatmate, whether they know them or not. It's too loud! I put on noise cancelling headphones the instant the flight starts and don't take them off till the end. I need an aisleseat. DD likes the window. None of us, including the middle seat person, generally interact except to pass trays/garbage. I always tell the middle seat person they can have the arm rest (though I once had someone raise the armrest when I was up walking and she overflowed onto my seat. She was so nice I didn't have the heart to call her on it. DH goes across the aisle on another aisle seat if we fly together. Air France allows seat selection with purchase, except for the very basic/no luggage fare. When my flight was cancelled due to a strike they put me in a middle seat on the replacement flight but gave me the bulkhead so I could get up as needed.

Wrong! I have never have done this and never even thought people did this till I read OP. As there is no mention of a particular preference for window and aisle in the OP, but plenty about the previous flight being cramped, it is reasonable to assume they hoped the middle seat would be empty. Subsequent to this, others on this thread have admitted to doing this.

Not unreasonable at at. You pointed out that you had paid for the seat, maybe you should have offered to sell it to her! 😆

I'm interested to know if you'd said "yeah sure that's £xx" whether they'd have been quite so arsey. If you paid they aren't any more entitled to it than you are!

You were not being unreasonable -the woman was being a cheapskate. If it mattered that much to her to sit with her family she should have booked a seat. Good for you for sticking to your guns!

If the lady who asked was between you and your friend, I'd have moved. I can't see the point of being split up. Why didn't you book two seats together if you were going to the trouble of booking seats?

I wish the airlines would stop this nonsense though. Just allocate seats (together) when people book - those who book first get the seats nearest the front of the aircraft. Done.

Not unreasonable at all, if she wanted to pick her seat she should have paid, end of. I've had this happen to me a few times for a few diff reasons. Me and my husband both hate middle and window seats so we always choose aisle seats across from each other. Countless times someone has asked one of us to swap to be closer to their family, BC they wanted an aisle, and one time on a flight from Dubai an older Muslim woman asked me to swap BC she "can't" sit by a man. So ridiculous. Each time I told them too bad, not my problem. Good for you for standing your ground.

I’m lucky enough to be in the position that I can pay extra to get the seats I want. I have travelled a lot and had this so many times as was often traveling alone, the thinking was it didn’t matter where I sat. I would rarely swap to be honest unless it really suited me. Hate the aisle and middle seats, I always get a window.

We always pay for extra legroom because my DH has a medical issue, however because I’m short people always ask to swap seats. Pisses me off because no, we paid for these seats to ensure we get them

If it's to accommodate a medical issue why don't you request them? You shouldn't have to pay in that case.

I see that it's "normal" to hope that the middle seat doesn't get used. I don't think I'd rely on that unless it was a Tuesday lunchtime in January or something!

one time on a flight from Dubai an older Muslim woman asked me to swap BC she "can't" sit by a man. So ridiculous. Each time I told them too bad, not my problem. Good for you for standing your ground

again if that's actually a "need", the woman should have requested a seat next to a female when she booked

Did you and your friend book the seats like that hoping no one would sit in the middle? I’m guilty of that once so I get it, me and my friend did this and luckily no one sat there (it was a night flight so minimal talking & we slept the whole way) but if someone did I would’ve been happy to move over/ ask if they wanted to switch

You have to look at it from her point of view aswell, sitting in the middle of 2 people who know eachother is a bit awkward and i do kinda believe when she said you were talking across her. If you didn’t know the other person that would be different. I also get that you paid for the seat so you wouldn’t exactly want to give it up. I think though when booking seats like that you have to bear in mind whoever could potentially sit there and if they would feel comfortable

This

I would have offered her the seat at a charge. If she wanted it she could pay. If she isn't willing to pay then fuck off. She obviously knew she could prebook the seat she wanted at a cost.
People are such CF to think you just ask and get it all for free.