A flight conundrum re aisle seat .

[hattie43]

I came back from holiday recently on a direct 14hr flight . I knew this was long so paid extra for an aisle seat both ways to give me more legroom .
When I boarded and got to my seat a man asked me if I’d swap seats with a lady who’d hurt her knee . Her seat was in the middle of a row and I didn’t want to be squished up for 14 hrs so said no . She had no obvious injury eg no bandage / plaster / crutch but was I unreasonable in not giving up my seat .

No.

No I don’t think you were. You booked the seat you wanted. Was the man’s seat in the middle too or could he have swapped if he had an aisle seat?

I’d have said no too, and feigned my own leg injury / recovery. Did you tell then you paid extra? Where was the man sitting, did he want to be nearer her or further away?!

You’re never unreasonable to refuse to give up a seat you’ve selected in advance and paid for unless it’s demanded by flight crew for non negotiable reasons e.g. change of aircraft and it no longer exists or the seat itself is broken.

Who was the man that asked you? Flight crew or some random? Why didn’t the lady ask you herself? Did they ask everyone nearby with an aisle or just you? Just wondering if they were CFers making up the whole injury thing to try to sit together without paying…

I've done exactly the same thing before. It's fine.

Swap for equivalent, if it suits or no swap.Not your problem that the women
a) doesn’t want to pay out for a seat.
b) didn’t get organised in advance.

He was on an aisle but too large to comfortably move to the middle seat

No you weren't unreasonable and why is a man asking you? Could she not ask herself?
If she was in pain/injured she should have asked the staff to see if there was any alternatives.

If someone is injured and needs extra room in a flight they a) pay for it like you did and/or b) get insurance to pay for extra seat/ aisle seat

I also book an aisle seat on long flights, absolutely no way would I swap!

Was the man who asked you also in a middle seat?

No, yiu absolutely weren’t wring. When people ask this on planes, they need to offer at least the amount the seat cost. In no other situation would you be asked to give away something you’d just paid for. It’s like expecting you to give away your weekly shop just because someone in the Tesco car park asked you nicely.

No way. I’d have just said “very sorry I paid extra specifically for an aisle seat”. He should have done the same if he was that bothered, surely

Of course it’s fine not to move, but at the same time as long as someone is polite and isn’t pushy asking also isn’t the end of the world.

There's too much of this crap now. On a recent flight one parent had a seat in the bassinet row and the other parent didn't. They proceeded to loudly ask the other woman seated in the bassinet row to move. You don't have to. We know you will have paid money for this BUT we will both be back and forth at the baby the whole time so you won't get peace. The whole cabin was gripped. The woman moved . Why did she book a bassinet seat though?

I’ve just come back from a 14hr flight and I’ve had a middle seat which was because my husband didn’t check in in time to choose an aisle seat. We didn’t pay, husband a tight arse! I was stuck next to a gentleman who slept most of the way and had to wait to use the loo when either he got up or the man on the other side of my husband got up. I couldn’t stretch my legs properly as my husbands bag encroached on my side as did my neighbours leg. You did nothing wrong keeping your seat.

They were chancers no doubt.

Im very claustrophobic so will only fly in an aisle seat. When someone asked me if I would swap, for a window in this case, but I would give the same answer for a middle, I said "oooh no, you dont want me sitting in a middle seat next to you! I'm severely claustrophobic so specifically pay for an aisle seat and I can't guarantee I'd be able to control my behaviour. Squirming around and panting is the only way I could get through it. Don't do it to yourself!"

They didnt ask twice! 😆

Its just a bulk head seat, it isn’t exclusively for those with a baby.

How does an aisle seat actually give you any extra legroom though?

No. If she had a genuine issue she would have spoken to the airline staff and asked them to reallocate her. I would never entertain anyone who asked me personally.

You can extend your leg a bit in the aisle. It's definitely a bit more breathable. I always get an aisle seat. Always.

There are no bassinet seats per se, they're extra leg room seats which happen also to be where the bassinets are.

I never really understand why two parents fuss constantly over just one child on flights - surely it makes more sense to swap mid flight and do 50% solo then swap so each gets to rest too. I've flown solo with three under five including a baby and seen couples making one baby into more work than all three of mine put together with bells on, because they over stimulate the baby with vastly too much fuss.

Sorry yes that's what I should have said.

This. Anyone genuine will ask staff for assistance, not pick on a solo woman or very young man (which is what pushy chancers do).

YWNBU, but in future, if you book and pay for a seat and are asked to swop, it’s best to say that you have an injury or disability. It will stop CF’s thinking you’re being unreasonable or involving the cabin crew in order to get you to move.

LOL. Gotta love a judgey parent. Aren't you a delight.