To think airborne musical chairs shouldn't be a thing?

[Quimtessence]

Recently, traveling solo, and as I settled into my window seat, got comfy and the airplane doors finally closed, I realised that on this 90% full flight the two seats next to me remained unoccupied. Yippee! This is a rare win and as it was a 6 hour overnight flight where sleep was expected, very welcome that I’d be able to stretch out. Also no one to wake and clamber over if I needed the bathroom. That is until nearly an hour into the flight a bloke from one of the middle seats got up and without a by your leave, plonked his arse into one of the seats next to me and remained there for the rest of the journey, watching a film!
Exact same thing happened on the flight home, except this time the flight was only 60% full and during daytime, so not quite so galling. This time, a little old lady, without any acknowledgement or word to me sat herself down in one of the empty seats next to me and stayed there for the duration.
Who is being unreasonable here? Are unoccupied seats fair game for anyone wanting to upgrade from their assigned one or am I the one with a sense of entitlement thinking I have some sort of ownership of empty seats next to me and should be left to enjoy the rare luck I thought I had been handed?

Why should you get three seats for yourself while other people are crammed in like sardines?

I suppose they’re as entitled to the empty seats as you are OP. Both of you have paid for one seat, and neither of you for those seats. I do understand why it would be nice if they stayed somewhere else though.

YABU - they’re not your seats you have no more right to them than they do

Top tip. Lie across all the seats and shut your eyes as soon as the seat belt signs are turned off.

How many seats did you pay for? If you paid for all 3 you could ask them to move, otherwise the seats were fair game.

Nobody is entitled to any seat other than the one they've paid for. Maybe they had asked cabin crew if they could move?

Are unoccupied seats fair game for anyone wanting to upgrade from their assigned one

Yes - as long as if there are two unoccupied seats, they take the one that leaves a free one in between you both. So, if you were in a window seat with a middle and aisle free next to you, the guy should sit in the aisle and not the middle right next to you.

The rule should always be that window and aisle seats should be filled first. Middle seats last. It's completely normal that if you find yourself in a middle seat between people sitting in the window and aisle seats that are not travelling with you, you can move to an unoccupied window or aisle seat if there is one available.

What I don't love is when people are travelling together but sit separately, taking up window and aisle seats, leaving an empty one in between. It's not so bad two aisle seats across from each other, but I was once on a flight where a family of 4 sat in the window and aisle seats in two rows. I was in one of the middle seats and they kept passing things to each other over me, or chatting over me, or passing things over the back of my seat, plus I had to spend the flight sat between two strangers whereas they could have just sat next to each other.

I feel your pain - I had two free seats next to me. Youngish woman, early 20s, very tall. She sat in the furthest one, kicked of her shoes and put her feet on the seat next to me and went to sleep. She kept stretching and pushing me with her feet. Grrrrrrrrrrr. I "accidentally" spilt my water over her feet when she pushed me for about the 10th time.

But, in reality, I had no right to expect those seats to stay free.

This is your best chance - you should have taken it

@Createausername1970 that's gross. I would have done the same.

My dad once got moved to business class because the woman behind him started kicking and punching the seat every time he reclined, even though it was a night flight and he waited until after the meal service and the lights went down to put his seat back. When he asked her nicely to let him recline the seat she started yelling at him that it was unacceptable and the flight attendants had to get involved. He now always tries to book the final row with nobody behind him (even though it's next to the toilets).

If I was allocated a middle and I noticed there was a nearby middle and aisle free I would 100% move after checking with flight crew (who IME always say it’s fine). You don’t have any right to the spare seats unless you paid for them.

You have no more right to the unassigned seats than anyone else. Each person gets one seat and if you want an empty one next to you, you'll need to pay for it as an extra seat like ultra-obese people have to, or those travelling with expensive and delicate musical instruments.

Yabu. You are no more entitled to the empty seats than anyone else, providing the air stewards are ok with the seat moving.

YABU it’s not your seat, why would you expect them to consult you?

Oh it's like a lottery win if you get empty seats next to you. DH and I had a space both ways on our last trip.
I hear your frustration.

I can see why you’d prefer it but you don’t have any right to those seats.

I think a lot of airlines charge extra if you make a booking for two and then book the aisle and window seat. On my last couple of flights I’ve actually sat in the aisle with my travel partner in the window seat, but that was because having booked two seats together, the third seat (window) was unfilled so we just spread out. As anyone would do.

I had the strange situation of being on a fairly busy shorthaul flight recently that slso contained some musicians, and of having a cello as a neighbour and a guitar across the aisle.

YABVU

YANVU. They're not your empty seats, you didn't pay for them.

YANBU 👍✈️ Plane etiquette, if you win in the seat-stretchy-out lottery, others should not partake of your prize, or at least not without asking 🙄

YABU. I understand the thrill of getting a row to yourself in economy (happened to me recently to and from Texas) 🙌 🙌 However, it’s horrible being crammed up against people and, if I could see two empty seats, I know I would move given the chance. It sounds like you still had one extra seat which is nice.

Free seats are fair game. Presumably the other passengers didn't sit in the middle seat. That would be odd.

Shucks I thought this was going to be a new craze for children's parties. I had images of little Tinkerbells flying about playing musical chairs.

The good news is that when the plane goes down in a screaming smoking fireball, they'll identify you long before they identify him ...