Easyjet flight attendant ( seat related).

[pinkhousesarebest]

Can I preceded this by saying that I have always paid for my seat when travelling with my dc up until a certain age and that I have also often changed seats to accommodate young families? However yesterday on an Easyjet flight, we were asked to swop our paid for seat to the seat behind, with no window so that the woman’s child could see out. No medical reason- just she wanted a view.
I said no, I was fine thanks. About five minutes later another attendant arrived, demanded our boarding passes, scrutinized them furiously. And then began to lambast me because I hadn’t swopped with the woman. She said they had been going to reward us with a free meal but now, because of our lack of humanity, would not. This was at the top of her voice. I said, reasonably, that I had paid for my seat and I would be sitting in it but by this stage she and her colleague were speaking loudly and gesticulating in Portuguese.
Is this acceptable? Surely the airline must accept responsibility for putting this family in this seat( right at the back of the plane. ) How did I become the bad guy in this? It’s still rankling today.

I hope you called her back when she missed you out. Loudly.

Seats don't recline on easyJet.

WTF! She’s very rude. It’s at the discretion of the passanger if they accept to swap.
I worked for a ME airline and used to get pissed off when Arab men would come on with their multiple wives and demand they had their seats changed as they didn’t want them sitting next to another male. I would never show it though. I certainly wouldn’t try and dictate to other passanger to swap their seats with them.

I had a similar experience with Jet2 last year. DH likes an aisle seat, i'm not bothered, he like to be at the back so I paid and booked the seats when I booked the holiday. We got to our seats and about 5 minutes later a lady came up to us and said we were sat in her seat and I said no i booked these and got my app up with seat numbers, the flight attendant was there and she said well maybe you would like to move along and the lady can sit in the aisle seat and her husband can sit in this aisle seat (opposite) so they can sit together. I looked at DH and said do you want to sit in the window and he said no - he does not like flying. So I said to the attendant DH like to sit in the aisle and we don't really want to be separated (me in the window him in the aisle). Flight attendant was really off with us and another came over started huffing and puffing and then said there is a spare row down here they can sit in and took the lady and her husband further down the plane where they got a full row to themselves.

When they can round with drinks, she first ignored me and then practically threw my card back at me and would not look at me. I'm sure I heard them talking about me in the galley at the back, it made the flight really uncomfortable and it made me feel guilty for not just moving for the woman.

They should not let you pay to book and pick seats if they are going to expect you to move for people.

I wish I had complained. It was 4 months ago now so I suppose its too long ago.

MhariMe seriously? Why would I waste my time?
There were snacks being served. No-one asked us did we want one ( we obviously didn’t). Whether people were paying for them or not, I don’t know.

Yes but do they not come down the aisle asking each row if anyone wants to order food? Buy lottery tickets? Donate spare change to some charity? I’m assuming OP wasnt asked like others were.

If you were going to complain, how would you do it? Easyjet customer services?

This

They do on Jet2 so don't see why not easyjet

Jesus @MhariMe have a day off. The OP hasn't used the correct terminology when saying 'lunch' when she meant snack but no need for your responses calling her a liar.

Shockingly, you can work for a company and still be unaware that some staff are indeed, assholes.

What did you pay to book the seats? I’m guessing more than what the meal was worth.

I wouldn’t waste your time honestly, it’s basically impossible. Better to just not use the airline again.

This is awful behaviour. How unprofessional of Easyjet. Complain.

I might have swapped for takeoff, but after that there’s no point being by a window.
I also give up my seat if I’m on the top deck front seat of a London bus and children get on.
However the airline definitely shouldn’t berate you.

The airlines have brought all this grief on themselves with their greedy monetising of the cabin experience. It's turned the whole thing into a bunfight.

I always go on seatguru to make sure I don’t accidentally book a windowless seat. I know some airlines miss a window row 11 too.

Ha no you obviously weren't obliged to swap seats and completely within your right to decline. Steward response was mental.

My only regret (aside from the mercenary airlines adopting this model when they're not offering budget prices to begin with) is that the default answer to this request is not a resounding 'No'. (It is, with me, and it's one I've frequently been asked as a frequent lone female flyer. No prizes for guessing why those are seen as a soft touch).

If everyone responded to this request with Mumsnet's quintessential 'complete sentence', then the CFs would stop asking.

Forget 'it's nice to be nice' when that means to everybody but yourself. I don't owe anyone a medical explanation of why I need my choice of seat - the answer is 'no', not the opening of a negotation.

How did you prove her wrong? Were you there? She hasn't said anything controversial or unlikely.

This seat booking stuff happens all the time. I was on a plane where they'd put a child in an emergency exit seat so had to find a swap for the child and a parent to sit with them. Of course it's annoying - why let a child book that seat? No one else wanted to swap and it all got rather heated.

You most definitely didn’t prove me wrong. No idea who asked your comment to be deleted and it wasn’t me. What a pity it was deleted as it brought nothing to the table anyway.

That was to the lovely Mhari

And why you personally?
Why not put an announcement out on the tannoy saying 'a small child wishes to see out the window (spoiler alert, it's boring) but her parents were too tight to pay for specific seats. Anyone who's willing to swap will be gifted a free pot noodle, RRP £17.95. please raise your hands now.' 🤣

Anyway, off to enjoy rainy Lisbon. Thank you for making my first ever AIBU ( after 17 years of being on here) a helpful one.

I'd have been very tempted to say loudly to all the people near by "The flight attendant is offering free meals for anyone who'll swap to the back row. We've said no, so the offers presumably open to someone else"