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 ?

I never fly without booking my seat - and paying for it - so of course I wouldn't move. If a passenger is stupid enough not to book their seat, then they go where they are al,located. It's blindingly obvious.

Actually that's a smart idea... just say I paid £xx for this seat and I'm happy to move if you refund me ! Cash only !

I would never swap an aisle seat for a middle seat. I would have thought everyone would realise what a bad swap that this! I only swap like for like.

It's not simple though. As multiple people have pointed out, it's actually quite an unusual thing for friends who want to sit together to do.

No people pay for what they want, it's simple

They have cheap flights for a reason if people want it all included, the price would be higher so it's no different but regardless if you want specific seats book them it is not rocket science

Yanbu. I'll never swap seats if I've paid to choose mine. And if I haven't, and someone wants to swap and their seat is worse than mine, they can jog on too.

Yes, it is a well known strategy to try and get more space to yourselves hoping that someone doesn't book the middle seat or are intimidated into moving because they don't want to be talked over.

This woman might well have been happy to be in the middle seat but probably wasn't expecting to be stuck between two people that know each other. That is a really awkward situation to put someone in.

In this case I would have hoped that either you or your friend would have offered to move without even being asked. You paid extra to book a seat, I know but you still would have had the advantage of being seated together rather than in the middle of a couple of strangers.

Tough, she could have paid to avoid that, it is always a risk.

I had a similar scenario. I was flying back from italy and feeling really ill with a bad uti infection that I ended up needing to take antibiotics for. I felt so weak and was desperate to get back home and really needed to be near the bathroom in an aisle seat. I'd booked for this (as could anyone). It took all my strength putting my luggage up above me.

As I was settled, a snooty woman seated by the window asks me to swap with her (adult) Daughter who was seated in a different part of the plane. I said no (probably in quite a firm tone) without giving an explanation.

Anyway, she ended up getting the middle aisle guy to swap which was a right palaver as there wasn't room for his luggage in the new seat. and it was a struggle for him moving as people were coming in the opposite direction to get to their seats making me glad I didn't out of politeness agree. Then she kept making sarky comments about the 'nice lovely polite guy' implying I'm a rude bitch. 🙄

Sorry but if you want a specific seat, book it/pay for it/queue early. Hate entitled people.

@Inkyblue123 I would have said the at I'd swap for the window seat so they could sit next to each other - see how well that would have gone down!
I'm flying out on easyJet and have booked a window seat for myself. My kids (19 and 20) are flying out afterwards and I've booked the aisle seats on either side of the aisle, so no one has to sit in the middle yet they are still close to each other. This seems a fair thing to do - the flight is likely to be full and inevitably someone would be between them if I'd done as OP did. On the way back we are three together.

It isn't unusual at all. Lots of people don't like the middle seat. And even if it were...so what? That's the point of reserving specific seats; so that if it's important to you to sit somewhere in particular, you can pay to do that.

Nobody is obliged to reserve their seat depending on what someone who hasn't reserved one might prefer!

I travel on my own and have been asked by the crew if I would mind moving. I always book an aisle seat so my reply is ‘I don’t mind moving as long as it is to another aisle seat.’ I agree that if people want to sit together , they should book their seats. DD and I don’t mind if we don’t sit together on a short flight! We often book opposite aisle seats.

I ended up in a middle seat last year. In between 2 strangers but that was fine. What wasn't, was that both of them took up more space than the actual seat, so even though I tried to make myself tight and smaller, their arses and thighs spilled over the seats and touched mine. For 4 hours. That's a long time to simmer with rage and disgust. I have paid for a seat this year.

Apparently some couples do this, book the window seat and the aisle seat n the hope that no one will book the middle seat.. DH and I don’t, we’d rather sit together.

OP YANBU not to move.

Is this a modern phenomenon - this sense of entitlement to demand other passengers move if they don’t like their allocated seat? Pay for a seat and stop being so tight-fisted and arrogant.

I’ve travelled extensively all over the world since I was a baby and have never seen dramas over seats on planes, plus I thought the requirement was that you must occupy your booked seat in case of a crash/taking ill on the flight and needing to identify people?

Surprised you’re well travelled and have never seen this, and don’t know you can move seats, never see people being moved, or moving of their own accord. I’d say nearly every other flight I take I see it.

They charge in business too unless you have status! Quite a lot too on a transatlantic flight that is already many £K.

The flight was 70% full, Little Miss Middle-Seat could have moved to another seat that was empty

if you’re paying for seats, you can sit where you want to. Most of us DO use the time to watch a movie/read etc, it’s not often people chat

That’s horrible. I guess it would have been better to swap as long as you got the aisle.

If you have to pay £20 to book a sone if I seat I'd book the one I wanted and if I wanted aisle for leg room and friend wanted window so be it

Did you ask her for your £20 back if you were to move ?

The friend wanted a window and paid for a window. It’s not her job to be considerate to randoms, especially as OP has said her and friend were engrossed in Netflix and didn’t talk over the middle.

I bet you wouldn’t have a problem with men booking and paying for the seats they want.

I once flew with my sister and my 15 month old on my lap. My daughter was perfectly chilled, but the woman sat on the aisle seat kept looking at her, horrified, and asked to be moved. We got the 3 seats to ourselves, it was great!

What a load of bollocks. OP and friend can sit in any seat they choose if they are paying. I seriously doubt it was a strategic booking to get the row to themselves and even if it was they paid so tough shit to anybody else not prepared to do the same.

YANBU. It's not your problem that she didnt want to pay out to book a seat and you had the thought to do so. Tough shit on her- she should have booked it herself if it was so important to her.

I would also have maybe swapped but only if she paid me the extra I paid to literally sit in that specific seat. If she doesnt want to pay then she's a cheeky fucker as that means you are losing your money for not getting what you paid for!

But what if one wants window and one wants aisle? I don't think OP and friend did anything wrong.